How To Write Killer SOPs

By Florin R. Ferrs (Tech Writer)

" I love writing SOPs," said an IT manager never. Unfortunately, SOPs are a crucial tool for IT helpdesks and MSPs that can significantly impact a business's success.

Savvy IT managers understand that well-written SOPs can help with onboarding, assist customers with FAQs, and just make day-to-day processes smoother by providing techs and customers with a roadmap to best practices at their fingertips.

So everyone agrees that SOPs are outstanding. The issue is that no one has ever said that they enjoy writing them!

Let's explore some tips to help you create killer SOPs that are a joy to write and that will provide much-needed assistance to your IT team and customers for years to come.

But First, The Basics. What Exactly Are SOPs?

An SOP is a standard operating procedure. Basically, a document that provides a model for carrying out a process. At their core, SOPs are documents that contain the minimum requirements, controls, and guidelines for what needs to be done for a particular method to succeed.

SOPs can be written to ensure that businesses comply with regulations, guide staff with onboarding, and help MSPs maintain their reputation by providing quick access to standard processes, thus providing better customer service.

Without good SOPs, an MSP would struggle to maintain compliance, putting its reputation at risk.

The issue is that writing SOPs can be a complex and sometimes tedious process. Let's explore how to ensure that your SOP writing process is straightforward and effective.

Be Clear

You should write a standard operating procedure so that it can be read by everyone, regardless of their level of experience or knowledge. It should include details about how the process/software/company policy works and how to follow best practices and the most efficient procedures to reach the fastest outcomes.

Another benefit of SOPs is that IT managers can use them to build a culture of compliance within their IT team. Moreover, implementing these measures can help an organization save costs because good SOPs create less paperwork and help reduce administrative procedures. This enables MSPs to focus on providing top-quality customer services and improving the effectiveness of their tech department and HR policies.

Use Checklists

An SOP checklist is a list of items that should be done before and during a procedure. From the point of view of your workflows, checklists are a great way to ensure that tasks and tickets are completed correctly, and that individual procedures or tasks are completed before starting on a new one.

Good checklists help ensure that everyone on your team is on the same page. Without checklists, your team risks forgetting specific tasks, getting distracted, and losing focus.

Always Think About Your Audience

Write your SOPs tailored to your audience, whether they're customers or employees. This way, you'll ensure that everyone understands the particular procedure they're working on. Good SOPs avoid being too hard for your target audience to understand, even when writing niche and tech subjects.

Good SOP writers ensure that the procedures they cover are easy to read and follow because they tailor the content to their audience's level of expertise, whether they're your customers or your tech team.

Take Action

A good IT leader knows how to motivate and encourage techs to work towards a common goal.

SOPs help generate good leadership by stating clear rules and clarifying how your IT team should assist customers. They accomplish this by providing your team with all the steps necessary to efficiently deploy their tech stack.

SherpaDesk's knowledgebase feature is an excellent destination for your SOPs. MSPs can create customer portals with detailed SOPs for customer onboarding and FAQs. Internally, IT managers can also use SherpaDesk's knowledgebase portals for training and day-to-day procedures to help your team stay on top of their game.

Embrace Mobile Technology

Mobile apps are rapidly growing in usefulness and capabilities. That's why MSPs have embraced the power of mobile apps to help their tech teams work more efficiently without having to constantly be inside a traditional office.

SOPs need to cover mobile apps and procedures to help speed up your team's workflow outside the office. Stay tuned for Sherpadesk's new and improved Mobile App specially tailored for IT helpdesk teams that need to be out in the field.

Quick SOP Writing Checklist

1-Be Concise: Keep it as short as possible while covering all the bases.

2-Start With The End Goal In Mind: That way, you're always providing clear steps towards successfully completing the end goal.

3-Be Visual: Use clear pictures, graphics, or videos, when appropriate.

4-Use Active And Direct Language: This avoids ambiguity. Your users will appreciate it.

5-Focus On Only One Action For Each Step: Your users will definitely appreciate this, making procedures easier to follow.

6-Test Your SOPs: Take your SOPs for a spin with your team before deploying them to ensure you've covered all bases and that processes are easy to follow and reproducible.

So there you have it. Well-written SOPs will help your IT team succeed, so the time has come to embrace them and use them as part of your internal and day-to-day processes with your customers. Both your staff and your paying clients will appreciate it.

Need some help deploying SherpaDesk's knowledgebase portal for your SOPs? Sign up for one of our Free Demos and uncover the fastest way to harness the power of knowledgebase portals to help your IT team be more efficient every day.