Do You Have Written SOPs?

Does your company have written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for every individual task performed by all employees? Most companies do not and therefore waste valuable time in re-training new employees. It is a big task to get it done, but it is well worth the effort in the end. It is a great feeling to hand a new employee a packet of written instructions that will tell them step by step how to perform all the duties they will be expected to perform.

If you decide to create SOPs, the best way is to ask each employee to spend a few minutes each day writing step by step instructions for just one of their tasks. By the end of the month (if not much sooner), they should have a stack of written procedures for everything they do. The hard part is then to get someone else to read them and try to follow the instructions to see if they are written well, clearly, accurately and produce the necessary end result of that task. If so, they should then be put into a binder and reviewed and updated as necessary. Once you have all your employees daily procedures documented, it makes hiring on new employees a much quicker process with a smoother transition period and accelerated learning curve.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.