Download the best standard operating procedure (SOP) templates and examples in PDF and document format. These free sample SOP templates are easy to use. The standard operating procedure (SOP) template is an effective tool used to write the set of steps that the employees must follow to capture the best routine activity of an organization. These free standard operating procedure (SOP) templates are designed in Microsoft Word and available in PDF and Google Docs.

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It is the best way to maintain the consistency of an organization and provide a structured approach to accomplish a task or activity in a specific format. Especially in the current situation when there is a Pandemic this world is facing, and Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread all over, the whole world is working on different SOPs to tackle this spread. Below, we share a set of SOP guidelines and formats that help you to understand more about it.

Download Free Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Templates

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What Is The Standard Operating Procedure(SOP)?

Every employer wants to set their business to a new level. For that purpose, there should be a set of steps that must be followed to perform the routine activity of an organization. The standard operating procedure is a set of instructions that helps the employees to perform daily tasks easily and efficiently. Employers or other authorities issue these instructions or outlines of the steps.

If you don’t know about the standard of operating(SOP), then you must see the example of SOP that helps you to understand it more clearly. Employers must set a path or provide a structure to accomplish daily, simple, complex, or every type of task to increase the consistency of their business. Download free SOP templates in Word, PDF, and other formats that work for you to save your work and perform your daily activity efficiently. It is used in:

Manufacturing
Laboratories
Construction
Pharmaceutical industry
Legal and finance departments
Employees training
Food and Drug Administration

Generally, there are two parts to the SOP, in one part there is information about the organization, logo, and the description to control this document while in the second part; there are detailed instructions about what to do, how to do it, the scope of the document, purpose of this document and policies or regulations. Standard of procedure (SOP) documents are designed to:

When the new task or process is to create
For high-risk tasks
Tasks that are repeated daily
Maintain the consistency of the organization
To maintain a healthy relationship between partners
To prevent failure
To create a healthy and safe environment

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Sometimes, companies don’t take the SOP seriously; as a result, they face poor quality and inefficiency in the work that may take down their business. It is a best practice to design and follow the SOP to improve the efficiency and quality of your work.

Characteristics Of SOP

An employer who wants discipline, consistency, and efficiency in their work must apply some steps for the employees to understand what to do and how to do it. SOP is required in laboratories, employee training, agencies, warehouses, IT departments, human resources(HR), etc. Some main characteristics of the SOP are as follows:

The SOP should be in written form
Follow some appropriate structure of a template
Use numbered and bullet points to make it readable
Must contain the information on document control
Archived
Steps that must be followed to accomplish a task
Purposes of the SOP
Used it for highly repetitive activities
Reviewed regularly
Dates to update it

Your SOP must include all the above factors to create an effective one that helps your worker to communicate with you and the daily work easily and efficiently. Download blank and simple SOP templates to get the significant benefits of SOP and structure it in an appropriate format template.

Key Components Of SOP

Things that must be included in your SOP to improve the quality of your work. Seven essential components of SOP must be included in every SOP. These components are as follows:

Title of the documents: it is necessary to place the title of the documents to show what the document is about, if you design an SOP for the laboratory, then place the title as “Standard operating procedure for laboratory process.”
Department name: Name of the department for which that SOP is designed.
Department ID: After the name, write the department of the ID.
Head of the department signature: To make this document official, the department head signs off to approve this document of the procedure.
Purpose of this document: State the purpose of this document in 2,3 lines so that the worker quickly understands the purpose of this document.
Clarify jargon and terms: Define all the jargon and terms used in this procedure.
State the procedure: The step-by-step instructions to define the procedure that should be followed by the employees to accomplish tasks.

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Essential Steps To Write A Standard Operating Procedure(SOP)

Below we share some essential steps to write an effective standard operating procedure(SOP).

Determine the goal of this procedure:

First, decide what you want at the end of this procedure. It is necessary to keep in mind what you must have when the task is accomplished. Most organizations or companies create SOPs, but they don’t accomplish what they want because the goal of this procedure is not determined correctly.

Scope of the procedure: Prepare the scope, which means which team or department will accomplish this task. State from which steps your procedure will start and where it will end.
Discuss the procedure with stakeholders: To get better output from any procedure, it is vital to discuss the procedure with all the people involved to complete this process. The final decision is all the employer, but discussing this procedure with the stakeholders is good practice. Ask your team what the company should do, which strategy will be used, and how to accomplish this task.
Determine the structure of the SOP: There are different ways in which the employer or supervisor can take the SOP. Make sure to select an appropriate structure of the SOP that every person easily understands. The structure of the SOP document may be a simple few steps or a hierarchical structure. You can easily download the SOP manual templates that help you efficiently determine the structure of the standard operating procedure.
Identify your problem and solution: Identify what you want to achieve and how you will do that. When you efficiently identify the problem or goal, half-solutions to your problem will be found.
Write the SOP: The actual work is to write the Standard operating procedure(SOP).

Create the title of the document
Write the name of the department with an ID that the SOP applies
The Date when the document is published
The department head’s name with the signature who approves this document
State the purpose of the document
Write the detailed instructions the employees follow to complete a task or achieve a goal.

Flowchart: Create a flowchart diagram of your procedure to visually represent the steps and understand the phases. Visual aids are the best way to understand the overview of this process.
Finalize and implement: Finalize your document by discussing it with the supervisor and all the stakeholders of this procedure, and then implement this process.

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Tips For Writing An Effective SOP

If you want to create an effective SOP document to determine the steps of the daily routine of an organization, then follow the following steps to create the best one:

Before writing the SOP, identify the problems efficiently.
Discuss the problem with all stakeholders for suggestions.
Use high-quality paper for printing.
Follow some appropriate structure to format the SOP.
Use an appropriate font and size that must be understandable by every person.
Test, edit, and repeat the SOP before the implementation.
Should be written in a clear, concise manner.
The head must approve the department’s SOP.
Use a flow diagram to represent every step of its input and output visually.
You can use the standard operating procedure checklist templates to ensure the steps mentioned in the SOP are followed.
Use heading, bullet points, and numbers to increase the document’s readability.

Different SOP Templates

Standard operating procedure templates are used in different fields, and each department or organization needs to achieve the desired goals. Crafting an SOP document is the best way to provide an approach that the employees must follow to accomplish repetitive tasks. It is used in different fields, some of these are as follows:

SOP template for laboratory

The standard operating procedure is crucial for the laboratory to perform some research procedures. Before any research, they draft a document that contains how this procedure will be performed. You can find here a collection of the best SOP templates for laboratories to improve the efficiency of your work.

SOP template for company

For every organization or company, deciding what the employees will do and how they will achieve the desired goals is vital. For that purpose, they need a set of steps in which the details should be mentioned to follow the right approach. We share a list of the best company SOP templates, which can be used to structure the SOP in the right format.

Payroll standard operating procedure template

Payroll is a process of managing the employees’ payments to a company. The supervisor or employer issues a set of steps to complete this process. To make your work easier, we share a collection of printable and editable standard operating procedure (SOP) templates available in Word, PDF, and other formats that work for you.

Sanitation standard operating procedure template

You can find here sanitation SOP templates to set the procedure of cleaning in organizations, restaurants, banks, schools or colleges, and so on. With the help of these templates, you can define what should be clean, how, and when—download free sanitation standard operating procedure templates in Word and PDF.