How to Manage SOPs using Virtual Assistants 

Think about something you’ve done a million times – so many times that it has become second nature to you. It’s probably taken you a lot of time to perfect your process through practice, building knowledge, and testing new ideas to see if they work or not. Some of these processes you’ve perfected are likely part of the everyday operations of your company or maybe even critical to the success of your business. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone else could take these items off your plate? 

Now, let’s take a step back. Does anyone else know exactly how to do these processes besides you? Can the process be replicated by anyone in the business, or just you and maybe a handful of other people? If the answer is only you and a few others, you might be in trouble. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to start documenting these repetitive processes – otherwise known as Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs. We’ll cover how you can start this process, and how you can best leverage a virtual assistant to take on this task. 

Wait, what exactly is an SOP?

An SOP is a document with step-by-step written instructions for a specific process. Many companies have SOPs that cover information like how to get permission to use a new tool, or how to pitch an idea to a client. The SOP is usually created by a subject matter expert at the company who knows the process really well and can provide instructions for best practices that lead to success.

So, is an SOP the same thing as writing directions for how to use a tool? 

Not quite. Think of it this way – SOPs are unique to your and your business. If you could search for something on Google and find the answer, that’s likely because it’s a set of directions. SOPs are different because they describe information that is specific to the way you run your company or team. The key difference is that an SOP takes away work from you. When you document a process, you can pass it along and delegate it to someone else. 

The SOP will let other people replicate this process in an accurate and reliable way so your business continues to execute to the standards you set. The act of writing your processes down and creating an SOP comes with many benefits to you and your business, but it mainly comes down to one word: freedom

Why do I need an SOP for my business? 

Think again about that thing you do over and over again on a weekly or even daily basis. Maybe it’s routing emails to the right people across your teams, or even getting multiple stakeholders to approve the launch of a new project. Now, imagine how much more time you’d have in your day if you didn’t have to do those things at all. You’d probably be able to focus on other, more important tasks related to growing your business. 

SOPs unlock the ability to pass along your work to other people. If someone has a guide they can follow, that person can take on many of the action items you have to own currently. This is extremely important in getting your business to scale. You are only one person and cannot complete every single task across all departments as your business grows. As difficult as it can be, you have to be able to relinquish some of that control to someone else at some point if you want to be successful. SOPs allow you to pass along your work while also being able to say exactly how you want things to be done. 

Great! How do I write my first SOP?

A domain is a part of the web address nomenclature someone would When creating your first SOP, there are a few key items to include: 

• The SOP owner 
• The audience it’s intended for 
• The date it goes into effect 
• How often it needs to be renewed 
• A table of contents  
• The general policy 
• A step-by-step description of the process 
• Answers to frequently asked questions 
• A history of changes 
• How to get help if there are other questions 

The best way to start is by writing everything down as you’re doing it, and no detail is too small. You can always refine it later. Keep in mind that completing a task will definitely take you longer than usual since you’re writing everything down as you do it, so you’ll need to block off additional time. 

Some other things to consider as you’re establishing your SOPs include: 

• The SOP formatting and template 
• A review cadence 
• Where to store the SOP 
• How to transfer SOP ownership if someone leaves 

If this all sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is. Even if it will save you time in the long run, no one wakes up in the morning and wants to sit at a computer and write down every single step of what they do. 

If you’re in a situation where you want the benefits of having SOPs without putting all that time in yourself, a virtual assistant is a great way to get the best of both worlds. 

How can a virtual assistant help me? 

Some CMS platforms offer subdomains as a free service, where your blog lives on the CMS, rather than your business’s website. For

The whole point of writing your processes down into an SOP is to pass along work to free up your own time to do other important things. Because of this, it makes sense that you wouldn’t have the time to create your SOPs in the first place. This is where a virtual assistant can come in handy. 

First, a virtual assistant can save you time by creating the SOPs for you.  

Remember all that talk about creating a template and the many items that an SOP needs to include? A virtual assistant can create that standard template for you. Not only that, but they can work with other people within the business to gather and fill out the information necessary to successfully create a completed SOP. They’ll work with stakeholders to verify that all the information is correct and get the right departments to sign off.  

Does the SOP cover client billing? Your virtual assistant can work with your finance person to make sure the SOP meets their department’s needs. Is your finance person really busy and difficult to get ahold of? Your virtual assistant will follow up with them if they’re not responding to make sure no detail is lost. Not only can a virtual assistant save you time by writing everything down, but they can also follow up with other teams and track progress. 

The faster you standardize your process, the faster your business will be efficient. 

If you want to create all your own SOPs, it would probably take you a long time. Having another set of hands on the project who can dedicate all their time to it will speed up the SOP creation process. The faster the SOPs are communicated and launched means your employees will be able to learn new processes faster since the expectations are clear. Additionally, anyone following the SOP will make fewer mistakes. Mistakes can be costly to your bottom line since at the end of the day you want to be profitable and make money. Lastly, standardizing your processes means fewer people will be coming to you and bothering you with questions. The faster you’re able to create SOPs the better since your employees (both new and old) will be able to complete work to a higher standard. 

Having someone in charge of ongoing SOP maintenance will allow your business to scale. 

So many people forget that once a resource is created, it needs to be updated on a regular basis. What is information worth if it’s always outdated? You don’t want your SOPs to get lost in the shuffle. If that happens, the best-case scenario is that no one follows it. The worst-case scenario is that someone follows an old process and messes up an important part of your business. Not only can virtual assistants assist in creating SOPs but they can set up and stick to an ongoing maintenance schedule. They’ll review all the SOPs on a regular basis to ensure everything is correct, or make changes accordingly. 

Accurate SOPs will allow your business to scale faster. It will result in faster onboarding for new team members (or even other virtual assistants) and assist with internal team transfers – remember, even within your business not everyone knows everything. Part of scaling is creating a consistent experience. SOPs will do that for you, your employees, and most importantly your customers and clients.