Write It Down: How Documentation Clears Up Business Mysteries

My family were in San Francisco 10 years ago on holidays. We were staying at a hotel that had a café downstairs so each morning we all went down for breakfast before we started our day of touring. My husband will tell you that I am so boring that I tend to order the same things from the menu every time. I like to stick with what I know. So of course, every morning I ordered the same breakfast – expecting it to be the same breakfast, however to my surprise it was not.

Over 5 mornings of ordering the same meal from the same menu, I was presented with a different number of sausages, eggs, pieces of toast. I even had bacon added one morning. After the second morning I was intrigued so I just kept ordering the same meal just to see how long this could go on for. And of course, as I said, over 5 mornings I had 5 different breakfasts.  

It got me thinking about: 

• Were there different people cooking each morning? 

• Did they just have different supplies each day that they had to use up? 

• Did they have some sort of documentation on what was included in each meal or were these just made up on the fly? Well obviously they were! 

• If they did have documentation then it wasn’t being followed was it? 

Documented information can be treated as a risk treatment or control. It is required to ensure consistent output or delivery of a product or service. 

And of course, me being me, on the sixth morning, my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to speak to one of the café employees. "Excuse me," I said, "I've noticed that my breakfast has been different every morning, even though I've been ordering the same thing. Do you guys have a set recipe or guideline for what goes into each dish?" 

The young man chuckled, "Oh, not really. We kind of just go with the flow here. Each chef has their own way of doing things, you know?" 

I nodded, but couldn't help but think about how much easier it would be for them—and for customers like me—if they had documented procedures for their menu items. This way, the café could ensure consistency in what they served, leaving no room for surprises, unless they were intentionally crafted ones. 

Much like the café, businesses often underestimate the power of documented information. It's not just a formality; it can be treated as a risk treatment or control. Proper documentation is required to ensure consistent output or delivery of a product or service. Without it, you risk delivering an inconsistent experience to your customers, just like my varying breakfasts in San Francisco. When a customer expects their order to look or be a certain way and it comes out differently, it can lead to dissatisfaction and loss of trust. Gino Wickman in the book Traction, says that when documenting core processes, you should follow the 20/80 rule. That means document the 20 percent that produces 80 percent of the results. In other words, document at a high level. You should not be creating a 500 page document. The 20/80 rule gives you the highest return on your time invested. 

Once you start to document, you’re going to uncover some hidden bones. Some steps will be in place that don’t have to be. You won’t understand how the heck they ever got there in the first place. When you ask why, you’ll hear responses such as “Well, we’ve always done it that way.” 

A man was once with his wife’s family for Thanksgiving. During the preparation of the meal, he saw his wife cutting the back of a ham off before putting it in the oven. Curious, he asked her why she cut the back off the ham. She responded, “It’s tradition. It’s the way we’ve always done it in our family.” Her mother had just arrived, so he took the opportunity to go over and ask why they cut off the back of a ham. She said, “It’s tradition. It’s the way we’ve always done it.” Fortunately, his wife’s grandmother was there as well, so he went to her and asked the same question. She replied, “Once upon a time, the pan was too small, and it was the only way to get the ham to fit in the pan.”

The Triple Win: Documentation, Consistency, and Customer Satisfaction 

Clear Processes - Having documentation in place makes processes clear. This is the foundational level, establishing the "what" and "how" of operations. 

Reliable Output - Consistency ensures that the output remains the same over time. This is crucial for setting and meeting customer expectations. 

Happy Customers - Achieving customer satisfaction often depends on meeting or exceeding customer expectations, which are set by your consistent and clear outputs. 

Streamlined Operations - When you combine Documentation with Consistency, operations become more streamlined. Employees know what to do (thanks to documentation) and do it the same way each time (thanks to consistency), reducing errors and inefficiencies. 

Trust Building - Documentation and Customer Satisfaction intersect at Trust Building. When customers know that a process is documented, they are more likely to trust that the outcome will meet their expectations. This builds longer-term relationships. 

Repeat Business - Consistency and Customer Satisfaction lead to repeat business. If customers are happy with a consistent product or service, they are more likely to return, thus increasing customer retention rates. 

Business Excellence - The ultimate goal is the intersection of all three—Documentation, Consistency, and Customer Satisfaction. Achieving this trifecta results in a business operating at its peak. Documentation ensures processes are standardized; consistency ensures those processes are executed reliably, and both contribute to customer satisfaction, which is the ultimate indicator of business success. 

Interconnections: 

Clear Processes + Reliable Output = Streamlined Operations: When you know what you're supposed to do and do it the same way each time, operations are naturally more efficient. 

Clear Processes + Happy Customers = Trust Building: When customers know what to expect and those expectations are met, they are likely to trust the business more. 

Reliable Output + Happy Customers = Repeat Business: If a business can consistently make customers happy, those customers are likely to return. 

Streamlined Operations + Trust Building + Repeat Business = Business Excellence: When operations are efficient, customers are happy and keep coming back, a business is likely to be successful in the long run. 

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Your Next Steps to Success 

1. Identify your core processes
2. Document your core processes
3. Engage and communicate with workers
4. Work with an expert