Avoiding Assumptions

Hey you guys! This is Coach Andrea, and welcome to today’s blog post. I want to talk to childcare business owners who are dealing with assumptions when it comes to their SOPs. Several of your staff members assume that you create policies and procedures out of thin air and for no apparent reason because they aren’t clear, well-written, and they aren’t written in a way to avoid staff members making assumptions.

In our previous blog post, we discovered how incorrect policies and procedures can leave staff open to making assumptions. I want to give you a few strategies on how to create logical procedures that can help you avoid assumptions when creating your standard operating procedures.

Here’s A Question For You

Is your binder really helping someone do their job? Pull out your binders. Take a look at them. Open them and look on the inside and ask yourself, are these binders really set up to help someone do their job, or is it just giving them a slight push and hoping for the best?

Let’s talk

If you had to miss work for a week or two weeks or even a month, it’s essential that your coworkers and all of your managers under you know how to step in and fill in their responsibilities as well as yours. Without a major interruption in your office or business, the only way that is possible is if they knew your standard operating procedures. In my eight-week course, Jumpstart Academy, I teach you the five simple steps to getting started in creating your standard operating procedure manuals.

Procedure Manuals

This is what a procedure manual would do for you. A true procedure manual will help save you time. You will become more efficient as a leader. The next one is a wonderful operating procedure will help you take time off knowing that your office is in good hands. Another reason why an SOP is so important is that it helps you test yourself on documenting your administrative procedures. In order for you to lessen the assumption, you must get organized and create an SOP manual that is easy for others to read and implement right away.

Explain The Logic Behind Your Policy And Procedure

One of my key points to avoiding assumptions is to be sure that you explain the logic behind your policy and procedure. When you take time to explain the logic behind your policy and procedure, it helps your team members to take action in a direction of what you’re asking them to do and it helps to perpetuate your staff culture. Culture is created when everybody understands how, why, and when certain things happen in your business. Also, who they are to your business and what role they play. That means you have to, by any means necessary, write out your SOPs clear to make sure people understand the logic behind a seemingly illogically procedure.

Let’s Talk About Some:  Hand-Washing, Potty Training, & Diaper Changing.

I bet now that our country has experienced the COVID-19 that it makes sense to them as to why hand-washing is important. Before this, I’m pretty sure that some staff who didn’t understand the logic would just diaper change and diaper change one after the other without stopping to wash their hands. Now because they have a reason to wash their hands, it makes more sense.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can write better SOPs and systems, go to www.AndreasJumpStartStartegy.com.