5 reasons why SOPs are vital for your business (and what the heck SOPs even are!)
If you clicked on this blog post, you’re probably in one of two camps:
You know what SOPs are, but you don’t think your business is ‘business-y’ enough to need them
You have no bloomin’ clue what SOPs are
Or maybe 3) you just fancied reading something vaguely brain-stimulating while you sip your morning tea/coffee/matcha latte.
Whichever camp you’re in, you’ve found the answer to all your questions about SOPs, right here in front of you. So settle in, and be prepared to be convinced that you need SOPs for your business.
Um Harriet, what is an SOP?
Great question.
It might look like another piece of corporate jargon that you’ll never get your head around, but SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedure. And that basically means ‘how we do things in this business’.
At the most basic level, an SOP is a set of instructions. A guide for how to do a process that your business does fairly regularly. A to-do list that you or your team member follows when something needs to be done.
According to the (sometimes) reliable Wiki-gods…
“A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out routine operations. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output and uniformity of performance, while reducing miscommunication and failure to comply with industry regulations.”
In the corporate world, SOPs can be chunky ring-bound manuals that you get handed by HR on your first day and that probably sit on your desk untouched for the rest of your career… Particularly when they’re focused on rules and regulations and mostly there to prevent the business getting sued. But they might also be actually helpful pieces of content - even a video walkthrough of a process (like the Loom videos I use with my Dubsado clients) is a type of SOP, and probably more helpful than a 100-page document that’s not written very well and designed for someone who understands jargon much better than you do.
For your business, SOPs can look however you want them to look. They can be basic Google Docs or fully-designed PDFs with interactive elements and a whole playlist of video guides. What matters is that they’re clear, concise and easy for anyone to understand.
What does an SOP look like?
If you’re looking for a nudge in the right direction from an SOP template, there are plenty out there. But in my experience the best way to structure your SOP is to think about these core elements:
Title
Your SOP needs to be clearly labeled so you and your team members can easily find what they’re looking for. If you’re organising your SOPs digitally (which I’d definitely recommend!), make sure you include logical words in your title so you can search for keywords to find the SOP you need.
Scope of SOP
In this section, you should define the purpose of the SOP, the process it covers, and anything important that the reader needs to know, e.g. any rules or regulations that need to be complied with when following the SOP.
Who it’s for?
Each SOP should identify who it’s relevant for. For example, if your SOP is for an invoicing process that should only be done by a finance team member, specify that here. If the process the SOP refers to is restricted in any way to particular teams or departments, make sure that’s clear here.
Breakdown of terms
So that your SOPs are actually helpful, rather than meaningless pieces of corporate jargon, it can be worthwhile to include a glossary of terms in your SOP. If your SOP refers to a particular piece of software or uses any sort of specialist terms, include definitions of those things in this section - so that the main part of your SOP remains clear and concise.
Step-by-step instructions
This is the meaty part: the actual breakdown of the steps involved in the process your SOP defines. How you choose to lay these steps out is up to you, but the important thing is that they’re easy to understand and in a logical order - numbered is best or, if it’s a more complex process, a flowchart can work well too!
Quick Guide or Checklist
While the bulk of the process will be described in the step-by-step instructions, it can be really useful to include a checklist or quick guide in your SOP too. This means that people who have maybe done the process a couple of times but want a quick reminder or a less in-depth guide can jump straight to this section, without having to read through the bulk of the SOP every time.
5 reasons SOPs matter - no matter how big or small your business is
And now we get to the part where I convince you that you should care about SOPs and you should start putting them in place as early as possible - even if you’re currently a one-(wo)man-band with no team members and no intention of turning into a corporate giant any time soon.
Reason #1: SOPs make your entire business consistent
Every client, every customer, every team member all has the same experience. With SOPs in place, every part of your business is consistent, regardless of who’s actually doing the work.
If you have SOPs covering client onboarding, every client has the same experience - whether it’s you doing the onboarding or your brand new VA.
If you have SOPs covering an order fulfillment process (for my product based biz pals), every customer gets the same quality of experience - whether it’s you packing up products in your spare bedroom or the fulfillment warehouse you’re outsourcing too.
If you have SOPs covering how to handle a late invoice, late-paying clients get the same reminders in the same tone of voice at the same time - whether you’re chasing yourself or finally handing it over to your new accounts manager.
