You probably know CYA: Cover Your Ass. But if you’re like most home services businesses, SOP has you stumped.
Imagine this: Your best tech is out sick, your office manager quits mid-week, and your phone keeps ringing. Everyone’s asking what to do—and all you can think is, “I wish I had a playbook.” That’s exactly what SOPs are.
Now that’s CYA—by design, not by disaster.
If you’re thinking, “What in the world does ‘Standard Operating Procedures’ mean?” you’re not alone. So let’s start at the top:
A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out routine operations. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output and uniformity of performance, while reducing miscommunication and failure to comply with industry regulations.
Boring, I know.. So here’s my version:
SOPs are written instructions that make sure your people do things the way you want them done—every single time—which results in better work completed in less time for more money.
Not so boring now?
But SOPs aren’t just about making things better at the moment. For example, if you disappear—temporarily or permanently —having SOPs in place ensures your business doesn’t collapse in your absence. They tell people how your work should get done. How your techs’ work should get done. How your customer service agents’ work should get done. So even if you’re not around, your business can keep running.
Also, SOPs make your business much more marketable when you’re ready to move on to something else. Trying to sell your business without comprehensive SOPs is like tossing some random auto parts in a box, writing “CHEVY” on the side, and posting “Truck for Sale” on Craigslist.
Finally, SOPs make training new employees a breeze. You won’t just be handing someone a job description, you’ll be giving them step-by-step, detailed, documentation for exactly how you expect each task to be performed. It’ll save you time having to repeat yourself, it’ll ensure your training process is thorough, and it’ll help new employees feel supported and confident in their role.
A friend of mine had herself a bit of a midlife crisis a few years ago and quit her reasonably well-paying job to go work at Starbucks for minimum wage and abysmal tips. She learned all sorts of life lessons in the six months she worked there, but one of the business lessons she learned actually had to do with SOPs.
If you order a latte from a St. Louis Starbucks, a Tulsa Starbucks, and a Denver Starbucks, you will receive exactly the same beverage. That’s not just because they use the same recipe—a certain number of espresso shots in a certain amount of steamed milk. It’s the process (another word for SOPs) behind the drink that makes the difference:
So on and so forth. Those things don’t happen by accident. Those things happen consistently across every Starbucks location because every single step is written down in great detail.
So SOPs, or processes, support efficiency, consistency, and quality. But how do they work in the world of home services?
Well, you’re going to put every single detail about how your business runs on a day-to-day basis in writing . Yes, that’s as much of a pain in the ass as it sounds like. But it’s also the easiest pain in the ass you’ll deal with all year.
In addition, if you don’t currently have any written processes in your business, getting this knocked out will bring you the most return on any time investment you’ll ever make. Truly.
And I do mean write down every position—from the front office to the folks in your trucks. Depending on the size of your company, that might include:
And don’t forget to include yourself on this list.
Next, make a list of all the repeating tasks each position is responsible for. Looking at the job description is a good place to start.
Then, ask the people who hold those positions to write down their tasks. There’s a good chance you’ve forgotten half of them.
Be sure to include when the tasks should be performed: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly. You might also note “at every service call” or, if your current task list is about cleaning bathrooms, “immediately after George exits the stall.”
At this point, you’ll have a lengthy list of tasks for each position. Now, put those tasks in rank order of importance.
For example, if your accounts payable clerk is out for six weeks, what tasks should the person covering for them prioritize if they can’t manage the whole workload? If you’re going to Bermuda for three weeks, should your assistant manager focus on scheduling techs first or invoicing first or something else?
Okay, this is where things are going to feel really tedious, but this is the difference between job descriptions and SOPs.
For each task, get obnoxiously granular. For example, if one of your position’s duties is to “close the shop,” make a checklist of what’s involved in that one task. It might look like:
NIGHTLY:
For service techs, it might be something like:
AT EVERY CUSTOMER CALL:
As you collect all of spellbinding information for each task under each position, have someone type them up in a standard format. Consider making each task a separate document inside an easily scannable file structure:
Then, share those documents with the people who perform the tasks. (Pro tip: Share files that can’t be edited. If someone wants to add/delete something from an SOP, they should go through you first.)
Clearly, this is a big job—so don’t try to do it all at once. But don’t procrastinate, either. Decide you’ll have it all done by a certain date, and get started.
Think about the most critical functions of your business, and knock those out first. Or think about the things you can’t stand doing, write up the processes, and delegate those things away.
And don’t lose sight of the point here: The idea behind SOPs is to create a business that will continue running even in the face of a crisis. Imagine the peace of mind you’ll have knowing anyone could open a file on your computer and find the instructions for everything.
Having SOPs will make your business better. And better businesses are naturally more marketable. I’m not here just to sell you a website or Google Ads or SEO strategy (although I dig those things). I’m here to help you with all aspects of your business.
Where are you feeling stuck? Want help creating your first SOP—or want us to just do it for you? We’ll create branded SOP templates and processes you can customize. Let’s make your business bulletproof.
Ryan Redding