Standard operating procedures, or SOPs for short, are manuals that guide anything that requires specific direction to be done correctly. They could be created for tasks to be performed, communication systems, onboarding and training processes, etc. In them, you typically find the steps the process should follow, conditions for deviation, and the criteria for when a job is done right.
Companies create them so they can run smoothly without having to constantly walk their VAs through everything. With them, VAs know exactly what to do and can judge the quality of their tasks before submitting them. But without them, VAs have to guess how to proceed, messages get sent to the wrong channels, tasks go back and forth, and disorder becomes the norm.
When companies set out to build SOPs, they do so with the expectations of consistency and efficiency. But the promise and the reality don’t always match, and sometimes, it’s because they use flawed SOP documentation processes. The SOPs end up unused or misunderstood, and things remain uncoordinated.
To understand why SOPs fail, we’ll take a look at some of the wrong things companies do when building them. Here we go:
SOPs Are Written Too Technically
One common workplace problem that leads to SOP failures is that some people like to sound too “professional” or “learned.” When the person creating an SOP chooses jargon over easy-to-understand terms, it becomes a problem for those unfamiliar with the jargon.
“Execute a comprehensive reconciliation of all financial remittances by leveraging the designated operational dashboards to validate cross-functional alignment prior to escalation.”
Just reading through that gives me a headache, but the same thing could be written as, “Review all payment records carefully by comparing them across every relevant system or department. Use the dashboard to confirm that everything matches. If you still find a mismatch after checking all sides, then report the issue.”
If asked to choose, you’ll easily prefer the simpler SOP. While the first type of writing makes the SOP confusing, the second makes it easy to follow.
The Documentation Doesn't Match Real-Life Work
Sometimes, SOPs are created without a deep observation of how the work is really done. Managers supervising tasks often think they know enough about the “hands-on” work that goes into it, so they write the SOP themselves instead of having the VA who handles the work create it. However, when VAs see the steps, they are confused, not because the SOP isn’t easy to understand, but because that’s simply not how they do things.
The managers could even have been VAs who once handled the tasks, so they might have a good idea of how to go about them. But processes evolve, and how they were done in the past may now be obsolete. That disconnect between expected processes and reality puts the company in a situation where VAs either follow unrealistic SOPs and perform poorly or discard them and return to disorder.
SOPs Are Built Once And Never Updated
Every change a process faces must be updated in the SOP. It doesn’t matter how little or big the change is. Whether they switch their CRM tool from ClickUp to Monday, stop using hashtags in their posts, adopt AI for certain task stages, or swap certain steps, the SOPs must reflect the change.
When VAs who have adopted the new processes see that an SOP hasn’t been updated, it loses credibility. Those who work with the SOPs find their work corrected even though they follow the steps already outlined, causing confusion. And there’s the risk of mistakes and inconsistencies, since the new processes live only in VAs’ memories rather than in a document.
We recommend regular reviews of SOPs. Otherwise, SOPs that have the potential to serve a company for years become outdated and remain shelved while VAs work without a unified direction.
No One Owns The SOP (Lack Of Clear Responsibility)
After an SOP is built, it’s common to assume that “someone else” is in charge of the document, but in many cases, no one is. It becomes a company-owned document, and in reality, the “company” is not a person that can look after it.
Many people prefer to run from what seems like extra responsibility, so someone must be assigned to manage and update the SOP. What happens when no one takes ownership of an SOP is quite obvious: it quickly loses value as processes change or no one initiates periodic reviews to keep it up to date.
Employees Aren't Trained On How To Use SOPs
The first step when an SOP is shared with the team is to explain it. An SOP can be interpreted differently by different readers, but that initial explanation helps all VAs understand it the same way. Any new worker who joins should also have the SOP explained to them, so they can align with how others understand it.
When SOPs are not well explained, teammates either work with them based on their own interpretation, which may not be correct, leading to back-and-forth and delays. Alternatively, they may follow another coworker’s steps, which defeats the purpose of creating an SOP in the first place.
SOPs Are Too Long Or Too Complex
People easily get overwhelmed when things are longer than they should be or over-complicated. No need to over-explain a step or process when a few words can do it. Keep it too long, and VAs may just skim through to finish it quickly. They may even skip vital parts, which can lead to trouble later.
