Developing Property Management Procedures Glenda Steffenhagen, CPPM, CF

Definitions Policy : – A plan or course of action, as of a government, political party, or business, intended to influence and determine decisions, actions, and other matters: American foreign policy; the company's personnel policy. West’s Encyclopedia of American Law (Full Article) from Answers.com 4/15/09 – Generally passive voice using will, shall or must. – Tells who, what, where, when and possibly why – Does not tell how

Definitions Procedure : – A procedure is a specified series of actions, acts or operations which have to be executed in the same manner in order to always obtain the same result under the same circumstances. To document these series of actions into a document is the development of a procedure. A written Procedure will indicate a sequence of activities, tasks, steps, decisions, calculations and processes, that when undertaken in the sequence laid down produces the described result, product or outcome. – Uses active, imperative voice. – Does not tell why.

General Steps in Procedure Development Define scope Develop flowchart, if needed Document (write) steps Responsible person test steps Outside person test steps Refine Publish

Define Scope Determine layout of manual or procedures – Life cycle of property – Various activities – By work group Possible layouts – General to specific – Sequential What is audience?

Developing Flowcharts Initial start – brain storm, walk existing process Use sticky notes or whiteboard Normally yes or no decision, but initially can be any type of question Flowcharts can loop back and forth – Need to consider all of the exceptions – Good tool for discovering weaknesses in process

Developing Flowcharts – Example steps General receiving process – Verify the shipment and accept from the carrier – Open packages – Bring property on record and deliver to end user Additional steps/questions – Document apparent damage – Document internal damage – What if there are discrepancies between the packing slip and the contents?

Flowchart Styles Sequential By Responsible area Verify Shipment Document Damage Quality Inspection Verify Shipment Document Damage Quality Inspection Receiving Quality Transportation Establish Record Deliver to Stores Establish Record Deliver to Stores

General Rules Do not use names – Use department or position name Keep steps short – Do not write paragraph narratives Who is Joe Blow? I think his name was on a document from 1995

General Rules Be consistent in nomenclature – Use same terminology in procedure that user will see in process – Make all references to an item or step the same Use illustrations as much as practical – – “A picture says a thousand words”

General Rules Make it easy to understand Avoid words ending in “ion” Use active tense/action words – Access xxx program or system – Create – Update – Review – Receive – Enter

General Rules Spell acronyms out the first time they are used Place conditions at beginning of step Include for each step – Who performs action? – What action is to be performed? – How is action performed?

General Procedures May list end results or outcomes Can be developed from flowchart – Suggested format: Outline Form – Arrangement: Sequential By Responsible area

Detailed Procedures Desktop procedures – More detailed on steps to be taken. Example: General procedures – At contract closeout, all property will be dispositioned per government direction. Desktop procedures – At contract closeout the following steps will be taken. » Review all systems for residual property » If property exists, screen internally » Request transfer for property or submit for plant clearance

Detailed Procedures Normally a frequent process by an individual Write steps as you perform process When writing steps determine who will be using procedure… – Will user be familiar with systems and references within the steps? When complete, try to perform action yourself and then have another employee process the task with the steps you have written.

Appendixes or Appendices Definitions Acronyms Memorandum of Agreements Forms Reference Materials Flow charts

Wrapping Up Now that the procedures are written, double check that the procedures produce outcomes as defined by: – The FAR clauses – Corporate/Entity policies – Any applicable regulations

Summary Definitions – Policy vs General Procedure vs Detailed Procedures General steps in procedure development – Scope, flowchart, write steps, test yourself, someone else test, refine, publish Test procedures against desired corporate/entity/regulatory outcomes

Wrapping Up This is a high level summary of the class offered by NPMA The class includes – Practice exercises – Examples – More in-depth discussions of procedure scopes, writing styles and writing suggestions – Various format presentations with the pros and cons – Discussion of the “RASI” (Responsible/Accountable/Support/Information) Chart – How to write procedures for computer processes – Detailed discussion of the FAR outcomes