Having a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place for your company is important for streamlining your processes and making your company productive. An SOP lays out the steps for various tasks so it helps to keep your team on the same page and also makes onboarding new employees easier since they can follow the steps in the SOP. Here are some tips for what components to include in your standard operating procedure.

Gathering Information

Create a list of the various tasks in your business that you want to create an SOP for. Meet with employees who are currently performing these tasks to go over the steps of how they are currently doing them so that you can document the process. If a task is done on a computer, it can be easiest to create a video recording of the task being performed on the computer.

Breaking Down the SOP

An SOP can become very long and complicated if it merges together the tasks of various departments. So break it down into sections that are relevant to different team members. For example, if you have an SOP on building a website, you might have various people working on the project, such as web designers, graphic designers, and content writers. You can create separate SOP sections for each of these team members.

Make it Easy to Read

The SOP should be easy to read and understand for all the employees that will be using it. Avoid using technical jargon that may be unfamiliar to your team. Remember that sometimes using images or video can explain a concept more easily than text, so consider incorporating them within your written SOP document. Make the SOP easily accessible to all employees who will be using it, in written or electronic formats.

Review the Procedure

Once you have your SOP completed, have employees review the sections that are relevant to them to make sure that they are easy to follow and that you haven’t left out any details. Getting your employees involved in the creation of the SOP also helps to promote teamwork.

Taking Your SOP Online

Once you have your standard operating procedure mapped out, you can add the steps of it to online software such as Trello, which will allow employees to check off steps as they complete them. In your procedure, remember to include any specific tools that you want employees to use and any safety precautions that they should take.

Revising Your Procedure

It’s a good idea to revisit your SOP from time to time to see how it can be improved and how efficiency in your business can be increased. Creating measurable metrics for your SOP will help you to accomplish this. Identify any steps that are inefficient or unnecessary and could be removed and any steps that could be enhanced. Consider whether there are any parts of the SOP that could be improved through outsourcing or automation.

For guidance on how to create a standard operating procedure for your particular organization, contact us today.