Easy Peasy Small Business SOPs
So, what are Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)?
An SOP is a step-by-step guide for every routine task in your business. The SOP typically includes the role or person(s) responsible as well as a timeline for completing each step.
Snore Fest! This gets a lot more exciting when you consider the positive impact on your business. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are not just for large corporations. Small businesses with SOPs in place have an under-utilized competitive advantage simply because most small businesses don’t have them, and having them is a game-changer.
Business Benefits Of SOPs
Delegation Ready: You can finally delegate and outsource because you are no longer keeping all your business procedures in your head or on sticky notes. This allows you to focus more on the growth and vision of your company and less on day-to-day operations.
A More Efficient, Profitable Business: Writing your SOPs forces you to think through your systems and correct inefficiencies. This granular look at your business operations will result in a more efficient, effective, and profitable company. Not only will you improve internal operations, but this also gives you an opportunity to improve your customer and team experience.
Increased Productivity: SOPs reduce training time and increase productivity. Your virtual assistant, virtual team, or employees will have reference materials they can consult which will reduce your staff’s training burden. Your SOPs help new and existing team members feel more confident in their work by knowing they have reference guides at their disposal, reducing their chance of making mistakes.
Business Continuity: Your SOPs ensure business continuity by making it possible for other team members or temporary staff to easily adopt a task when someone is sick, on vacation, taking maternity leave, or any time your business is short-staffed.
A Business That Scales: A business that has documented systems and procedures in place is better positioned to scale. Efficient systems increase profits and decrease labor costs and combined with the right team, set the stage for unlimited growth.
Bonus! You will be able to start removing yourself from daily operations by easily delegating these documented tasks to your virtual assistant or team. Your increased business efficiency will make the best use of your virtual assistant’s time, allowing them to take even more off your plate!
Can My Virtual Assistant Create My SOPs?
Yes! A virtual assistant can document your SOPs, but you should have your most critical SOPs in place prior to bringing on a virtual assistant. This can be as simple as recording procedures as you do them via screen recording tools such as Loom or Tango. Tango records your screen and documents how-to steps for you along the way. Your virtual assistant can use these tools to create your SOPs for you. As your virtual assistant gets to know your business, she will gain the intimate knowledge needed to be better equipped to create SOPs by documenting the recurring tasks in your company.
Types of SOPs
New Team Member Onboarding and Off-boarding
Client Success Plan
Client Appreciation Program
Client Communications
Hiring Process
Client Complaints
Creating A Content Calendar
Social Media Guidelines
Speaker Booking
New Client Onboarding and Off-boarding
Billing
Blog Posting
CRM Management
Pipeline Management
Sales Calls
Email Marketing
Compliance
Cleaning
The Easy Peasy SOP
Google Docs: Hopefully, you are already using Google Drive for document organization and sharing. If not, we recommend using Google Docs to create your SOP’s because the changes are auto saved with a history of changes and the documents are easily organized and shared. You can also collaborate with others as they are being created.
Use Consistent Formatting. Include The Following Elements:
Title Of Task: This should be clear enough to serve as a description. For example: How To Onboard A New Client
Who: Who is responsible for completing this task and who should be reported to with questions, issues, and progress of this task.
Publication/Revision Date: The date this SOP was created or last revised.
When: When does this SOP take place? For example: After client pays invoice.
Platforms and Tools Needed: Include any digital tools or platforms needed to complete task as well as how to access.
Procedures & Timeline: List every step in sequential order along with time needed or required for each step.
Definitions: Any internal acronyms or industry-specific jargon should be listed and defined here.
Resource Material: If appropriate, Include links, diagrams, or photos relevant to successful completion of the task.
Standard Operating Procedures for Your Standard Operating Procedures
Always Test Your SOPs. Have someone unfamiliar with the task go through it to make sure everything is clear and easy to follow.
Don’t Complicate Them. If you Google SOPs, you will find tons of services and templates. Save your money! There is no golden template. Create what works for you and your business.
Tackle Your Least Favorite Task(s) First. Once that SOP is done, you can easily hand off that dreaded task to your virtual assistant. Remember, you always have the option of recording the steps over audio or video for your VA. They can then create the SOP document and organize your SOP files.
Document as you do. Minimize extra work. Create SOPs while you are doing an undocumented task or ask your virtual assistant to do the same.
Review your SOPs quarterly. Make sure the outlined procedures are still accurate. Can any improvements be made to the procedure?
You can NOT grow and scale your business without Standard Operating Procedures. Pinky promise. Standard Operating Procedures are the magic bullet to effectively delegating day-to-day operations, so you can step into your role of leader, visionary, and CEO of your business.