When you hear the words "standard operating procedures" does it conjure up an image of documentation in the form of dusty notebooks filled with unread pages sitting on a bookshelf?  Do the words "boring" and "useless" or "rigid" come to mind?  If so, it’s time to change your thinking!
 
It used to be SOPs were reserved for the military, manufacturing plants and a few other environments that required tight controls.  But, in today's ever increasingly competitive world, standard operating procedures – simple instructions for how to get things done – are emerging as an invaluable tool for middle management.
 
Department-level SOPs don't have to be complex.  They should consist primarily of two components – a policy statement and the accompanying step-by-step procedures.
 
The policy statement should follow a when, who, summary of what structure.  For instance:  [When] "Prior to upgrading the operating system on a network server, [Who] it is the Network Administrator's responsibility to [Summary of What] perform a complete backup."
 
Then, the accompanying Step-by-Step Procedures detail how you want employees to complete the associated procedures.   The amount of detail you include in these step-by-step instructions is entirely up to you.  Simply put, if there are multiple ways of accomplishing something and you want it accomplished a certain way, then those details need to be included in the step-by-step procedures.
 
If you're interested, more examples at the end of this post.  Take a look at them and you’ll see that once you get the hang of it, writing policy statements almost becomes rhythmic… "when, who, summary of what."  And as for the details in the accompany step-by-step procedures, check your email and your notes from recent team meetings.  You're probably already communicating these details – just not in an organized manner.
 
More Examples:
[When] "When answering incoming calls, [Who] it is the Representative's responsibility [Summary of What] to answer the call using the standard Call Center greeting."
 
The accompany step-by-step procedures would detail this greeting.
 
And another example…
[When] "After interviewing a potential new hire, [Who] it is the Supervisor's responsibility [Summary of What] to complete the Post Interview Evaluation within 1 day of the interview.
 
The accompany step-by-step procedures would detail where the Post Interview Evaluation can be found and where it should be stored/or submitted, once it is complete.
 
And one more example…
[When] "After completing a sales call with a prospective buyer, [Who] it is the Sales Executive's responsibility [Summary of What] to enter all applicable details in Salesforce.com with 1 day of the meeting.
 
The accompanying step-by-step procedures would include the information that needs to be completed.