As an office manager you know effectively implementing new procedures is critical. New procedures are implemented to improve results and efficiency. Say there is a procedure that takes 5 steps but it can be done without doing step 2 and 4, so they are eliminated, now you are left with a 3 step procedure that gets finished at a more efficient rate. If the changes being applied are not being enforced, this new procedure will take more time and prove to be inefficient, resulting in profit loss. To help enforce new procedure, it is important for all participants to have an understanding of what the changes are and why they are necessary.

The best way to manage this transition, is to make sure the staff has a good grasp on why the old processes were inefficient, convoluted, or were difficult to manage and track. Let them know that the change should improve communication, tracking and make completing tasks easier. Make sure the processes are concise and well understood. Be sure to include staff in the process decisions, failure to do so could lead to resistance for the new method by staff entrusted to carry out the new plans.

Sometimes they have a better handle on procedures than we do. In smaller firms all staff can be included in the evaluation and review stages.
Sometimes implementation of a new workflow can be tedious. Setup and learning can make the process long and difficult, consistency is the best way to get past that learning curve. This should result in faster, easier, more efficient procedures. Make sure the software supports the processes and changes. If not maybe its time to look at new software. Remember if there are two ways to do something, consider the simpler solution.

Not only do we look at internal access, but we will need to consider external access to internet, hosted applications and portals. We will also need to decide if we want our customers to start getting confidential data from a locked down portal. Are we going to host this on our web site? Have login access from our site or use a third party portal entirely?

With the staff understanding these new procedures there should be a visible increase in productivity.