FAQ

What is the difference between policies, processes, and procedures?

The differences between policies, processes, and procedures lie in the level of detail.

• A policy is a set of company guidelines.
• A process is a high-level set of actions that must happen to ensure compliance with the policy.
• A procedure is a specific, detailed series of tasks that must happen to implement the process and comply with the policy.

How can I make my office more efficient?

When you develop and publish business processes, you eliminate wasted energy, create clear expectations, and shorten the learning curve of temporary and new employees while also relieving much of the training burden from the rest of your team. See a case study.

What is the best way to onboard new employees?

The best way to onboard your new employees is to have a library of documented processes. The first step in their training should be to read through your processes as doing so will eliminate new employee confusion and provide consistent, clear information.

How does a business owner ensure every employee is performing at peak level?

Being able to provide written processes is the easiest, most consistent way of ensuring everyone in your organization is performing at a peak level. Nothing is more frustrating for owners or employees than not delivering their best work. Often the challenge isn’t performance, it’s understanding expectations. When employees are left to figure out how to perform their job, everyone gets conflicting messages about expectations and no one is happy. Written processes fix this.

What is the best way to tackle the task of process documentation?

The best way to tackle the task of process documentation is to utilize a trained observer. The action of converting practices into processes lies in objective observation. It is common for the person who routinely performs the practices to miss key elements when attempting to document activities because as they say, “you can’t see the label when you’re inside the jar.” To ensure each task is documented accurately, it’s best to engage an observer to shadow your employees. This allows for open communication between the task performer and the writer so nothing gets overlooked or lost in the documentation.

Why are business processes so important?

Business processes are important because most employees truly want to delight the boss. The difficulty lies in the fact that companies develop customized practices over time and these practices are often “owned” by one person. The practices become the culture and heartbeat of the organization but remain unclear to everyone aside from the practice owner. This leaves everyone, including you, the boss, frustrated by the lack of cross-training. No critical practice should be left undocumented — they should all be converted into published business processes.

How do documented business processes reduce costs?

Having streamlined business processes makes your business more efficient, which significantly reduces costs. When businesses start, all activities take time and energy – thus cost. Every minute that one of your employees spends figuring out how to accomplish a task is a minute they can’t do something more valuable to your organization. When your business invests energy into documenting processes, your employees can spend less time on redundant tasks and more time working with clients, vendors, and partners.

What problems can you solve for my organization?

We identify inefficiencies, fill gaps, and calm chaos so you’re equipped to maximize profitability.

How can Profit Panda improve my employee morale?

By providing structure and guiding principles for job functions, your employees will have a clear understanding of your expectations and a straightforward way to measure their contribution to your workplace on a daily basis, while allowing you to accomplish key goals faster.

How can I hire people when I have no time to train them?

The idea of having to take time out of your busy day to train employees no doubt gets in the way of your hiring the right people in the right place and the right time. With the workflows and processes in place, new employees are able to contribute to your company from day one.

How do I ensure seamless inter-departmental communication?

Often individual departments perform well within their own capabilities; however, when they pass the baton to the next department, critical problems often present themselves and create utter chaos within your organization. The structures we create and processes and systems we develop significantly minimize risks and make inter-departmental handoffs seamless.

What size companies do you work with?

We work with startups that need help developing guiding principles, as well as micro-businesses with 5-10 employees that need help establishing processes and systems that optimize performance. Our sweet spot is supporting companies with 15+ employees that are tired of wasting time, energy, and money putting out fires on a daily basis.

How long does it take to see results from your work?

We serve you in three progressive process development phases. The amount of time to generate results depends heavily on the complexity of your business; however, Phase one usually takes 90-120 days, while Phases two and three often take 6-12 months each.

Do you specialize in any particular industries?

We love working with minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as companies operating in the sports and entertainment space. Most of our clients provide creative services including:

• production
• design
• marketing
• photography/film
• art
• decor
• entertainment

How much will your services cost me?

Process Panda offers different pricing levels to ensure all types of businesses have the opportunity to improve their processes. We offer time log evaluations with CEOs/Business owners and paid services starting as low as $297. Schedule an appointment to get an exact quote.