What is a SOP?
A written procedure for work that should happen the same way twice.
A procedure, not a policy slogan
A SOP (standard operating procedure) is a document that tells a person how to do a repeating task so the next person can do it the same way. The useful sections are purpose, scope, roles, steps, and exceptions. Purpose says why the procedure exists. Scope says what it covers and what it does not. Roles name who acts. Steps are numbered and use verbs. Exceptions say what to do when a step cannot be completed.
Write a SOP after you have watched the work, ideally from a process map. A SOP written from memory leaves out the exception that actually happens. A flowchart can be the picture next to the numbered steps. The steps remain the thing a new person follows on a phone.
Example outline: opening a small counter
Purpose: open the counter with a counted drawer and a working card reader. Scope: weekday open, not the close and not catering orders. Roles: opener. Steps: unlock, count the drawer against the slip, switch the reader on and run a one-dollar test charge that you refund, put the test receipt on the slip, unlock the shutter. Exception: if the reader fails the test, open cash-only and message the manager before the first customer. That is a complete short SOP. A longer task gets more steps, not more adjectives.
Questions
- What is a SOP?
- A standard operating procedure: written steps for a repeating task, with a purpose, a scope, roles, and exceptions.
- How is a SOP different from a policy?
- A policy says what must be true. A SOP says the steps someone takes to make it true. 'Drawers are accurate' is a policy. The count and the test charge are a SOP.
- When should a SOP be updated?
- When the steps on the page and the steps in the room disagree, or when a tool in the steps is replaced. A review date on the page makes the drift visible.