If there’s one thing nonprofit marketers could use more of, it is likely time and resources. Working with multiple social impact organizations, I constantly search for ways to optimize both and increase overall nonprofit productivity. During my journey, I have discovered the benefits of systematizing processes.
Words like these are not naturally attractive to us right-brained thinkers. Policies, protocols, standard operating procedures (SOPs), guidelines, documentation, and workflows all give an initial feeling of boring rigidity. The idea of sitting around and mapping out every step of a process or workflow for someone else to follow, isn’t my idea of creative progress. But over time, I’ve learned the many benefits that result from these concepts.
Why Nonprofit Productivity Matters
An intentional focus on nonprofit productivity is helpful if you’re looking to maximize mission output. Efficient use of time and resources ensures that more efforts go towards achieving your mission. We cover this concept a lot at the Nonprofit Marketing Guide including how to do this while remaining Calm, Not Busy. By implementing things like SOPs and other productivity tools, nonprofit organizations can streamline processes, reduce errors, and enhance overall productivity.
How many times have you found yourself onboarding a new staff member or walking a colleague through a necessary process? Or perhaps covering for a teammate who’s suddenly gone out, trying to pick up the pieces where they left off? Frequently, these involve recurring processes or campaigns that would benefit from being cataloged for easy future reference. There’s typically a set way of going about these processes or campaigns that has to be shared time and time again.
The Role of SOPs and Other Tools
This is where the “boring rigidity” of documentation, standard operating procedures, and guidelines come in. They help save us time and frustration by eliminating the need to redo, re-teach, or remember how to perform a necessary task or process accurately. The idea is to take the time to catalog it once so that anyone who might need to can reference and follow the process moving forward in the right way.
Being able to move our ideas, teams, and organizations forward relies on our ability to organize and communicate clearly and seamlessly. It also means doing so in the most efficient ways possible. SOPs, project management tools, and automation software help with consistency and quality control. They ensure the same level of service or outcome each time.
Furthermore, we have a duty to our teams, donors, and those we serve to keep the mission moving forward. Implementing productivity concepts like SOPs and automation tools helps ensure business continuity. They allow an organization to continue its essential functions despite significant changes. This is something we should all be invested in.
Key Concepts and Tools
Here’s a quick breakdown of some of these time-saving and business continuity concepts.
- Workflows are visual representations of the sequence of steps in a process.
- Processes are a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular end.
- Policies are principles or rules to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes.
- Procedures are specific methods or steps for performing tasks or activities.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are written instructions with loads of detail that achieve uniformity in performing a specific function.
- Automation Tools are software that performs tasks automatically to reduce manual effort, such as email marketing automation.
- Systematization is arranging something according to a system or plan.
Get Started
I like to start by cataloging the most critical processes and tasks. Focus on those that impact our primary functions the most, such as managing brand reputation, donor and donation management, and other stakeholder engagement and communication. Here is a sampling of specific areas or processes you can start with:
- Create a SOP in detail for how log, process, and acknowledge donations.
- Develop guidelines for creating, scheduling, and monitoring posts on various platforms.
- Document each step involved in planning and executing events, including timelines and key responsibilities.
- Outline the process for recruiting, training, and integrating new volunteers into your organization.
- Specify the steps for researching, writing, and submitting grant applications, including necessary approvals and follow-up.
Implementing SOPs and Tools for Enhanced Productivity
There are several platforms and companies that can support the development of workflow mapping and SOP documentation. However, you can also start simply with screenshots and step-by-step instructions documented in Microsoft Word or your favorite word processing application. If you want to get more visual, you can also screencast and record your processes via Loom, PowerPoint, or other platforms. Whatever you use, just be sure that you are cataloging the most critical steps and doing so in an easy-to-follow way. Before you finalize it, it is always helpful to have someone else test, follow, or read through your procedure, workflow, or policy for clarity.
Systematization for the Win
Training and operations manuals, handbooks, and training videos may not be things we look forward to creating or following, but they are all useful in our desire to keep our work moving forward efficiently and effectively. By investing time in systematizing our processes and leveraging nonprofit productivity tools, we ensure our missions stay on track and our organizations thrive.
If you are looking for more ways to maximize output and work smarter not harder, check out 8 Productivity Hacks you Might Want to Try
And if you need a pulse check on if you are already doing to much, definitely review our bit on Toxic Productivity!
Finally if you want to chat about this topic and more with your fellow nonprofit communicators, join our FREE private community.
