Getting started on your operator's manual

Welcome to GoHandbooks! 

Our platform is designed to act as your organization's operator's manual which will streamline your operations, enhance onboarding, and facilitate succession planning.

Three Key Purposes of GoHandbooks

  1. Improve Operations: Use GoHandbooks to document step-by-step instructions and checklists for your team's daily processes. This ensures consistency, reduces errors, and improves quality through collaborative updates.
  2. Onboard New Team Members: New hires can quickly get up to speed by exploring your organization's Profile, Guidelines, and Team sections, making their transition smoother and faster.
  3. Succession Planning: Create a comprehensive operator's manual for your organization, ensuring continuity and smooth transitions when new leadership takes over.

We know that documentation can be daunting but it's not as painful as you think! There are many ways to make the whole process easier. By getting your team members involved and engaged you can integrate this practice into your daily operations which will foster continuous improvement.

Choose one of these approaches to get started!

Approach 1: Start with 1 or 2 processes you do most often

  1. Begin by crafting your 'About' section and adding essential details and values of your organization. This step is crucial as it provides context for all users and sets a professional tone.
  2. Next, organize your content into 'Books' to categorize your pages effectively. You can structure these Books in various ways such as by department, best practices, quick reference, or projects.
  3. After organizing, create your pages by utilizing the documented processes you already have. Simply copy and paste these documents into the Gohandbooks editor. Take this opportunity to review and update your processes to ensure they are current and easy to follow.
  4. Encourage collaboration by involving other team members. Invite them to contribute their own processes. This teamwork approach will empower your team and ensure that critical information is thoroughly covered.

Approach 2: Top down

Here’s how you can start leveraging GoHandbooks to its fullest potential and maximize your experience, follow these steps:

Step 1: Update Your Profile

Fill in Your Organization’s Profile: Start by updating the profile section with basic information about your organization. This provides context for all users and sets a professional tone.

Step 2: Publish Your Policies

Upload and Publish Policies: Upload and publish your organization's policies. This ensures that all team members have easy access to important guidelines and procedures.

Step 3: Invite Team Members

Add Team Members: Invite your team members to join GoHandbooks. This collaborative environment allows everyone to contribute and benefit from the documented processes.

Step 4: Create Your First Handbook

  1. Identify Key Processes: Start by identifying 1 to 3 frequently repeated processes within your team.
  2. Document Processes: Create a handbook and the individual pages for each of those processes. We recommend starting with "Operations" as your first handbook.
  3. Follow Best Practices: Incorporate our handbook best practices to ensure clarity and effectiveness. This sets a strong foundation for future handbooks.

Step 5: Use the Browser Plugin

  1. Install the Plugin: Install our proprietary browser plugin. This tool allows you to access and reference handbooks directly from your browser.
  2. Test It Out: Try out the plugin to see how it enhances accessibility and efficiency.

Step 6: Encourage Team Collaboration

  1. Review and Contribute: Get your team members to review the handbooks and contribute their insights. Encourage them to update the handbooks as they find areas for improvement.
  2. Utilize Handbooks Daily: Ensure that team members refer to the handbooks while working. Bookmarking these pages and using the browser plugin can help with quick access.

Step 7: Expand and Improve

  1. Gain Traction: As you gain traction with a few handbooks, continue to document more processes.
  2. Iterate and Improve: Regularly update and refine the handbooks based on feedback and new insights.

Ongoing Management

  1. Monitor Usage: Keep an eye on how often the handbooks are being used and updated. This helps identify which processes might need more attention.
  2. Gather Feedback: Collect feedback from your team to continually improve the content and structure of your handbooks.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating a robust, user-friendly repository of operational knowledge that can help your organization thrive.

Welcome aboard, and happy handbook creating!