One of our local employers was on the front page of the Monadnock Ledger last week regarding a $400,000 settlement with OSHA for worker safety violations. Ouch! They not only have to pay the fines, but they also must take corrective actions & improve the safety of their workplaces for all of their employees. They have agreed to get a full time safety &...
The Soul of Good Instructions
Submitted by TWP on Sat 9/11/10 3:18 pm
When clients of technical companies email for help in using products and services, the response is often handled by whichever staff member happens to be free at that moment. As a result, two clients who ask the same question receive wildly different answers. Important steps may be omitted. If the client needs more help, the next staff member to respond has to figure out first how to untangle someone else's mess. There is a solution: standard instructions that are kept in an accessible directory and can be attached to or embedded in any email.
The one thing you don't want to do is create a standard out of bad instructions. So what makes for a good set of instructions?
1. Start with a sentence or two explaining the objective of the instructions and the result to be achieved (fix this, adjust that, remove the other).
2. List safety precautions and pre-requisites before starting the instructions. Make sure you tell the client whether equipment should be turned on or off or certain tools are needed or certain skills are assumed.
3. Write in short steps as in this example, rather than long paragraphs. Clients inevitably feel overwhelmed by paragraphs of text but will move from step 1 to step 101 with a sense of security and control.
4. Wherever possible, substitute pictures, screen shots, tables and graphs for words. For example, if multiple actions are possible at a step, create a table where one column is labeled "If you do this" and the next column is labeled "This will result."
5. At critical steps, let the client know the signs of a procedure gone wrong, and what to do to get out of trouble.
6. When the instructions are complete, set them aside for a day. Then go back and attempt to complete the procedure using only the instructions as written. If you catch yourself performing a step that isn't written down, add it to the procedure. Clients can't read minds.
7. Go through the instructions one more time, making as many mistakes as you can. Find out the worst that can happen and make sure clients are alerted--or your instructions are changed.
8. When the instructions are as clear, accurate and thorough as possible, save them in your instruction directory.
You'll drastically cut the time your staff spends responding to queries; you'll eliminate most call backs; and you'll see a sharp increase in client satisfaction. For more advice on writing great instructions, contact me through my website (www.twriteplus.com).