Do you use SOPs in your business? 

Businesses run with processes and workflows.  Do you use SOPs in your business?

No?  How are your workflows?  Unorganized?  In a bit of chaos?

Are you ready to organize your business life and turn your chaos into orderly calm?

What are SOPs?  Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are used to document instructions for repetitive tasks in businesses so that any team member can carry out the task correctly every time.  A well-written SOP will facilitate training for employees and team members.

There are a number of SOP templates used by various businesses.  My philosophy is the simplest the better for easy understanding.  I have a FREE SOP Template for you to download that will get you started in organizing your business today! 

Here are 5 excellent reasons why every business should be utilizing SOPs:

1. They ensure consistency and standardization in processes.
2. They ease in the replication and organized growth of the business.
3. They reduce the learning curve by training new team members and increase productivity.
4. They make delegating tasks much easier and ensuring business continuity.
5. Improve performance management and team member indicators.

• They ensure consistency and standardization in processes.

SOPs provide consistency across the company, ensuring the task is run efficiently and productively the way you (as the business owner) want them to be run.  SOPs ensure tasks are done the same way every time, no matter who is doing that tasks.

Consistency and standardizing processes also sets a tone for your reputation with customer and vendor relations, so it is important they are correct and followed.

• They ease in the replication and organized growth of the business.

As your company grows, you can use SOPs to open new locations or bring on new team members and ensure tasks are run the same way as before.  Ensuring your standard ways of doing business and reputation are intact.

This saves time in have to re-invent the wheel and making sure tasks are consistent through your brand.

• They reduce the learning curve with training new team members and increase productivity.

Having to train new team members will be easier when you have SOPs in place, as the process will already be in writing, step-by-step. 

Productivity should be increased since there is no question as to what comes next, it is written in the SOP.  Team members can also refer back to the SOP should they forget a step or wonder why something did not go right in the workflow.  Perhaps a step was missing and needs to be add to the SOP.

• They make delegating tasks much easier and ensuring business continuity.

When you or a team member is not available to do a task, it can be delegated to another team member and the work still gets done. They have SOPs to guide them in the procedure.  This ensures business continuity and teamwork. 

No need to put off tomorrow what another team member can get done today.

• Improve performance management and team member indicators.

Managers will be able to measure team members’ performances easier with SOPs since each tasks is standardized.  There are no longer questions (or relying on opinions) as to how well the team member is carrying out the tasks, as the SOP lays out the procedure and how the tasks should be done.

If you need help with setting up a strategic plan to get your SOPs in order, please visit my website at http://www.sharonblalockobm.com.  I would love to hear from you and learn more about you and your business.