15 Reasons Standard Operating Procedures Rule

Telling employees what to do is not nearly as effective as having a set of written guidelines they can follow with clear, detailed directives for each task. That’s where Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs, come in. An SOP is a set of instructions for carrying out a myriad of business tasks—everything from compiling budget statistics to overseeing travel arrangements. Not only are SOPs crucial to every successful organization and business, no two organizations will have the same SOPs. Take a look at these 15 reasons every organization needs SOPs.

Well-written SOPs:

1. Offer step-by-step guidance for tasks and processes an organization carries out repeatedly
2. Help employees complete tasks successfully and dependably 
3. Clearly communicate responsibilities so employees need not rely on memory, guessing or pestering others for help
4. Let everyone know who is responsible for what aspect of each task, who is approved to help out, and what steps must be taken should a mistake occur—despite SOP guidelines 
   1. Offer standards for handling internal and external requests and requirements
   2. Ensure quality control and accepted, quantifiable outcomes
   3. Help people and teams reach goals more smoothly and effectively
5. Allow anyone to be able to complete a task or project easily, efficiently and with few mistakes 
6. Let another employee take over a coworker’s tasks when that person is on vacation, out sick, or has left the job  
7. Allow managers to assess and address employee successes and failures during performance reviews
8. Improve employee motivation—because it’s always easier to do things right with a “blueprint” to work from
9. Let employees help each other learn new procedures
10. Reduce training time for new employees, who can refer to them as often as needed 
11. Make delegating tasks a breeze 
12. Help resolve issues and—hopefully—remove emotion from discussions about failures and/or significant issues

All that said, SOPs must be reviewed periodically to reflect changing roles, regulations and responsibilities, and to incorporate lessons learned.