One of the most important steps a business owner can take is to develop procedures and checklists from the start. Any repeatable task should be standardized by writing down the actions taken to complete the job in the future. It is not just a question of controlling quality, although that is one benefit. It is really a foundational aspect of your business that also creates security and continuity in many ways. Below, we discuss how we utilize processes at Taylor Financial Group (TFG) and how building out these procedures helps a firm.
1. Will this task be done more than once?
Figure out your repetitive tasks and develop structure around them so you get the same quality of service every time. When I started my business 20 years ago, I started building out my business procedures. As time went on and our company evolved, so did our processes.
Systems are essential at any time for a business, but they were especially important during Covid-19 when we transitioned to working remotely. We had several junior team members and we needed to make sure our junior team was thorough in their approach to tasks and projects. And also that they were sharing information. The only way to do that was to build out pandemic-specific procedures and checklists for the team to follow. Of course we had many procedures in place already but they were designed for all of us to be on site, so we needed to build a full manual and make sure that we adequately documented every repeatable task.
When we went remote in early March 2020, the administrative team members worked with the finance team members to develop a procedure for every project our firm worked on. We had each person ask themselves, “Will I work on this project more than once?” Here is our rule, plain and simple: If this item happens more than once, it needs a procedure or checklist.
Each team member reviewed their work flow and repeatable tasks and created a list of procedures and checklists. In a few weeks, we had everything built out. We then organized all of the documents into a procedure manual, where everyone could look up the type of procedure they needed and find it. We utilize Asana for our interactive checklists; Egnyte, a cloud-based storage software, stores our procedures in a word document.
The categories include:
- Office administration: HR items
- Marketing: PowerPoint, email and blog guidelines, client appreciation, webinars, speaking engagements, client gifts
- Prospects: discovery meetings, proposals, investment recommendations
- Existing/new client: client administration, client meetings, client emails
- Wealth match: financial planning
- Insurance/tax planning
Below we share our procedure manual table of contents.
Figure 1: Table of Contents to Our Procedure Manual
Source: Taylor Financial Group
2. Always room for improvement
Of course, these are living and breathing documents. After each project, I debrief with my team and discuss what went wrong and what we can change for the future to improve our efficiency and the client experience. There are often one or two items we change in a procedure or checklist. A process should always be evolving; ongoing review of the steps it takes to complete a task will only make each subsequent performance of the task more efficient.
3. Strong procedures help with training and personnel transitions
In 2020, our business grew by 30%. We were inundated with prospect phone calls and discovery appointments and needed to add to our team to keep up with the work. We added three full-time employees to our team and trained them by using the procedures and checklists in place. When we onboard a new employee, we introduce them to the “TFG Way,” which requires a relentless focus on the client and quality.
Getting the new team member to understand our firm’s expectations is made easier by showing them the procedures and checklists in place for the tasks they will be responsible for. Creating clear expectations for the new team member is essential in getting them up and running quickly and working independently. The checklists and procedures also create efficiency, as I don’t need to check on every single project to make sure team members are completing all steps. I am free to work on higher-level tasks such as business development.
4. Strong procedures allow you to properly engage with prospects and onboard new clients
A written procedure also ensures that you don’t have uneven quality regarding the client experience. We have developed a lead-to-prospect-to-client workflow that we follow from the moment our phone rings and the person on the other end is asking to set up a consultation. This document ensures that my team follows each step in a logical order and makes sure every aspect of the discovery meeting, proposal and implementation process, and onboarding is happening correctly and on time.
We take time to develop a prospect into a client and we want to continue this experience throughout a client’s time at our firm. You should continuously be selling and demonstrating value to your client, and this workflow helps ensure that nothing is falling through the cracks as your relationship with your new prospect matures. We include a sample of this workflow below for reference:
Figure 2: Our Lead-to-Prospect-to-Client Workflow
Source: Taylor Financial Group
5. Documented procedures let you control your firm’s future
A few years ago, I had a smaller team working for me. At one point, the only members of TFG were me and one other employee, who had a hand in all aspects of my business. This person did not document most of the tasks they were working on, so a power struggle began. The employee would ask for a bonus, then a raise, and keep asking, even without progress being made in their work or helping move the company forward.
I became dependent on this employee because they knew how to complete projects, but with nothing written down, I could not let them go and move on to a new employee. They had me over a barrel because there were no procedures in place. Eventually I started getting my systems in place, brought on new team members, and was able to move on from this former employee.
I learned a big lesson when I didn’t pay enough attention to making sure procedures were in place for every aspect of my firm. Since then, we make it a point to review our entire procedure manual quarterly and make sure everything is in order, so our hands are never tied again.
These documents will provide efficiency, transparency and sanity, while facilitating the opportunity to grow your firm. They protect you and your firm and ensure consistent quality and predictability. Taking the time to develop a complete procedure manual for your practice will provide peace of mind and enhance every aspect of your business.