I am obsessed with SOPs. Simply, SOPs can make life and business easier for everyone involved: the business owner, entrepreneur, team members, business partners, and especially for the customer.

First, what is an SOP? An SOP is a detailed step-by-step way or guide of how to accomplish a routine task or recurring event in your business. But it doesn’t stop there. It also tells you:

WHO is responsible for carrying out that task
WHAT related documents or tools are needed to complete that task
WHAT the timeline is for completing each task

Ever forgotten to create that social media post when you’ve been doing everything else yourself? Ever forgot to email a client back because you are busy promoting your business to get new clients? Have you ever forgotten to email your list when you’re doing everything else that needs to happen for launching a new service? It happens to the best of us.

I’m a huge advocate for SOPs because I know from experience that businesses run so much more smoothly when your processes and procedures are documented and in place.

Don’t believe me? Have you ever had a family emergency that you had to drop everything for and go? Have you ever been overwhelmed with orders and needed to call on help to fulfill those orders? Better yet, have you wanted to take a two-week vacation and you want to leave your work behind, but you can’t because you have no one to take over for you, and all you have left to do is either shut down for those two weeks or keep working while on vacation?

These are just a few reasons why you need SOPs.

Every task or process that is repeatable in your business, should have an SOP. Some examples of where you might use an SOP in your business include:

Onboarding new customer/client: steps you take to add a new customer
Onboarding new team members: steps you take to add a new contractor or employee
Customer Service: steps you take to handle a customer request or complaint
Creating SOPs (yes you need an SOP for creating SOPs too!)

Now let’s talk about 7 benefits of implementing and following SOPs:

Consistency: the more consistent a process is from person to person, the less chance there will be any quality issues.
Delegating/Outsourcing: frees you up to work on building the business instead of working in the business to keep it going.
Training: train new team members to get them up to speed faster and relieve you of those tasks they’ll assume.
Productivity: increase productivity by saving work hours and reducing the chances of errors in performance.
Absence: ensures your business can continue to run in the absence of a team member or yourself. Someone else can refer to the SOP, quickly get up to speed, and ensure the work is completed correctly and with the same quality.
Error Reduction: as the owner, it is your responsibility to ensure a safe working environment and SOPs can help you achieve that. As an example, you can create SOPs for sanitizing/disinfecting the work area, handling and maintaining dangerous warehouse equipment, and any unexpected accidents.
Compliance: if you are in a highly regulated business (e.g., food business, financial, beauty) you need to ensure that you continually follow the laws and regulations at every step. Documenting these requirements in your SOP serves as an important reminder for both you and your staff on critical steps for compliance.

Does creating SOPs overwhelm you? Start small. The next time you perform a task, record each step you took to complete the task. You can write it down or make a video, just ensure you accurately document each step that needs to take place to complete the task successfully.

At Love 4 Systems, we believe in the power of SOPs for every business to scale your operations and increasing your bottom line. If you need expert help, we’re here to help you create your SOPs. You’ll thank us later.