How to Write a Standard Operating Procedure

Over the last 30+ years, our team has reviewed thousands of standard operating procedures (SOPs) written by our clients. We know how difficult and time-consuming it can be to write SOPs, so kudos to you if you have attempted this great feat! Unfortunately, in our experience, the large majority are confusing, disorganized, inconsistent, and often wrong or outdated. That is why we created this helpful guide on how to write a standard operating procedure.

Beyond the actual SOP users, SOP content quality also impacts members of your review team and potentially management and auditors. Did you know that well-written and organized SOPs can slash audit costs by 50% or more?

If you publish SOPs to clients or the general public, the quality of your communication can positively reinforce your brand.

Determining how to write a standard operating procedure is not as hard as some people want to make it seem. If you apply the best practices we share in this guide and use the right tool for the job, you can easily produce SOPs that will work for your company. 
And there’s an added bonus: you’ll significantly reduce the work time, cost, and frustration across all SOP work tasks: writing, reviewing, translating, publishing, updating, tracking, and implementing.

This guide focuses on writing GOOD standard operating procedures. Still, many of these same principles apply to writing policies, processes, and work instructions (and, frankly, business communication in general). The tips in it will also help you improve and transform any existing SOPs.

Research-Based and Field-Tested

The principles we present are research-based and have been field-tested with hundreds of organizations across all industries. While they are universally applicable, our primary focus is addressing the complex challenges mid-size and large enterprises encounter. Such organizations and their business processes necessitate robust solutions and tools.

SOP Definition: What is an SOP?

Before we begin to determine how to write a standard operating procedure, let’s first define what a standard operating procedure is. Essentially, a standard operating procedure (SOP) is a task. It contains steps that must be completed in a specific order. It's more complex than a simple work instruction but smaller in scope than a process.

A common mistake is misunderstanding the difference between policy and procedure/SOP and mixing them together. It is important that you and everyone in your organization be clear on the difference. Because this is such a stumbling block for so many organizations, we devote an entire blog post to it: Difference Between Policy, Procedure, Work Instructions.

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Model

The best answer to the question depends on your organization. We recommend considering what we call the “SME model.” Give your SMEs a structured interviewing tool to develop the content directly. At a minimum, involve them directly and early on.

OK, we’ve heard all the excuses. “Our experts don’t have time,” or “Our people are too highly paid to spend their time formatting SOPs.”

Considering that most people use cumbersome, labor-intensive tools for the job, coupled with the fact that most employees don’t use the official manual anyway, this reaction is perfectly understandable.

Opportunity Cost of SME Time

Think about how often your experts get interrupted by people asking them for help due to poorly written procedures that lack detailed instructions. What is the opportunity cost for every interruption?

If your SOPs are incomplete, vague, or inaccurate, your subject experts will spend a lot of time anyway — answering routine questions for new hires, fixing peoples’ mistakes, or putting out fires. How would you rather they spend their time? People are often astounded at the amount of freed-up time they gain by taking time upfront to transfer their know-how, knowledge base, and lessons learned.

Contrary to popular belief, involving subject experts reduces overall costs. It’s more efficient. It also leads to shorter review cycles of procedure documents.

SMEs Need the Right Tools

Consider how most organizations capture knowledge. Someone either guesses the procedure or the subject matter expert dictates the procedure word-of-mouth, and sometimes, someone writes it up. Then that person must repeatedly go back to the subject experts and get them to review the write-ups, validate accuracy, and plug the inevitable holes.

Even if the expert does invest the necessary review time, the holes may never get plugged. None of this activity is tracked or documented. It’s easy to see how this development method is inefficient, impractical, and error-prone. With no structure or standardization, you end up with many different formats that can be confusing, disorganized, and incomplete.

A better approach is to give subject matter experts tools to easily share critical information and lessons learned. By involving the right people who know and perform the work, you have a built-in system for re-evaluating processes and continuously improving processes. Consider creating a standard operating procedure template for all SMEs to follow. Include a step-by-step guide with an outline of topics to cover or a table of contents. Or, even better, consider using an SOP software system like Zavanta! 

