SOPs improve consistency, and when you do things in a consistent way, you make fewer errors. Consistency also equals efficiency, which translates into a better bottom line.
SOPs communicate your expectations, or the standards you expect employees to hit. They make it easier to train new employees and for someone filling in for an employee who is away.
And SOPs help ensure that every customer has a similar, positive experience with your shop.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of SOPs you can have, from how customers are greeted to how finished cars are detailed before delivery. Here is how we have begun to create our shop's SOPs.
1. First, determine your objective. You need to know what you want to achieve. We wanted to improve the efficiency of how parts were processed (ordered, checked-in, etc.), for example. As a result, that was a procedure we decided to standardize and document.
2. Get others involved. Choose a "process champion," or an experienced employee who has a vested interest in successfully creating and implementing an SOP. Do you want a procedure designed to improve your sales ratio? The shop manager whose compensation is partially based on sales may be your best help for getting that SOP in place. Think about — and then communicate — how the SOP will benefit them. You also may want to include those who will be directly impacted by the SOP. The process of developing an SOP to improve sales, for example, should likely include an estimator.
3. Determine — and document — the steps in the process. One way to look for ways to improve a process — and to document your new SOP — is a "process map," a flow chart showing each step in the process and who is responsible for each step. And while documentation is important, don't get bogged down by including too much detail. Most procedures can have 10 line items or less. Create signs or forms (using pictures where appropriate) that will help communicate the procedure.
4. Determine how you will implement it. You need to explain not just what the SOP is, but why it's important to use and follow the SOP. Explain how it will save people time or money, or improve communication and workflow. Consider the early days of a new SOP as a test period, perhaps implementing it on a limited basis, to check to see how it will work – then tweaking it as necessary using employees' feedback.
5. Set up a measuring and auditing system. If you don't measure it, you cannot track it, and if you don't track it, how can you know the SOP brings value? Have some objective way of measuring its success. Even after your initial measurements, you will need to continue to monitor employee compliance with the SOP, continuing to train and coach them and measuring improvement. Over time, as people realize they can know what to expect from their coworkers using the SOP, they will come to appreciate the consistency that it provides.
6. Celebrate your successes. And finally, when you have a SOP that works, when it saves time or improves customer satisfaction and you can measure that improvement, celebrate that success. Reward those who comply.
The most important key to success with SOPs is just getting started. Work on a few every quarter, and chances are that a year from now your shop workflow — whether administration or productions — will run more smoothly and efficiently in the areas in which you have SOPs.
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