My SOP for creating SOPs

SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are one of my FAVORITE topics and today I'm going to walk you through how to create your own. Basically, this is where my SOP for creating SOPs will help (yup, you read that right) and I'm going to walk you through it using the same super simple template that allows us to create SOPs quickly and efficiently here at #TeamEasyScaling. I know it will help you too!

Here are the 6 steps for how you
can create your own SOP:

1) Identify the WHY for the SOP.

You can answer this now or if you want more details, read my article, The Most Important SOP to Create Right Now, all about this part of the process.

2) Record a video of your process (if applicable)

If you're overwhelmed about how to create an SOP, I find that starting with a screenshare video is best because it's efficient and flexible.

The next time you sit down to "do the thing" you can document the exact process in video form. Just click record in Loom and start working on the tasks, narrating as you go.

More tips on this here: 5 Time-Saving Hacks for Creating SOPs

3) Create a quick list of the steps you take to complete the task.

This is super easy if you've already recorded your video. If it doesn't work well for a video recording, ask yourself these questions:

What happens first?

And then what happens? OR And then what NEEDS to happen?

And then what happens? OR And then what NEEDS to happen?

And then what happens? OR And then what NEEDS to happen?

Yep you read that right... keep asking yourself that until you get to the end. 

4) Identify gaps.

For EACH step on the list, ask yourself: 

1. How exactly do we do that?

2. What does the person doing this task need to know in order to complete this step? 

3. Can we create a template to help with this step?

Jot down the answers and make any notes about information you need to expand on in the SOP.

5) Write the SOP.

A VERY simple template you can use for this is:

️Title:

️Purpose (WHY):

️Steps or Checklist (be as detailed here as you need to be, see above):

️Last Time SOP Was Updated:

6) Share it!

It's time to start sharing that bad boy with your team (or using it yourself). If you're sharing it with someone on your team, get their feedback. ESPECIALLY if they're the person who is going to be implementing the SOP. Have them point out anything that is unclear or is missing and make sure that gets added.

BONUS STEP: Optimize.

One of my favorite things to do with a completed SOP is to optimize or improve the process. 

Once you have something fully documented, you can review it and ask yourself things like:

• Is every step REALLY necessary?
• Can anything here be automated or outsourced?
• Does anything need to be added (or removed) to create a better experience?

By the way, this last question is a VERY important one to ask about your client onboarding, and lucky for you, I’ve got a free SOP template you can use to create and/or optimize your client onboarding process! Grab it here!

And that's it! Now you can start mapping out your own SOPs!

If you're still not sure about the process, drop your questions here because I could talk SOPs all day everyday!

Check out the other articles in this series:

1. What the heck is an SOP?
2. The most important SOP to create right now
3. 4 questions to answer before you create an SOP
4. My SOP for creating SOPs
5. 5 time-saving hacks for creating SOPs