A key asset for any field service business is the operations manual. This ever-evolving document contains in-depth details about the systems, procedures, and requirements all employees must know for day-to-day operations. Business operations manuals are valuable to the HVAC industry for guiding techs in handling numerous systems and situations. This step-by-step guide will help you organize an HVAC business operations manual.
What Is a Business Operations Manual?
Also referred to as a franchise operations manual, a business operations manual is a comprehensive resource with instructions for standard operating procedures. It may include information about systems, marketing requirements, and how to handle relationships with suppliers and other stakeholders.
Business operations manuals are foundational for the HVAC company as it grows. As systems and processes evolve, business owners and other authorized personnel revise the manual to communicate new guidelines for employees to follow.
Like other organizations, HVAC businesses comprise multiple departments. Some companies have a general operations manual for all team members and separate manuals for the customer service department, marketing department, and so on.
Before you plan operations for individual departments, it is essential to understand which phase your HVAC business is currently in.
Why Is the Business Operations Manual Important?
The main reason HVAC contractors need business operations manuals is to provide teams with a resource for operational standards as the company grows. As your business scales, processes are sure to change to some degree. It’s not possible to personally guide each tech and office staff member through every change, and this is where a manual comes in handy. It gives employees clear instructions for handling tasks and may even explain how to troubleshoot common issues.
Consider some of the following benefits of business operations manuals for HVAC service businesses:
- Boosts efficiency: Alleviates confusion about how to proceed with daily operations and reduces the likelihood of errors
- Facilitates standardization: Prevents employees from making up solutions on the fly by providing standardized steps for handling different tasks
- Establishes accountability: Details which employees are responsible for which tasks, increasing accountability when problems arise
- Empowers successful scalability: Contains all the information you need to efficiently update steps for processes instead of creating new internal documents every time
- Acclimates new hires to your internal processes and standards: Provides a trusted resource for new employees to refer to as they learn how to complete assignments
What to Include in an HVAC Operations Manual
The key word with business operations manuals is comprehensive. While you can’t prepare for every situation, the manual should include every process, procedure, and standard.
To start, create an introduction that gives a comprehensive overview of the business. This can include the organization’s history, mission, and core values. Next, you can dive into the company’s organizational structure. Detail the key employers at each level of the business hierarchy and their job descriptions.
The bulk of the business operations manual will cover daily procedures. For HVAC companies, this includes scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and inventory management, among others. It will explain work policies for carrying out tasks and handling HVAC systems, as well as emergency response procedures with detailed instructions on how to react during emergencies.
Other sections of the operations manual will cover processes and standards for specific aspects of the business. This includes:
- HVACR products, services, service agreements, warranties, and pricing
- Systems, software, equipment, and other technology for completing tasks, plus information for maintaining and troubleshooting
- Guidelines on marketing and advertising activities
- Overview of human resources functions, such as training, compensation, and employee policies
- Reporting policies, such as those for financial and compliance documentation
- Standards for customer service calls and other customer interactions
- Payment processing rules, such as acceptable forms of payment (cash, check, credit card)
The business operations manual should also be formatted for easy navigation. Including a table of contents can help employees pinpoint the topic they need quickly. The back of the manual is where contact information should go. This includes all personnel, from business owners to human resources managers, so employees can easily locate the person they need for questions or reporting.
Steps for Creating an HVAC Business Operations Manual
Developing a business operations manual is a big task, but with the right approach, you can ensure it serves your business for years. Follow these steps as you begin:
Set Your Goals
What is the purpose of creating the manual? Whatever the reason, determining the overarching goal of the manual will give you direction and focus as you draft the document.
Maintain a Logical Flow
Most business operations manuals will be extensive. A logical structure will ensure the document is digestible and resolves confusion instead of compounding it. A great strategy is to start with a homepage that gives an overview of what readers can expect from the rest of the manual. Breaking up content into shorter paragraphs and using bulleted lists are two other great ways to make the document easier to read.
Convey Brand Identity
Brand identity will most likely come up in the marketing and advertising section, but it’s relevant for the entire manual. It includes your logo, tagline, color schemes, and related elements. The manual should discuss how employees should use the brand identity with all efforts, from crafting marketing campaigns to designing branded products to devising maintenance agreements.
Add Engaging Design Elements
Graphic elements are great for explaining processes as many people are visual learners. These include diagrams, flow charts, and process maps. Images also provide examples of processes in action. Consider researching templates for inspiration.
Make It a Collaborative Effort
As a comprehensive document, your business operations manual demands input from all departments. You may want to assemble a team of employees from each department to draft the manual, assigning specific roles to each person. Since team members complete daily tasks, no one is better positioned to create accurate, meaningful content for your manual.
Submit the Manual to Rigorous Review
Your business operations manual is designed to help you deliver more profitable services. Therefore, it should be error-free. To ensure the document is without flaws, subject it to a review process. Multiple people should look at the manual before it’s published to increase its reliability. This helps confirm the document leads to a better understanding of processes and standards.
Enhance the Efficiency of Your HVAC Business
Whether you own a startup HVAC business and are looking to scale or a small business and want to eliminate operational inefficiencies, an HVAC business operations manual offers a great place to start. In addition to your manual, you may consider field service management software to maintain organization within your HVAC company.
There are many FSM software solutions, but the best is one designed specifically to meet your needs. At Sera, we offer FSM software for residential contractors in the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical industries. Our software is built on four principles essential to greater efficiency for small and medium-sized service businesses.
Take your business to the next level with software that leads to increased employee retention, better customer satisfaction, and stronger cash flow.
Contact us today for resources about HVAC business operations or schedule a 15-minute discovery call about our field service management software.
