Writing a Novel Instead of a Protocol

I just reviewed a comprehensive 70-page funeral planning protocol. But it was not user friendly if you are from another agency. If an officer was just assigned to be the funeral coordinator for a line-of-duty death by their agency and pulled this protocol out of the files they would quickly discover that it would be a difficult job to adapt this protocol to their needs. Why? Because neither the size of the department, nor the structure, nor the resources, nor the services available were the same. Additionally, it had too much information. Two serious things occur when agencies try to adapt another agency’s protocol for their use, merely by making a copy and putting it on file.

First, the agency’s management took another agency’s protocol and believed it would suffice should a death occur within their agency without any critical evaluation. One agency I worked with took a neighbor’s protocol and merely changed the wording from deputy to officer. That’s all. Agencies need to understand that there is no universal one size fits all protocol.

Second, the size was overwhelming. It devoted page after page on non-critical tasks that could be easily learned by other means. I don’t need to have 3-pages telling me how to fold the flag. I don’t need six pages of benefit programs defined. I can learn these things from other resources. Are these issues important? Yes, but when I’m faced with responding to a death I need to know what to do, not necessarily how.

I propose that protocols be user friendly and by this I mean telling the funeral coordinator what needs to be done, by whom, when, and why. List things to do with bullet points, phrases, topics, tasks, to-do lists, checklists, etc. and tell them what to do or think about or be aware of. Everything doesn’t have to be shall do or shall not do. There are numerous things to think about, evaluate, consider, and modify. I would rather have a long list of “food for thought” then a short list of things to do.

I prefer the manual telling me what, when, who and why supported by a comprehensive resource book telling me how. I try to keep it like a police report; accurate, brief, complete.

Another protocol I reviewed started off, on the first page, with the title “First 24 Hours.” It listed 15 topics dealing with notifications and family issues. Ten of those topics dealt with government and union notifications. Yes, those notifications are important and have to be made in a timely fashion, but if I am tasked with being the funeral coordinator, there are a lot more important things I need to be aware of in the opening page of a protocol. Reminding me to implement an agency’s General Order about whom to notify when a death occurs may suffice. Putting the list on the appropriate checklist may suffice.

Here was just the opposite of the 70 page protocol. It took my recommended “brief” concept but ignored the parts about being “accurate and complete.” This one offered minimal information to the extreme.

So there can be too much information and there can be not enough information. Either way, it is not user friendly. What will it take for your agency’s funeral protocol or manual or guide to be “user friendly?”

Plan now, know now.

By John Cooley