Standard Operating Procedure Templates: Why They’re Important and How to Create One

Ever feel like you’re reinventing the wheel every time you tackle a routine task? Creating standard operating procedure (SOP) templates for key tasks helps businesses simplify employee management, prevent knowledge loss, maintain quality, and save time.

SOP templates take the guesswork out of everyday tasks, boosting efficiency, productivity, and accuracy. Ready to get started? Here’s how you can create SOP templates for your business.

What is a standard operating procedure?

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are written documents that detail exactly how a company’s employees should perform routine business activities. With a clear, detailed set of instructions to follow, they don’t have to remember multiple steps each time they perform a task or process.

They’re also helpful for complying with industry regulations and ensuring quality and consistency across your organization. Following an SOP helps employees get predictable results while minimizing the effort it takes to walk through the same steps each time.

Why are standard operating procedures important for teams?

SOPs are valuable for teams because they help create a culture of documentation and knowledge sharing. They keep business processes recorded and organized so any employee can access information when they need it, without having to dig through files or wait for an email. SOPs help teams maintain knowledge even if a key member is absent or leaves the company. They also reduce new-hire training time: Since guidelines are already in place, the onboarding process is easier.

SOPs also help companies maximize productivity and minimize errors. This becomes especially important for workplaces where employee safety is a top concern. Think warehouses, laboratories, and healthcare environments. Outlining safety protocols can help prevent accidents and equipment misuse.

Employees are often an integral part of creating new SOPs (or updating existing ones), collaborating, and sharing their knowledge to ensure organizations maintain high service and quality standards.

10 ways teams use SOP templates across industries

SOP templates serve a wide range of use cases and industries, from aviation and government to construction and dentistry. Here are 10 ways teams can use standard operating procedure templates for project management and business operations:

1. IT teams use SOP templates to document step-by-step processes and standard protocols related to troubleshooting, managing user accounts and permissions, reporting bugs, handling setup procedures, responding to data breaches and security incidents, and completing routine maintenance tasks. 
2. HR departments often develop SOP templates to document employee recruitment, hiring, and onboarding procedures, conduct performance reviews, review employee benefits, and lead orientation sessions. Other SOPs might cover HR functions such as payroll processing, employee engagement, annual reviews, and legal compliance.
3. Manufacturing companies must document procedures to maintain production standards, proper equipment use, and employee safety. Methodical SOPs can help teams with quality assurance, product consistency, meeting deadlines, and adhering to safety and compliance regulations.
4. Service industry teams lean on SOP templates to ensure food safety, quality control, supply chain management, customer service and hospitality standards, and more. For example, workplace hygiene SOPs help food service teams comply with health regulations to ensure customer safety and satisfaction.
5. Retail companies need SOPs for common customer service tasks such as issuing refunds, complaint procedures, inventory management, and store operations. Creating SOP templates for repetitive tasks helps retail store teams handle product and customer issues consistently and get new employees up to speed quickly. They ensure customers receive the same type of help, no matter who’s on duty.
6. Marketing teams may create SOP templates for all campaign-related tasks. From ideation to brief creation and execution, SOPs could include brand and messaging guidelines, email marketing platform operations, performance metric tracking, customer data analysis, and more. This ensures things such as client-facing communication, adherence to brand standards, and reporting remain consistent among large teams.
7. Sales teams typically use SOP templates for tracking leads, conversions, interacting with customers and clients, and more. Sales SOPs can help ensure a consistent brand voice and tone among sales reps by outlining sales messaging and pitch and follow-up protocol. They define a rep’s responsibilities throughout the sales process so that team members deliver a consistent customer experience.
8. Customer service organizations will often use SOP templates to document industry standards such as how to respond to customer inquiries, address feedback, or handle complaints. They will likely outline other processes and tasks specific to their own company and its customers’ needs.
9. Finance departments may use SOP templates to create detailed instructions for common tasks such as accounting, tax compliance, banking transactions, security protocols, and more. SOPs are critical for ensuring quality and privacy across the organization and building trust with customers.
10. Warehouse operations’ SOP templates may document procedures such as maintaining cleanliness, managing equipment, ensuring safety protocols, handling waste control, order fulfillment, and quality assurance. They help warehouse managers and employees maintain order, efficiency, and safety. This helps reduce errors, improves response time, and creates an organized and productive environment.

 

How to create an SOP using templates

Creating an SOP from scratch takes time, but it’s worth it to ensure your business processes are carefully documented.

Luckily, you don’t have to start with a blank page. SOP templates are pre-formatted guides that often include prompts for each step so you don’t overlook anything. Using a template means your SOPs will be consistent across the organization.

Before writing a new SOP, consider that team members may have already built unofficial process documentation. Someone may have written a guide for how to complete a certain task and pinned it in a Slack channel, or created an email template that the entire service department now uses for customer complaints. Be sure to ask about existing documentation before starting from scratch.

