One essential feature of an effectively working team is to be able to follow procedures. It reduces the risk of any errors, increases productivity, coordinates the workforce, and formalizes procedures.
It’s not uncommon for team members or the general workforce to want to do the right thing. However, everyone’s view of the right thing could be different. This means it’s likely people will complete tasks in different ways, depending on who is doing it. Therefore, if you want everyone to work in the same way and follow the same rules, you have to ensure everyone knows the rules. The only effective way to do this is to write them down. In this article, you’ll learn what SOP means and how best to use them.
What SOP Means?
What SOP means? It is an acronym for Standard Operating Procedures.
This means documenting your organisation’s business processes so that products and services are consistently delivered every time. A common reason to introduce SOPs is for demonstrating that you are complying with regulations or following operational practices. They are a way of documenting how employees should complete a task.
You can use SOPs in many different situations, for example:
- When onboarding new clients or customers.
- To help deliver projects on time.
- For servicing clients.
- To help train or onboard new employees.
- To help manage your employees.
- When assigning tasks to customers, clients, and employees.
These processes will be carried out more easily if there are a written standard operating procedures checklist are in place.
Different Types of SOPs
SOP means documenting your business processes like a blueprint on how best to complete a task or product.
There’s nothing wrong with trying to develop your own SOPs, but there are several ready-made formats you can choose. Here are the most common examples:
Flowchart Format: This method is best to use if there are several possible outcomes throughout the process. If one step influences how the next step needs to be approached, a flowchart works very effectively.
Step-by-Step Format: There are many cases when a bulleted or numbered list is more than adequate to complete a process. This method should only be used when a process is very straightforward, and there is little chance of failure. Good examples of this format include instructions for the safe and proper use of equipment, a digital login sequence, or setting up and cleaning instructions.
Hierarchical Format: This method is very similar to the previous one because it involves making a list of the steps that need to be completed. The difference is that additional details are provided when necessary. This method is best used when further instruction is required for a task to be sufficiently achieved.
Why Standard Operating Procedures are Important
SOPs play a critical role in any organization because they allow for the systemization of processes, ensure everyone is on the same page and can move forward cohesively.
If SOPs are not in place, you’re leaving too much to chance. There will be no guarantee that employees follow best practices at all times, team members continue to work in alignment, or that your organization operates effectively and positively.
SOP Benefits to Business
Standard Operating Procedures benefit businesses by the following:
Ensure best practices are adhered to: Following best practices is no longer a suggestion. It is mandated. However, it is vital for everyone involved to define what those best practices are.
Ensure consistency: With SOPs in place, your organization will run more efficiently and consistently because everyone will understand the right path to follow.
Enable proper training and onboarding: With SOPs in place, it is much easier to train and onboard new team members.
Help to maintain organizational knowledge: This is particularly important when the makeup of a team changes, for example, when people retire, are promoted, or quit. New team members can pick up where the old ones left off.
When your employees have comprehensive, clear-cut Standard Operating Procedures to follow, they will know what to do in all situations. Your organization will therefore benefit from increased productivity.
SOP medical Can Save Lives
Standard operating procedures are a great tool in many industries and especially in the health and medical industries as they can save lives.
Clinic practices, doctors, hospitals and the NHS have standard operating procedures to ensure standards and prevent accidents and potential deaths.
The main aim of Medical SOP is to give clear written accurate instructions on how certain processes should be performed to ensure consistency and standardisation of any procedure.
These sets of compulsory steps, instructions, systems, and procedures are so everyone can follow them to complete the job correctly and safely.
Examples SOP Medical:
How to write a SOP from Lincolnshire Hospital Trust NHS
Plymouth Hospitals SOP has a large number of SOP they use throughout the hospital available to view.
Overcrowding in the Emergency Department SOP Plymouth
North Devon Emergency Department Operational Standard Operating Procedure
SOP for Radiation Risk Assessment
SOP for the Management of a Blocked or Leaking Urinary Catheter
Leicestershire NHS Hospital SOP
University Of Sheffield medical school Biorepository operations and regulatory compliance
University Standard operating procedures.
EMA European Medicines Agency: Handling of external requests for access to information from patients, healthcare professionals, academia and the general public
CDC Centre for Disease Control and Prevention: Ebola SOP (Ebola Virus Disease)
WHO SOP: World Health Organization standard operating procedure for coordinating public health event preparedness and response in WHO African region.
What SOP means Using Checkify
SOP means one thing, clear, defined instruction on how a process or procedure must be completed.
This is needed in every business and industry to give people step by step instructions on how best to perform a procedure or process.
Checkify offers a way of creating automated checklists to document standard operating procedures and monitor, track and analysis how these procedures are being performed.
Offering the ability to assign steps to certain people while only allowing the next part to be performed once the previous step has been completed. providing a timeline of events and accountability of who completed the tasks.
Know at what stage each procedure, process or task is at, at any given time.