Search for Existing SOP Examples

Before you do anything, the first step is to make sure the SOP doesn’t already exist or isn’t documented in some way. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve spoken to organizations frustrated after they’ve spent hours and hours on content someone else has already written. This happens even in the smallest of companies.

Duplication has a huge negative impact on users and can be disastrous if someone has to ask: “Which version should I follow?” If your content is organized in a document management system or specialized standard operating procedure software system, this check should be quick and easy. If you are searching in SharePoint, Google Drive, Box, or something similar, then good luck!

If your company already has different types of SOPs written, you may be able to follow this SOP format.

Assuming a new SOP is needed, there are a few planning steps you should take before you start writing. TIP: We give our clients planning worksheets. You can create these for your own organization. Or better yet, systematize preparation by creating an “SOP Planning” checklist!

Understand the SOP’s Purpose

The most important part of planning is, unfortunately, often the step that most organizations omit.

What is the end goal? What is the Why?

People often get so consumed with the work aspects of writing SOPs that they lose sight of WHY they are developing them in the first place. Everyone is told, “Let’s get this DONE so we can return to our real work.” Nobody writes SOPs for the sake of doing it. When you lose sight of the "Why," the real value is never communicated to the team, let alone management. This mindset is common when there is no link to economic value.

Before beginning the SOP writing process, ask:

• “Why is this task important to our company?”
• “What is the desired outcome?”
• “How will it deliver economic benefit?”

Articulating the value proposition will give you purpose.

It will create a shift in your mindset and elevate the value of all your work (in your mind and the minds of others). It will help focus all your efforts and decisions on the success of the SOP user and what they need to achieve the goal.

Avoid the tendency just to get SOPs done to “check the box.” It’s better to have 1-2 clear and well-written SOPs that make a difference than 50 that are considered done but don’t get used. 
Major breakthroughs can come from just one SOP. 

• What if it could shave 30 minutes off a routine task that’s performed by many people 10, 100 times a month?
• Or give an employee newfound confidence?  
• What if a supervisor could regain four hours in their week because they aren’t answering routine questions repeatedly? 

People often tell us how writing the procedure helped them discover a better way or how it could be automated. 

Real Client Examples:

One of our clients was experiencing a high number of returns. Their customer satisfaction rate was plummeting. One individual in the 10-person group was the exception. What was this person doing that was different from other team members?  The boss said: “Let’s standardize his best practice for the entire team.”  They standardized this individual’s know-how into an SOP. The result? $360,000 saved in one year.

Or take the IT department struggling to perform a complex, error-prone data conversion routine (that only one person knew how to do). By writing a clear SOP, they were able to transform this onerous task that took 2 days to perform into a two-hour push-button procedure that anyone on the team could now do.

Often, a single SOP is part of an overall system designed to achieve a specific business goal. Make sure each SOP does its part!

Understand the SOP User(s)   

SOPs exist to be used and followed. If an SOP is not used, it has little value. That’s why it’s so important to know who you are writing for. Who is your audience?

SOP writers should borrow a page from marketing communications. Why do marketers spend so much time upfront on the target audience analysis and buyer personas? So they can create effective messaging.  

SOP communication is no different. Whether it's frontline employees, new team members, senior managers, or specific departments, a well-defined audience definition ensures that the SOP is user-friendly, relevant, and effectively serves its specific purpose.

Understanding why people typically consult and follow SOPs will help you write better SOPs. 

• They don't know what to do or how to begin.
  
• They haven’t done this specific task in a long time.
  
• Something went wrong, and they need help.
  
• They forgot a step or need a refresher. 
  
• New tasks have been added to the procedure.
  
• They want to be certain they perform the task the right way.
  

Often, people need an SOP the most at the very moment they are performing their job (just in time). It’s essential to understand users’ work environment and as much about their world as you can. Below is a table to help you map audience requirements to SOP content requirements.

Map Audience Requirements to SOP Content Requirements

What is their reading ability, background, and educational level?

