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Polysyllabic Fog

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: If your organization has problems with people not following instructions, you need to read this article. It points out a habitual problem that can be costly to organizations in terms of lost productivity, waste, and even employee accidents.

Polysyllabic Fog

Most organizations stay in control by issuing procedures or instructions for doing tasks. These are often called Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs. Without these instructions the organization would have chaos because people would do different and sometimes incorrect things even with good intentions. Since people are often called upon to back up an ailing coworker, it is the SOPs that allow a continuity of activity with substitutes running the show.

Compliance with ISO 9000 requires organizations to police SOPs rigorously so that each worker has ready access to the correct procedures and revisions are handled properly.

SOPs are especially important where processes are in a state of flux and change often. You need a good revision control so people are aware when an SOP is outdated so they follow the most recent procedure. The computer is great for keeping track of the latest revision to SOPs so everyone in the organization knows the current information. This is critical in many areas (like health care or income tax preparation, to name just a couple).

As we go about changing procedures, it is important to keep the revisions simple and easy to digest. I recall one lady who would issue new SOPs on an almost daily basis. The problem was that her writing was lengthy and extremely difficult for people to decode. One staff member called her writing "polysyllabic fog."

The operation was not very effective because people did not take the time to wade through her SOP revisions, so people were inconsistent at following her intent. That led to many errors. She was often frustrated and would say, "...but I issued a new SOP on that process yesterday." The problem is very few workers read the thing and those who did were more confused than enlightened on how the job should be done.

It is one thing to put out complex instructions hidden in verbose text. Unfortunately, that does not accomplish the mission. What needs to be done is to prepare user friendly instructions in simple formats that people can absorb quickly during a routine day. It is also imperative to have a good roll out process for changed procedures. Employees must unlearn the old way before they can learn the new method. Often administrators just pass out procedures assuming that will get the job done. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Article Tags: Administration, compliance, ISO 9000, Leadership, procedures, SOP, trust



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