If there were one improvement that CodaBears would unilaterally recommend to its customers, it would be to update and improve System Documentation. While one or more people on staff may presently be trained to handle a process, more often than not, procedural and system knowledge exists somewhere in the vague territory of “I’ve got it in my head” and “I’ll remember when I see it.” Neither option offers the type of solution needed when that knowledgeable employee moves on to other opportunities.
Proper documentation of procedures not only ensures improved communication of company policies but also saves the organization money in terms of preventing foreseeable errors. Further, efficiency increases as seldom handled or newly assigned tasks don’t need two people for review, simply one person to pull up the documentation and then proceed.
Documentation helps maintain the integrity of an organization’s goals as well as a higher level of employee training and skill-set. Studies have shown that employees’ retained knowledge diminishes over time; documentation prevents this slippery slope from damaging an organization.
CodaBears offers standardized templates for organizations to customize, or we can send a team member on-site to develop the first round of documentation. We also offer assistance to integrate this System Documentation with the ERP software. By integrating the documentation into your system, all users have instant access to the information in the context of the ERP system. Users should not have to search through a table of contents to find help, instead, access the documentation directly in the application.