Reimagining Operations Manuals...It's More than a Notion!

With only a few months left until the end of 2021, now is a great time to create or update your operations manual so your company can start 2022 successfully.

Operations Manual 2.0

The above is a picture of the original set of operations manuals for Equilibria, Inc. There’s a color-coded binder for each service offering filled with step-by-step procedures, templates, and checklists.

When I first assembled this in 2006, it did exactly what it was supposed to do – it standardized work. Having these manuals shaved hours off the project preparation process.

It was great. And it worked well until one day, it didn’t.

As we started expanding our services and traveling to companies outside of Atlanta, the need to digitize these manuals became evident.

That’s where Dropbox and Google Drive proved to be viable, cloud-based solutions.

Now, our team had a higher level of transparency and could access information from any device. Digitizing the operations manuals also saved physical space.

However, both Dropbox and Google Drive have navigation limitations as information can easily be buried in nested folders. And conducting a search does not always quickly yield the information you’re looking for.

As my team expanded in 2020, so did the challenges with both systems. Synchronization issues with Google Drive and an eventual upgrade to Dropbox for Business ended up being nightmares.

By the beginning of 2021, Greg Brown, our Web Administrator, suggested we try Notion.

And we did. Ten months later…

The Verdict is in - We ? Notion!

Notion is a knowledgebase tool. Specifically, it’s a visual, cloud-based software designed to give you and your team an all-in-one workspace through its wiki, database, and project management features.?

In the above image, note the “workspaces” to the left. Each corresponds to a department at Equilibria with the information our team needs to perform their work.

What was intended to augment Google Drive and Dropbox, has essentially replaced them.

With Notion You Can Also:

• Integrate with over 200 apps,
• Assign certain access privileges to different people,?
• Use templates to start building your pages,
• Create and store tables, processes, checklists, images, and
• Make certain pages private or public.

Check out my media page – created in Notion in less than 10 minutes!

Notion makes Operations Manuals come to life through links (instead of nested folders), real-time collaboration and synchronization, and visualization.

Combined, these benefits have streamlined our workflows, freeing up time and space for more revenue-generating activities.?

Operational Excellence is More Than a Notion

Our ability to operate our companies profitably and sustainably is only as good as our willingness to embrace change. Adopting a mindset and culture of continuous improvement ensures you select the right people, processes, and tools to expand your company's capacity and operate at maximum efficiency.

Give your team the ability to improve their performance and transform the way your company operates with a diversified approach for sharing processes.??

Try Notion. Sign up for a free trial, and if you want to brainstorm ideas for organizing and setting it up for your company, then sign up for a free discovery call with us today!

Let's revolutionize the way your company operates starting with reimagining your operations manuals!

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Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc., an operations management consulting firm that builds scale-ready business infrastructure for fast-growing small businesses. Connect with her here on LinkedIn for daily tips on operational excellence, process improvement, and business infrastructure.