How to Write a Standard Operating

Procedure [Step-by-Step Instruction]

What Is a Standard Operating Procedure?
A standard operating procedure is a written document that contains a set of instructions for a
given task.
This document makes the procedure clear for everyone responsible for the task and ensures
that the company respects the industry norms and regulations.
A standard operating procedure document can be a great help to employees and guide them
through the steps they need to take to complete a job. Moreover, since the SOP contains
everything they need to know, from their roles and responsibilities to the procedures and the
equipment needed, team members won’t waste time with countless questions about the task at
hand.

The Importance of Creating a Standard Operating

Procedure
As mentioned already, standard operating procedures can help you streamline your day-to-
day operations and enable employees to improve their performance and productivity. This
document shows employees what their roles are, how to do their jobs properly, and what best
practices they can employ to achieve the best results.

Instead of constantly referring to their managers with follow-up questions or making things
up as they go along, team members can refer to the standard operating procedure to ensure
they are doing the correct thing. This reduces potential errors and downtime and improves
processes significantly.

Here’s an example: imagine that a company created an SOP about the proper steps for
creating and filing reports. This document includes all the information that the responsible
team member must include in the report, who signs it, and so on. With a standard operating
procedure in place, your employees are more likely to create comprehensive reports that
don’t miss any relevant information and aren’t sent back because they are incomplete.

Writing standard operating procedures requires more than just defining a set of instructions
for your employees to follow. For an SOP to be effective, you need to consider the scope of
the document, the target audience, the tasks and situations you are going to cover and the
format and writing style.

Moreover, you need to understand that you can’t create an SOP and then forget about it for
the rest of your company’s life. Business evolves, and as it does, new operations evolve and
new steps are needed. You must update your standard operating procedure constantly to
ensure it keeps pace with all the important changes in your company.

Part 2
Best Practices to Create Effective Standard Operating
Procedures
 Establish the Scope and Purpose of the SOP

First things first: understand why you are creating a standard operating procedure and how
this document can help your company. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why do I need to create a standard operating procedure?

Maybe you want to help your employees do their jobs better than they are right now
or reduce their reliance on the department managers.
2. What problem(s) will the SOP solve?
Depending on the issue you are trying to address, an SOP could help improve
performance or prevent incidents and so on.
3. Which areas will benefit from the SOP?
Mention everything, from the department, area, process, and so on. If you think it
would benefit the company, then you should state which areas the SOP doesn’t apply
to.
4. Who is the target audience of the SOP?
Mention every job role that may benefit from these instructions.
5. Are there any limitations or exceptions you need to address?
If the answer is yes, then you should mention them in the SOP and give appropriate
instructions for each situation.

 Understand Who Your Audience Is

A standard operating procedure that your employees can’t follow or understand won’t do
your company any good. Unfortunately, most managers don’t consider their audience when
creating SOPs and often end up with useless documents that just waste everybody’s time.

To avoid such situations, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What Do Your Team Members Need from the SOP?

Try to understand that the team members of a department may have different needs
and expectations from the standard operating procedure. The team’s leader, for
example, may be interested in how to delegate tasks effectively while the employees
might want to learn what steps they should take in case of an incident.

2. Do They Have the Same Skills?

If you are a modern organization, then you probably have employees with different
cultural and professional backgrounds. Take this fact into account when creating a
SOP and make sure to include images and easy-to-understand instructions.

3. Do They Have Different Knowledge Levels?

It’s very likely that your employees don’t have the same knowledge level. Some of
them may have more information, some may have more experience than others.
 Regardless, you need to ensure that your SOP targets every possible need. Just
because something seems obvious to you doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s obvious to
your team members as well. Try to think of all the possible questions and problems
that may arise and include them in the document.

 Collect the Information You Need for Creating the SOP

One of the most important things is that the person that identified the need for a standard
operating procedure doesn’t necessarily have the right skills to create it. As such, one of the
first things you need to do before creating an SOP is to find a subject matter expert that can
collect the information needed, format it, and create documentation that your employees can
understand and follow.

Make sure that the person responsible for this task also talks with the team members and asks
them about the most common issues they encounter in their day-to-day operations or any
unique situations that have posed challenges in the past.

 Write the Documentation

Make sure that the instructions are simple and clear and that you use consistent language
throughout the entire document. If people have a difficult time following the SOP, then they
might stop using it altogether.

Another important aspect to consider is the format of the SOP. Ensure that the document
follows the same format and that users can easily scan through the text to reach the
information that interests them. Break up large paragraphs, use bullet points and subheadings,
and include diagrams, flowcharts and pictures to make it easier for your employees to digest
the information.

 Make It Easy for Users to Find the Information They Need

If your employees must flip (or scroll) through tens of pages of documentation to find the
information they need, then they may abandon the task altogether. This can lead to errors,
downtime, and wasted resources.

 Review and Update Your SOP Constantly

As mentioned already, SOPs can quickly become obsolete if a company doesn’t review and
update them regularly. This is especially true if your company engages in a variety of
processes and updates its operations constantly. Best practice is to review SOPs yearly (or at
least every two years.)

Standard operating procedures are valuable components of a company’s success. They are the
basis on which you can streamline company operations and scale business.