Over the years, I have come across many situations, as I’m sure you will have as well, where you just wanted to pull your hair out!

What seemed obvious to you, just simply wasn’t to others.

This can be based on a few reasons:

– Lack of understanding of the process

– Their base knowledge and understanding

– Previous experience or lack of it

This is why when writing procedures, you need to write them to the lowest common denominator, i.e., to who is going to have to read and understand them.

There is no point keeping it all high level and corporate language if an apprentice has to follow them. They have failed before they even start.

When writing the procedures if the thought of “oh that’s obvious” or “surely they must know that” ever comes into your head, then you have not written them with enough detail.

A good tip is to get someone NOT from the industry or the business, to have a read of them. If they understand it and there are no missing parts, then it’s a good procedure from that perspective.

If it’s disjointed and doesn’t flow or they get stuck when reading, then you have missed parts off.

Procedures above all must make sense and improve things. Not ask more questions than provide answers.