Now that you’ve learned what standard operating procedures are and how to get started creating them (missed that post? check it out here!), you’re probably wondering “how the heck I’m I going to manage all of these things!?”
Don’t worry. I’ve got your back when it comes to organizing your SOP vault so these brand-new babies don’t get lost in the sea of your Google Drive Docs.
We’ve gotten through all the hard work of creating the core SOPs for your business, so now it’s time we organize them! This can be a tedious job keeping track of all your SOPs, wondering where you stored them last, and how to name them for easy finding.
The worst thing that can happen is that all these Google Docs have no one managing them, essentially creating this graveyard of SOPs that don’t work for your business anymore. We definitely don’t want this! We want to keep them up-to-date, organized, and easy to find so you can utilize them to their fullest potential. This is the whole point!
Luckily for you, organization is what I do, so let’s dive right into how to keep your files organized and up to date!
1. Store them in Google Drive by category of the business and name them well.
Please, please, please name your SOPs in a way that makes sense for your own brain and business model. In Google, using the search feature is QUEEN, so name your SOPs something you’ll be able to type into the search bar and pop up quickly (just in case they go missing from your PM tool!😉)
Share the SOP folder with your team so they can access and find them too! This skips the step of you being the middleman between your team and your business when it comes to completing tasks, especially if you’re in the middle of something important with no time for interruptions.
2. Keep a master board/folder/space/base of your categorized SOPs inside of a project management tool and use labels, or some sort of system, to track the SOP’s status
Some label examples include: “up to date”, “needs updated”, “missing the loom”, “needs reviewed”, “in use/current”, etc.)
With a labeling system to track your projects and business tasks, you can easily see where your SOPs are located, what stage they are in, and if they need updated, etc.
3. Set a due date of every 6 months, or even quarterly, every time you finish creating, or updating, an SOP
Setting due dates will provide you with an automatic reminder to check in to make sure your processes are still up to date. This alleviates the pile-up of tasks over an extended period of time by checking certain things based on the schedule you set up for monitoring your SOP.
Your time is valuable, and you’ve totally got this! You can take a nice, deep breath knowing you’re halfway there! You’re on your way to creating a more organized and efficient workflow within your business. Aren’t you excited?! I know I am!
If you need extra pointers on naming, organizing, and keeping your SOPs up to date, let’s chat. You’re not alone and I’d love to help you!