Follow these quick tips when creating an SOP:

• Be clear and concise. Use short, straightforward sentences that employees can easily follow.
• Avoid jargon. Use common terms to eliminate ambiguity.
• Know your audience. Consider who will read the SOP and use relevant and appropriate language.
• Use visual elements. Flowcharts and diagrams can help break down complex steps.
• Organize logically. Add headings, subheads, and a table of contents to help users find information quickly.
• Specify roles and responsibilities. Clearly document who oversees each step in the process.
• Include resources. Point users to additional complementary information.

You should tailor all SOP templates to your business needs so they fit your existing workflow processes. Make sure to review them regularly and keep them up to date. They should also be archived appropriately so that anyone on your team can easily find them, no matter when they join the company.

Using Slack to create SOP templates

Workflow Builder lets any Slack user on a paid plan create customized templates that automate tasks and processes.  Slack also has ready-to-go Slack templates, which help you to start and scale projects, programs, and processes across your organization. Templates include pre-configured canvases, lists, and workflows, curated by lines of business and common use cases. With one click, you can create a new channel complete with your templates so teams can collaborate and move work forward. You can also customize an existing workflow template or create a new workflow from scratch.

Slack connectors let you add steps to your workflow that take place in a third-party service, like “create a Zoom meeting” or “add to Google spreadsheet.” Connectors are available for services like Adobe Acrobat Sign, Calendly, Dropbox, Salesforce, Zendesk, and many others.

Collaborate on SOPs in channels, using mentions to get input from specific team members and emoji to simplify communication. Add test workflows in canvases and organize and track the process with lists. To test an SOP template in Slack, post it to a test channel. This lets key team members go through the template’s steps to ensure it flows intuitively before publishing.

Teams can also use Slack to provide feedback about an SOP. Let’s say a member of your team is using a newly created SOP when they discover a missed or outdated step. They can easily communicate this to the rest of the team without leaving Slack. Get a quick answer using chat or post in an SOP workflow channel. Start a huddle to discuss, even screen share, with colleagues about more complex issues.

Elements of an SOP template

Templates help guide and standardize SOP creation, ultimately speeding up the process. Knowing what an SOP should include ensures you don’t leave out any key steps. Here are the basic elements of an SOP template:

• Title: The name of the task, process, or procedure
• Scope and purpose: The goal of the process and what part it plays in your business operations
• Definitions: Any terms that may be unclear; spell out abbreviations and acronyms
• Roles and responsibilities: Define who oversees each task or step in a process
• Workflow procedures: List each step clearly, one at a time, and in order
• References or related documents: Include any additional documents or other related SOPs needed for context
• Visual references: Include flowcharts or other visual elements to explain complex procedures
• Revision history and changes: Save each version of the document with the most recent date to track its history
• Approval signature: This indicates that the SOP has been reviewed and approved by management and is ready to use

Six common SOP formats

You have options when formatting your SOP, and different processes lend themselves to specific documentation. Some standard formats include checklists, step by step, hierarchical, flowcharts, visual, and course.

1. Checklist: A straightforward list of tasks that can be checked off in order. This works well for simple routine tasks, quality control processes, or safety inspections.
2. Step by step: This format gives more detailed instructions for each stage of a process than a checklist. It’s best for items with a limited number of steps such as changing a password, setting up equipment, routine maintenance tasks, new employee training, or ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
3. Hierarchical: This format combines larger processes and step-by-step pieces that don’t have to be done in a specific order. It works well for more detailed processes such as project management, manufacturing workflows, and technical procedures. These SOPs typically take longer to create because they involve complex organization and testing.
4. Flowcharts: These visual SOPs use diagrams to map each step in a process. This format is good for processes with variable next steps, such as a customer service response. Flowchart SOPs are good for complex decision-making, troubleshooting, and other processes that require choices. While more versatile than other formats, they can be time-consuming to put together and require some graphic-design work.
5. Visual: These are more suited to technical tasks. They are often easy to follow and review because they include images, animations, or short videos for each step. This type of SOP is typically engaging and straightforward. It can be especially useful for learning complex processes or platforms.
6. Course: This format is great for sharing information with multiple people at once. Say you’re onboarding a large group of new hires. Creating an SOP in a course format can help you collectively distribute information. Course SOPs often include videos, images, and quizzes to engage users and illustrate key points.

Where to store SOPs

It’s best to store SOPs in a central location, preferably online, so employees can easily access and use them wherever they work. Slack users can do this easily by saving SOP files to their connected cloud storage and then sharing the file to Slack.

Save SOP documents where they’re used. For example, when working on a project management task, you can pin the relevant SOP to a dedicated Slack channel, so all team members can find and review it as needed. Be sure to keep stakeholders informed about SOP updates if they’ll be affected.

Create SOPs for better efficiency and performance

While creating new SOPs typically takes time, using templates can streamline the process. Ultimately, they help establish efficient business operations and maintain quality standards for your organization. Creating and following SOPs should be a standard practice, whether you’re building a process from scratch or updating an existing one.

Critical for ensuring your business is consistent and reliable, SOPs help improve everything from quality assurance and safety to brand standards and employee management. Save your team time and money and avoid knowledge loss by using SOP templates to create and update standard practices.