A simple rule to follow is to use as few words as possible when building an SOP. Instead of overexplaining anything, use visuals. Visualizing a step makes it far easier for a VA to follow. Say they need to “click the profile icon and tap on Settings” in an app they are unfamiliar with. Even I, who is familiar with ChatGPT, struggled a little the first time I had to do the same there.
But when they can see the visuals showing the whole screen with arrows pointing to where to go, it becomes a whole lot easier. Plus, the inclusion of visuals makes it more exciting to read. Besides screenshots, you can also use flowcharts, step lists, and video links to keep the SOP simple.
SOPs Are Written Too Vaguely
Anyone who reads our blog knows we talk about vague communication every chance we get because it’s such a cancer in remote work. It causes confusion and wastes time, and neither the VA nor the client benefits. Since SOPs are a form of communication, they should also avoid vagueness.
Writing, “Make sure everything is correct before continuing,” may make perfect sense to you in an SOP, but the user questions what “everything” means, what “correct” means, and where they should continue. Now, compare that with “Confirm that the client’s name, email, and order number match the details in the CRM before you move to the next step,” and you can tell which is easier to understand and follow.
However, remember, just because you’re removing vagueness doesn’t mean you should make your SOP wordy or jargonized. You can keep it detailed while using as few words as possible, especially by choosing words that are easy to understand for everyone.
When Instructions Don’t Explain The Reason
The instructions in a standard operating procedure usually have a purpose. Their aim could be to avoid an error faced in the past, keep things in line with new standards, or pass a specific quality check. Take the case of an accounting system that rejects image files or can’t read them properly, and the process requires VAs to send invoices as PDFs.
If the SOP only says, “Upload the invoice as a PDF” without specifying the reason, VAs may take it as a suggestion. So, when they find uploading or creating PDFs complicated, they may use another file type, assuming nothing will go wrong. But this can cause the invoices to remain unprocessed, or they may be processed but with missing data.
However, if the SOP had said, “Upload the invoice as a PDF, not a screenshot. Our accounting system rejects image files,” the user would have a reason why the invoice must be a PDF. Therefore, they’ll make the extra effort, and when issues come up, they’ll ask for support instead of changing the process.
No Testing Before Rollout
One of the key final steps in SOP building is testing it with real workflows. You want to make sure the SOP works before introducing it to your whole team. This phase often reveals problems that send the SOP back into editing and retesting until it’s good enough to be adopted by a wider team.
Without testing, gaps and contradictions remain, and they quickly become problematic when adopted. Problematic SOPs are useless, so everyone abandons them and returns to undocumented processes.
Companies Don't Measure Their Use
Are people even using the SOPs? And if yes, in what ways has it been disappointing? These are essential questions companies must ask after introducing a team to an SOP. Just because a document exists doesn’t mean it’s being used or even helpful.
Some metrics to measure in an SOP include error rates, turnaround times, adoption levels, and adherence to specific steps. Do this regularly, and you’ll find missing steps, outdated instructions, problem points, places where VAs misinterpret instructions, where tools fail, and where rewriting is needed.
Measuring SOPs shows you that they’re effective and being used. It also gives you a chance to spot issues and improve the document.
What To Do
If your SOPs are never used or are discarded over time, you have a problematic SOP system. These tips will help you improve it and build better SOPs:
- Observe real workflows before documenting because SOPs must be rooted in reality, not assumptions.
- Write for clarity because complex and lengthy SOPs confuse people and get ignored.
- Make SOPs visual by using pictures, charts, and videos to increase understanding and interest.
- Assign a document owner because that’s the only way to have someone accountable for an SOP.
- Review regularly with employees to spot room for improvement, based on input from the people who use it daily.
- Train everyone using the SOP so they all have the same interpretation of the steps.
- Keep feedback channels open because that’s the only way SOPs can improve.
Test, Refine, And Encourage Feedback
When SOPs fail, some people see it as an opportunity to blame the idea of processes. They may say that processes make things rigid and restrict creativity, or that they can quickly become outdated. But good SOPs exist, so the problem isn’t with processes but with the documentation, and reading through this article, you now know why SOPs fail.
Strong SOPs change over time, include input from the people who use them, and stay easy to follow, and avoiding the common mistakes outlined above makes that possible. When documentation is clear and thoughtful, you stop creating ineffective SOPs, and your SOPs become reliable tools your team trusts and uses to produce consistent results.
Also, do you know you can use AI to create SOPs, especially if you have little experience with them? Here’s our step-by-step guide to help you do it.
