Operations Manual Table of Contents – 8 Essentials

When creating your Operations Manual, it is important to consider the Table of Contents upfront. This will allow you to plan your Operations Manual and increase the chances of it being a useful document for your team to use.

Even better, use an Operations Manual Template and save a lot of time and effort instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

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8 Important Pillars – Operations Manual Example

Most businesses have similar core elements to ensure they operate effectively. Obviously as they get larger, these areas will expand, however the basics are typically several areas of operations that can be broken into groups for easy identification and management.

The following 8 areas identify areas of operations for any typical business. Focusing on these areas as a start will allow you to create a relatively comprehensive Operations Manual and get your business systems underway.

These 8 core pillars of operations are:

Business Introduction

We believe you need an introduction to your business is appropriate as it identifies firstly the business, but also the owners and management of the organization. It simply makes people feel welcome which is hugely important.

Vision and Values Manual

This Vision and Values section outlines the ‘Vision and Values’ of your business, sets direction for your team and allows you to think of the big picture.

What your business is all about is one of the most significant aspects of having a business. Why have you created it? What is your direction and where are you going? Communicating these things to your team, suppliers and stakeholders should be the first aspect you consider when creating an operations manual.

Set the direction for your organization.

Administration Manual

The Administration section includes everything to do with operating the administration side of the business. This includes things like general tasks such as answering the phone and providing stationary and facilities for staff to use on a daily basis.

This particular part of the Organization is important because it helps the business to operate smoothly.

Provide a comprehensive resource for administration aspects of your business.

Finance Manual

The Finance Manual includes everything to do with finance such as approving monies to be spent, purchasing transactions, team credit cards and invoicing and debt collection.

This particular aspect of a business is crucial to ensure cash-flow and ensure the business has suitable funds to keep operating.

Finances and ensuring accuracy and accountability is crucial to business performance.

Human Resources Manual

The Human Resources section of a business can be complex and demanding. This part of the business deals with team contracts, entitlements, team member concerns and behavior.

There are plenty of standards that need to be met in this area of the business and are often dictated by law. Often one of the harder parts of a business this area often needs a specialist.

People are your most important asset.

Operations Process Manual

Operations need to be completed accurately to ensure product or service quality.

Operations are the core of your business and the product or service you provide. Documenting your process is one of the most important things you can do for your organization. It has far-reaching effects into all areas of your business.

• Your operations process manual should detail how everything is done within your business. From quality control to cleaning the factory floor or cleaning the office, it doesn’t really matter, everything should be documented.

• As you can imagine this is a huge undertaking. However don’t expect it to be done quickly just expect it to be done thoroughly. Every time you document a process or procedure you save a significant amount of time the next time somebody needs to complete that task.

• This is particularly important when new team members start in your organization. However it doesn’t apply just to new team members it applies to existing staff that have been there for a while as well. Having processes and procedures documented ensures a good quality outcome for your product or service.

• Even existing team members that have been in your business for a long time need to be reminded on how to do things correctly. If your business is complex then these tools are necessary reminders to get things done to the standard you expect.

• Can you expect to be delivering a high quality standard if you don’t have any rules or documentation to follow? It simply won’t happen because people will apply their own personal standards to their jobs. Everybody is different and everybody’s standards are different and so this is where operations processes and procedures come into play.

All of your operations and processes should have quality control checklists. This ensures that the quality leaving your business is of the highest standard. Everybody misses things particularly when there is a lot of details to be captured and therefore checklist are an awesome tool to ensure that quality is met

Emergency Manual

An Emergency Manual is a definite inclusion for your Operations Manual. This type of document explains in detail what should be done should there be an emergency that impacts your business.

It includes actions and procedures to take in the event on an emergency.

Often a legislative requirements so this is a ‘must have’.

Marketing Manual

The last part of the Operations Manual is the Marketing Manual Template. Marketing can take a significant amount of resources. This manual aims to provide standard procedures and guidelines for marketing your business.

Generate more work through your marketing team with accurate guidelines. The last part of the Operations Manual is the Marketing Manual Template. Marketing can take a significant amount of resources. This manual aims to provide standard procedures and guidelines for marketing your business.

You might need additional areas for your business, however if you just start with the above, you will be well on your way to creating something of value for your organization.

Within each area there is likely to be a lot of detail. If you have particular personnel in your business that manage these areas then it would be ideal to get their input and ask them to take charge of their section.

With your guidance you will soon create a significant Operations Manual that will become an extremely useful tool that you can use daily and provide to new team members when they arrive in your business.

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Operations Manual Table of Contents – Plan Ahead

So the table of contents will help you plan your document. If you list our each section and then sub-sections you will quickly be well on your way to creating a document that is useful and relevant.

The last thing any business needs is useless paperwork that no one reads or uses. This occurs in many organization. It doesn’t have to in your business.

Just create something that is relevant, clear, easy to read and easy to update and use.

What Should be in your Table of Contents?

It will really depend on your business, how complex it is, what you produce and how it operates. However, you can pretty well assume that you will need the basics such as Vision, Finance, Operations and Marketing at the very least. Take some time to get together the main pillars of your business.

There isn’t any right or wrong way to do this. It comes down to your organization and how you want to structure it.

Operations Manual Template Table of Contents Sample

Looking for a Operations Manual Template Table of Contents Sample? Review this sample below. This is a basic operations manual outline sample for a typical business, so it may not apply to your business.

But generally, there are aspects of most businesses that are the same. Depending on how large your business is will depend on how detailed your Operations Manual is.

A really brief outline of a suitable table of contents is:

• Welcome to your business
• About the company
• History of the company
• Values
• Workplace Information
• Workplace Requirements
• Health and Safety
• Equipment
• Marketing
• Finances
• Human Resources
• Competitive Analysis – Target Market
• Safety and Emergencies
• Procedures
• Culture and Team

You may need to break your operations down into the pillars as mentioned above or just use a simple document like the table of contents below.

Either way, you should start off by setting the direction of your business with a Mission and Vision and then progress to the general details and safety requirements. Then, after that you can jump into standard procedures and detailed tasks. Finally, summarize it at the end.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Conclusion

Creating an Operations Manual is a massive task. Developing your table of contents first is highly recommended so you can plan out what you wish to include in your Operations Manual.

It really depends on the type of business you are operating. If it is relatively simple, then you won’t need overly complex information within it. However, including the basics is very important to ensure you provide structure for your team to follow.

Speak Your Mind

Got something to say or any experience with Operations Manuals? Feel free to leave a comment below.