A lot of startups fail due to poor management because they tend to overlook the importance of SOPs in a business. A good Standard Operating Procedure can help in creating an efficient and streamlined business process.
SOPs can in fact be the first step to help you achieve business excellence as they would enable you to work “on your business” and not just “in your business”. SOPs help your business to excel as it enables you to review existing processes and streamline it accordingly. It results in a culture of excellence as you can make changes wherever necessary so that your business runs more efficiently. Besides this, the framework in place ensures uniform services and helps maintain quality standards.
What are standard operating procedures (SOPs)
SOPs aka Standard Operating Procedures, by definition, are an operating manual that contains step-by-step instructions required to complete specific or repetitive tasks. They state the goal of the process as well as the precise directions on how to carry out an array of tasks. The objective of having SOPs is so that every employee in an organisation is on the same page whenever any task is involved. SOPs act as the bedrock for running a successful business.
As everything is documented, an employee can always refer to the SOPs if there’s any disparity or variance, at the same time, to keep a tab on the standard expectations.
How to develop standard operating procedures
Building SOPs for your business is an excellent idea and worth every moment of time they take to draft. It may not give you instant gratification, but in the longer run, you will be glad that you did not overlook standard operating procedures for your business. If you are wondering how to make a good standard operating procedures then here are the key steps:
Step 1: Keep the end goal in your mind
Knowing your end goal can help you in defining the results. Try to understand why you might need an SOP for your goal and decide what you want to accomplish with it.
Step 2: Pick a format
Refer to the same format in case your company has created SOPs in the past. In case you do not have those documents or templates, you can either take a simple step format, a hierarchical steps format or a flow chart format.
Step 3: Take the inputs
It is important to have a discussion with your team members as these are the people who would be referring to the SOPs. This way you can also make sure that every work or task is included in the SOPs.
Step 4: Recognize your audience
Before writing the SOPs, knowing the audience can be very helpful. This will help you know if they can understand the terminologies or language used in the document.
Step 5: Write the SOPs
While drafting the SOPs, make sure that it includes title, SOP identification number, name of the organization, publication date, etc.
Step 6: Review and Edit
Share the drafted SOPs with the team members for review to ensure the document is clear to everyone. Edit the document in case there are some steps missed while writing the SOPs.
Challenges that can be overcome with SOPs
When you have SOPs in place, no team in your company will be bogged down or set back if any employee is unable to work for a day or more than they can easily refer to the SOP manual for support in delivering the quintessential tasks and other demands of the job. Thus, a company would still be able to continue with the services by replicating the process mentioned in the SOPs.
It’s very challenging to work when you bring in a new member, and they have not been explained about the basics. SOPs can act as a training manual and the rudimentary tasks can be performed easily without micromanaging. Thus, SOPs can speed up the training process and the time to train a new employee can be used for more productive work.
If for any reason your company is sued, SOPs can act as evidence that the work and operations are carried out as per certain guidelines which are mentioned in the manual. With solid Standard Operating Procedures, you can explain the intentions of your business and defend yourself against legal action.
SOPs help your business to excel as it enables you to review existing processes and streamline it accordingly. It results in a culture of excellence as you can make changes wherever necessary so that your business runs more efficiently. Besides this, the framework in place ensures uniform services and helps maintain quality standards.
Why YRC to define SOPs
From departments across back-office and front office to omnichannel sales via online and offline mode, At YRC, we offer SOPs for every aspect of the business so that our clients can be more organized and productive.
The process specialist at Your Retail Coach will help you strategize everything related to SOPs, hence you can rest assured. Our team has great knowledge about the operating procedures, systems, and processes required for a powerful business.
You can contact YRC to make way for new growth opportunities and to maximize your business potential. Our team will design Standard operating procedures that would best harmonize with your organization.
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