• Language and tone: Write in the language your reader understands best. Offer translations in multiple languages if English is a second language. Consider the difference between verbal and written comprehension.
• Terminology: Trainees, new employees, or novice users frequently need a definition when you introduce a new term. Experts and technicians are familiar and comfortable with technical terminology; terms rarely need definition. If you want to define terms, include them in a glossary.
• Diagrams and charts: A technical audience is usually comfortable with technical diagrams, charts, and tables without supporting text descriptions. People who perform day-to-day tasks usually do not need theoretical or design descriptions. They are more interested in the step-by-step "how-to" information. Managers who don’t perform the task but want to understand how it works, i.e., the big picture, will benefit from a process map or flowchart.
• Images or videos: Including a screenshot of the software being trained or showing a picture of the equipment being explained can be the best way to communicate how to do a particular task. This also supports your bilingual team members.

Is your audience multinational?

A multi-national audience means your SOPs will probably require translation. You may also want to include more images and diagrams, as mentioned above. 

How do they need SOP content delivered?  What is their work environment?

These questions drive how SOPs should be formatted. Many organizations are going digital unless the SOP is used exclusively in the field. You may need both online and printed formats. Users may need a QR code for SOP access.

Do any employees deal with disabilities? Will any content need to be accessible to the general public? 

Accessibility will be a key requirement. Writing your SOPs may help you uncover the need for special equipment or accommodation to do the work. If you are a government entity, your SOPs may need to be 508 compliant.

What are their time constraints?  Are they in front of customers? Back office?

Front-line employees need in-document navigation paths as well as robust search tools. Is the content accessible via a mobile device?

What are their most common problems? 

Are there any specific audience challenges? Organizational challenges? For example, if you want to track that SOP steps are completed, you must ensure there is a way to turn the SOP into a checklist (and write your steps accordingly).

How will people use SOP content?  Lookup? Compliance? Training?

It’s best to design and write SOPs so that they are multi-purpose. First-time users can get background information. Veteran users can get a quick refresher easily. Managers can train from the SOP.
Auditors and regulators can review relevant SOPs quickly. Also, they may need standards and regulations linked to SOPs and proof of adherence. 

Respect Your Reviewers

Although not your primary audience, remember that your writing decisions will also impact your reviewers and approvers. If your SOPs are difficult to follow, they will challenge your reviewers and approvers as well. Aside from manual processes, a top reason review cycles get bottlenecked is procrastination due to content that is overwhelming and poorly written. Keep in mind that your reviewers are often key executives and managers, and maybe even the board of directors, so they have competing priorities. Give them a clear SOP to review, and they will thank you.

Impress Your Auditors

If the above reasons weren’t enough incentive to devote time to learning how to write a standard operating procedure, this benefit is a game changer if you undergo periodic audits and inspections. You can reduce “audit prep stress” and significantly reduce audit costs if your SOPs are well-written and organized.

Auditors and bank regulators alike have told us how usable policy and procedure content is essential for compliance. From their perspective, an SOP exists to ensure employees truly know what to do, not just meet regulatory standards. The DOJ now requires that organizations be able to prove that their employees are using their policies and SOPs. Getting SOPs done just to pass the audit is no longer acceptable (and it never should be).

Many compliance managers tell us that by having clear and well-organized policies and SOPs, they could reduce their audit time and costs by 50% or more. The audit goes faster. The auditor will have confidence that you have compliance systematized.

What Format Is Needed? How Do SOPs Need To Be Delivered?

Your audience needs will drive your SOP design and layout. All of this depends on the tool you use for SOP authoring.  

Typically, you’ll want to use some sort of template that has settings for the layout, sections, and fonts. Many companies sell SOP templates. But keep in mind these templates can only do so much. Your authors can still do their own thing. 

Programs like Microsoft Word are based on the traditional 8 ½ x 11 printed page. This is fine if your SOP will be printed. If you need to deliver the SOP on mobile devices, you may need your IT department to get involved to properly format your content for mobile devices. 

Most organizations we work with need either both or have gone completely digital. Authors should be able to instantly preview what the document they are working on would look like on a large screen, tablet, phone, or as a printed report.

Your template should also allow for images and diagrams to be easily inserted and formatted. Some employees will need to have a picture to go along with the step-by-step instructions. Include screenshots from a software program or images of machinery or tools.