Lest we quibble over terminology here, what your boss describes would probably be considered
work instructions for specific tasks by many. Procedures are normally reserved for a process which might have multiple tasks performed by separate folks.
That said, many such tasks in insurance companies and other operations which shuffle paper or data entry key strokes are usually accompanied by a work instruction, often aided by a form which requires each data point to be entered in a rational order of when the data might be received.
For example, a pre-approval form for a non-emergency procedure might logically contain policyholder name and policy number, his contact information, the healthcare professional's name and contact info.
Next, a "bingo card" list of typical procedures plus space for a procedure not covered in the bingo list. Followed by another bingo list of justifications for the procedure.
Instructions for the organization worker would include how to deal with a form where the procedure and/or its justification fell outside the bingo list (kick up to a specialist?)
Since the point is to make the tasks as interchangeable among employees as possible (without special training), then it would seem to follow the tasks have to be as mechanical and void of special knowledge as possible, forwarding "exceptions" to someone trained to make a reasoned decision.
My understanding is most complaints by policy holders and health care providers fall into two categories -
- long delays in making routine responses
- mindless denial of benefits which denials are later reversed after lengthy appeals processes.
I presume the end goal of the boss is to reduce the lag time between start and completion of a task, most likely due to indecision or absence of a employee handling the task.
One of the fields you should explore which has a lot of advance in employees being able to handle a number of different interactions with customer and suppliers is called Customer Relationship Management (CRM)