Could Your SOPs be Making Things Worse?
Unfortunately, yes, but we can fix that.
SOPS alone won’t fix your team.
In fact, if you’re using them the wrong way, they’re probably making your problems worse.
Here’s how you know this is happening:
You spent a bunch of time documenting processes and still feel like you’re being dragged into projects you thought you’d fully handed off.
Your team members are constantly pinging you with questions they should be able to handle.
Every time your team faces something new, they come to you for direction.
You used to enjoy your work, but now it feels like all you do is “Delegate and Decide” things for other people.
These are all symptoms of the same issue, and we’re going to fix it – right now.
But first, I should tell you, this is not an anti-SOP rant.
When I ran the agency, the workflow and process documentation we created helped free me up, so I didn’t have to spend so much of my time explaining things to my team.
And you better believe all the documentation was part of what made my agency so attractive to others, and part of the reason I was able to sell earlier this year.
SOPs are incredibly useful for training and for helping folks execute tasks they don’t handle every day.
The problem isn’t the SOP – it’s in the misuse of the tool.
Just like the GPS navigation system on your car, if you overuse SOPs, your team loses the ability to navigate without them.
You know the dynamic I’m talking about.
First, you turn the GPS on to make sure you can find that store you went to that one time.
Then, you start using your GPS around town to alert you of accidents and traffic jams.
And before long, you automatically switch it on every time you get in the car.
Until one day, it freezes up, and you realize that you’re nervous to drive anywhere without it.
This isn’t too far off from the feeling your team has when you misuse SOPs.
Over time, you’re training them not to make a move without first coming to you for guidance.
On the flip side, when used well, SOPs give you an easy way to transfer responsibility for a process to a team member.
Here’s how you do it.
1. If you’re writing the SOPs yourself, stop immediately!
If you’re the one creating the procedures, it’s no wonder your team comes to you when they have a problem. That’s what you’re training them to do.
Instead, you’re going to start asking the team member responsible for a specific process to create their own documentation.
When transitioning an existing process to a new team member, do give them guidance and a walkthrough, but let them document the process themselves.
2. Once a new SOP is drafted, review it to check for your team member’s understanding of the process.
This step is critical. Your goal here is not only to make the SOP final, but also to identify gaps in your team members’ understanding of the process or how you want things done.
When you find a mistake or see that something important is missing, don’t just add it in. This is a coaching opportunity
First, seek to understand why your team member took a different approach – oftentimes their way is actually better! Then, you can offer guidance on why you take a certain approach, and make sure they understand now just how you want something done but also why.
From here on out, whenever this team member has a question about this SOP, don’t just give them the answer. Continue your coaching, so over time, they can come up with the answer on their own.
Does this take more time? Sure, up front. But the reward comes into the final and best step, when you…
3. Turn over responsibility of the process to your new internal subject matter expert.
Now, you don’t only have documentation, but you have trained a team member to understand how the process is done and has all the reasoning behind it.
They are now the person inside your company that does all related training and question-answering,
If another team member comes to you with a question, redirect them. No matter how quick and easy the question is.
Over time, various team members will own different processes, and they’ll not only be able to explain the process, answer questions, but they can share they WHY behind each step and troubleshoot accordingly.
And this, my friend, is how you work yourself out of the role of Chief Explainer at your company.
Over time, you’ll want to create a decision-making framework for your team to supplement your SOPs.
SOPs have a very specific function and purpose in your company (training), and they’re often asked to do way too much in a company.
It’s impossible to cover every possibility through SOPs and other kinds of documentation. There will always be outliers or questions you couldn’t have anticipated.
The ONLY way you can fully work yourself out of this issue is by training your team on how to make decisions aligned with the values you hold for your company.
You want your team to have good judgment – aka make decisions that you would make, or even better.
SOPs are the wrong tool for this, and that’s why you keep running into the same problems.
Eventually, you’re going to want to supplement your SOPs with more subjective tools that help the team align their judgement and decision-making with your own.
But until you have this second tool in place, the steps I’ve outlined for you will solve your immediate problem of training the team to over-rely on you for answers.
Will you try this approach in your company? Let me know how it goes!
Loved this! Thank you