What are SOP?

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are step-by-step instructions that act as guidelines for employee work processes. Whether written up in numbered steps or formatted as flow charts, effective SOPs are complete, clearly written, and based on input from the workers who do the job. When employees follow the SOP for a particular job, they produce a product that is consistent and predictable.

Importance of Standard Operating procedures:

Increase Productivity

By having SOPs in place; employees will have a clear understanding of just what is expected of them. Knowing the specific expectations and how to achieve them, the likelihood that productivity will increase due to SOPs is very high. More time can be spent focusing on other important aspects of the operation rather than “retraining” employees since they will learn the SOPs during their initial training.

Safety

Whether it is food storage or handling or even proper cleaning methods, SOPs help minimize or eliminate any potential situations that could be dangerous to employees or customers. Having a thorough system of SOPs in place will give your employees the knowledge and tools on how to handle any potentially dangerous situation.

Consistency/Quality Control

Gaining loyal customers can be difficult to obtain and very easy to lose. One of the easiest ways to lose a customer’s loyalty is by providing inconsistent service or food/drinks. SOPs are an excellent way to ensure that each employee is providing the same level of service or quality of product that customers will expect each time they visit.

Protect Yourself from Knowledge Loss

If the details of business processes are stored in a key employee’s head and not in a procedures manual, the loss of the employee can be disastrous. Documentation of job processes survives employee attrition due to retirement and resignation, and allow your company to carry on as usual. It’s hard to replace experienced, skilled workers, but comprehensive well-written SOPs ensure that valuable business processes stay with business.

Save on Training Costs

Depending on the complexity of the task and the experience of employees, SOPs may not completely substitute for training. Documented procedures are a valuable component of the new-hire toolkit, and can reduce training time. They act as reference guides and allow new employees to work independently without excessive reliance on supervisors. New hires make ideal testing grounds for the effectiveness of SOPs. If the documented steps enable the new employee to complete the task, the procedures are sound. If any steps are unclear, confusing or no longer in use, the SOP should be updated .