Insights · Process

Standard operating procedures people actually read

Long documents get ignored. Here is the format we hand to clients instead.

One task, one page

If a procedure will not fit on a single page, it is two procedures. Split it. Length is the main reason SOPs go unread.

Write for the newest person

Assume the reader started on Monday. Name the exact menu, the exact button, the exact folder. Ambiguity is where variation creeps in.

Put the owner at the top

A procedure with no named owner rots within a year. The owner reviews it annually and signs the date.

Screenshots age — describe the outcome

Where interfaces change often, describe what the screen should show when the step is complete rather than what it looks like today.

Store them where the work happens

An SOP library nobody can find is a filing exercise. Link the procedure from the tool, the checklist or the ticket template where the task is performed.

In short

None of this is complicated. It is simply work that never reaches the top of anyone's list until it causes a problem. If you would like help doing it, that is exactly what we are for — book a free discovery call and we will tell you plainly whether we can help.

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