The point is that with SOPs in place, every process looks exactly the same every single time it happens, regardless of who’s doing it.
Reason #2: SOPs make communication easier
With SOPs in place, you no longer have to explain every tiny little thing to every person who’s involved in your business. Your SOP does that for you - make it once, and use it over and over and over again for every new team member you bring into your business.
Not only that, but SOPs are designed to be clear and effective. If you nail that clarity in your SOP, you’ll be saved the usual barrage of questions from new team members - because your SOP has explained everything in detail and anticipated every question your team member has.
Reason #3: SOPs set your business up for growth
Growing your business is so much simpler with SOPs in place from the get-go.
When you inevitably (because you’re awesome) reach the stage in your business where you need some extra help, your SOPs are already there, ready to explain your business to whoever you choose to outsource too.
And even before you bring those people into your business, your SOPs are handy - because now that you’ve specified every part of every process, you know exactly which skills your team members need, which bits of software they need to understand, and what past experience will help them to support your business in the best possible way.
And if you’re thinking, “But Harriet, I don’t have team members - I’d be writing SOPs for myself and I already know everything, so what’s the point?” - remember that you can use these SOPs for years to come, so when you are at the point where you’re bringing new team members into your business or even outsourcing some tasks to specialists, you have a starting point that’ll save you stress and time.
Reason #4: SOPs are an emergency backup
If you ever need to take an extended break from your business for any reason (or you just fancy going on a month-long holiday to Bali and leaving your laptop at home), SOPs are an absolute lifesaver.
Instead of your business grinding to a halt because everything’s stored only in your head, another team member can easily pick up your SOPs and keep the business running smoothly without you at the helm. And, because of reason #1, your clients and customers won’t even know the difference.
Reason #5: SOPs save you money
Yep, those not-so-fun documents detailing how to get stuff done in your business can actually save you money. How? By making sure things are done right.
Human error costs businesses millions every year. Whether it’s a client not getting sent the right invoice or a bad customer experience that pushes someone to leave a negative review, things being done slightly wrong in your business can cause lost money. And none of us want that!
With SOPs in place, the risk of human error is reduced. It’s not eliminated, but SOPs do help to significantly reduce the chance of a team member (or you) doing the wrong thing at the wrong time and costing your business hard-earned cash.
Okay Harriet, you’ve convinced me - I need SOPs. But where do I start?!
Hurrah, my work here is almost done!
If you’ve never created an SOP before, the thought of meticulously detailing every single process your business has is hella daunting. I get that.
So instead of trying to think about everything all at once, let’s start small shall we?
If your time is limited but you want to get some SOPs in place for your business, here are three I’d recommend getting done ASAP…
1 // Internal Onboarding: if your aim is to grow your business, you’re going to need to recruit extra support at some point. Whether that’s outsourcing specialist tasks or bringing in a full-time team member for more general support, bringing anyone new into the business will be infinitely easier and less stressful once you have a clear onboarding process in place. Plus, now that the onboarding SOP exists, your first hire can help in onboarding your second hire - saving you even more time and stress.
2 // Client Onboarding: remember reason #1? A client onboarding SOP is the key to having a consistent business. With the new client process clearly mapped out, every client gets the same experience. Every client is handled seamlessly. And everyone is happy.
3 // Invoicing Procedures: there’s very little that’s more important in your business than getting paid. So setting out your invoicing processes in an SOP is pretty important! Not only will it help you to make sure you’re doing things accurately, it’ll also mean any new team members you bring on board will keep the cash flowing too - so that you get paid on time every time.
And if you need a little extra help with your SOPs…
… I can do that!
Hire me as your Right Hand Woman! Over the course of a RHW project, I can get all your SOPs written for you. From client onboarding to how to go about requesting a holiday day - if it’s something that happens in your business, I can document it as an SOP.
Right now, I’m working with a super busy independent estate agency to develop their SOPs over the next couple of months. By the time I’m finished, they’ll have an entire library of detailed, clear SOPs covering every tiny part of their business - so that as they grow and their team expands, everything stays on track without new team members needing time-intensive hand-holding to get things done.
If that sounds like something you need, I’m all ears! Book a call into my diary to get started!