It doesn’t matter if you’re an online business or a traditional business, you have tasks that you have to complete regularly and efficiently. And If you ever want to scale your business, you know that it’s crucial to have a plan in place to train new team members quickly and effortlessly. That’s where Standard Operating Procedures for business come in. Keep reading to find out just how valuable it is to get your business organized and running smoothly.
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Here’s what we’re covering in this post:
- What is a standard operating procedure?
- How to create standard operating procedures
- A standard operating procedure example
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are essentially a step-by-step instruction compiled by an organization to help workers carry out complex routine operations. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output, and uniformity of performance while reducing miscommunication and failure to comply with industry regulations. Basically it’s a step-by-step breakdown on how to get your regular tasks completed.
The reality is that SOPs can be time consuming. They take time to set up and implement, but once you train your team on SOPs and you see them knocking out work and going through your process, it’s going to save you tons of time. So there may be some work on the front end, but not a lot of work on the back end. It’s really just managing your team and making sure that they’re conducting these actions correctly.
At BelaMarca Studio we have 50+ different documents plus hours of video in place to train our team members and keep ourselves on track. We create SOPs so we can delegate, perfect the process, and manage the team better. It has been instrumental to take us from freelancer to agency status.
All SOP’s need these elements: a video training, what documents are needed, a checklist, and the step-by-step directions to complete the task. Here’s how you would go about creating standard operating procedures for your agency:
- Perform And Write Down Every Aspect of the Task
Actually do the task yourself. If you’re a busy freelancer or an overwhelmed team-of-one, you’re going to have to itemize all the stuff that you do. As you complete the task and write down every aspect of it, make sure you do not miss any details. Think of it as if you were a newbie that has no idea what you’re doing, no idea what is going on, and you want everything to be itemized and make it easy.
Related Article: How To Build A Remote Team For Your Business
Be sure to add at the top the name that this file was “Last Updated” to keep everyone on the same page with up-to-date information. Be sure to add clearly marked headings, links to webpages or other documents in your Google Drive folder, and bullet points to keep the information organized. Now you have an SOP all nicely written out. If you’re feel like you’re not the best writer, consider using our prompt in ChatGPT and have AI do the heavy lifting for you.
AI is a powerful tool that your agency needs to take advantage of today. SOP’s are crucial to a thriving business, but they take time to write. Let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting so you can get your processes off the ground.
2. Create a Video Performing the Task
Now on your screen you’ll want to open your newly completed SOP on one side in split-screen view, and on the other side, you’ll open up whatever relevant applications you need that pertain to the task in the SOP at hand. Then in an online tool like Loom or in a free desktop app like OBS, record yourself going through each of the steps right there on your own screen. Make any edits that you may need to the video. Then you can create a free YouTube channel, upload your video there, set it to “Unlisted,” and once it’s uploaded you can copy the link to that video.
Be sure to add a line in the SOP called “Video Training” and add the link to the video you just created and uploaded. Bonus tip: you can add time stamps from your video to your SOP to help your team members have quick access to parts where the training gets more intricate.
Those time stamps can become handy if you also have different parts in the SOP that would pertain to different team members. So for example you might add lines that say:
Project Manager Duties: 1:35-2:57
Web Developer Duties: 3:07-5:02
3. Make it Simple for Your Team to Access the Task
The only way to access these steps and videos is via these Google Docs. We’ve created an entire library of 50+ documents and files to keep up with our demanding agency. Everything is here for all of our team members to see. We love using Google Workspace and always recommend it for freelancers and growing agency’s. It’s going to feel so good once you get your processes up and running.
Let me show you an example. Here is an SOP that we created in Google Docs with step-by-step directions for our team members. You can do this with anything. Even the most difficult tasks can be broken down step by step. As you can see, I keep it really basic, simple, and effective. I don’t only have the directions here but also a video training.
Take a look:
Imagine if you could get instant access to 100+ SOP docs and 40+ hours of step-by-step video training to help you launch a PROFITABLE web design studio, delegate your work, and travel the world while your business runs itself? How insane would it be if you could get access to an entire Google Doc Suite of job templates, workflow docs, email templates, job description templates and more? If this is a must for you than you’ve got to dive in to the Web Design Studio Accelerator Course!
what's included
Video Lessons
You get access to the EXACT training videos and lessons we use to train staff, delegate tasks and free up time to focus on the big picture. It's the blueprint, from prospecting all the way to closing recurring revenue.
Source Files
The entire FOLDER of all source files including branding guidelines, logo templates, website design files, social media collateral, and so much more organized & prepped in Figma for you to use.
Docs / SOPs
Everything you would ever need is ready to go. You get the video trainings, step-by-step directions, the itemized lists and the Google Sheets we use to deliver award-winning website designs to clients.
Ready to grow your
web design studio?
AI is a powerful tool that your agency needs to take advantage of today. SOP’s are crucial to a thriving business, but they take time to write. Let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting so you can get your processes off the ground.
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