# How to Write an SOP That a New Hire Can Follow To write an SOP, pick one process your team repeats and gets wrong, watch the person who does it most reliably, write the steps in order with who does each one and when to stop, have someone else test it, then approve it with an owner and a review date. This guide is for owners and managers at any company whose procedures live in one person's head. Updated October 27, 2026 ## Writing an SOP, in short Writing an SOP means choosing one process your team repeats, capturing how the person who does it most reliably really does it, and writing the steps in order with who does each one, the exceptions and the point where someone must stop and ask. Owners and managers at any company write one when a procedure lives in one person's head. Elvina drafts the SOP from a recorded walkthrough or your notes, available now, and the process owner approves each version before staff see it. ## What happens on the free demo - Book 30 minutes. Pick a time with Elvina's team. The demo is free and runs on Zoom. - Show the team your goal. Bring one role or one procedure. The team shows how Elvina would handle it, using sample materials. - Agree on the next step. You leave with a plan for the first step and its price. Nothing reaches your team until you approve it. ## The short answer A useful SOP is short, based on how the work is really done and tested by someone who did not write it. Check your draft for three problems: steps that do not match the work, missing exceptions and no named owner. The seven steps below cover each one. The seven steps at a glance: who does each one, what it produces and how you know it is done. | Step | Who | What you end with | How you know it is done | |---|---|---|---| | Step 1: Pick one process | The owner | One named process with a clear start and end | It recurs, has a clear start and finish, and errors affect quality, safety, time or cost | | Step 2: Watch the person who knows the task | The owner or manager, with that person | A recorded walkthrough and notes on every decision point | Every action you saw has a name | | Step 3: Write the steps in order | The writer; Elvina can draft | Numbered steps, each with who does it, what they need and what exists after | Each step starts with a verb and names one action | | Step 4: Mark exceptions and stop points | The writer, with the expert | What changes on a busy day and when to stop and ask | Questions nobody has answered are marked as open | | Step 5: Test it with someone else | A trained person who did not write it | Notes on every place they hesitated | They follow the steps and use the stated stop points without needing the instructions clarified | | Step 6: Approve, version and date it | The process owner | Version 1 with an owner and a review date | Staff see only the approved version | | Step 7: Turn it into training | The manager; Elvina can draft | A short lesson, a job aid and a check | A new hire passes the check while someone watches | ## Step 1: pick one process worth writing down Start with a process that recurs and goes wrong in a way you can name: an order shipped without a check, a register that does not balance, a refund issued twice. EPA defines an SOP as written instructions for a routine or repetitive activity. For your first SOP, choose a recurring process with a clear start and finish, and keep one process per SOP; a document that covers the whole company is a handbook. - Receiving and checking a delivery - Inspecting a production batch before release - Reviewing an invoice before payment - Handling a complaint or a refund request ## Step 2: watch the person who knows the task The right source is the person who does the work, not the manual nobody updated. Ask them to do the task while you watch, or to record a short walkthrough on a phone, and note every place where they make a judgment call: that is where a new hire will slip. With Elvina, you upload the recording or your notes and she drafts the SOP; the person who knows the task checks the draft first. ## Step 3: write the steps in the order they happen Write one action per step, in the order it happens, and start each step with a verb. For each step, say who does it, what they need before they start and what exists when they finish. EPA's guidance asks for a concise, step-by-step, easy-to-read format in the active voice. Put the purpose and the roles at the top; the SOP template on this site has those fields ready. ## Step 4: mark the exceptions and the stop points Include instructions for situations where the normal steps do not apply, such as a late customer, a missing part or a system outage. Write what changes in each case and the point where the person must stop and ask. Where nobody has decided yet, mark the line as an open decision and let the owner close it, so nobody teaches a guess. ## Step 5: test it with someone who did not write it Ask someone who did not write the SOP, and who has the training the task requires, to follow it with appropriate supervision. Every place they hesitate or ask is a step to rewrite. EPA's guidance says it is especially helpful when someone other than the original writer tests a draft before it is finalized. The test run shows the steps the expert does without thinking. ## Step 6: approve it, give it an owner and a review date One named owner approves the SOP, and staff see only the approved version. Write the version number, the date and a review date on it, so a procedure nobody follows anymore is withdrawn instead of taught. Keep the approved SOP in Company Knowledge as a training source, and nothing reaches staff before a person approves it. ## Step 7: turn it into training A written SOP is not yet training. To teach the procedure, pair it with a short lesson, a one-page job aid kept where the work happens and an observed practice task. Elvina drafts the lesson and the job aid from the approved SOP, available now; the steps are in our guide on turning an SOP into a training lesson. ## A worked example A fictional salon group with two locations writes its first SOP for closing the register. The evening lead records a short walkthrough while she closes, and Elvina drafts the SOP from it. The manager tests it with a stylist who has never closed, rewrites the two steps where the stylist hesitated and approves version 1. The draft uses four distinct labels: - From your rule: the person closing counts the drawer and logs the total before leaving. - Needs your decision: who signs the log when only one person closes. - Elvina's suggestion: add a photo of a filled-in log, so both locations close the same way. - Who approves: each location's manager, and the owner for the one-person close. ## Where a person stays in charge Elvina drafts SOPs, lessons, job aids and checks from what you record or upload, and keeps every open decision marked as yours. She does not set your policies or certify that a procedure is legal or safe: where a rule comes from a regulator or a licensing board, a qualified person checks the text. Your process owner approves every version before staff see it. ## Sources Public sources, checked on the date shown. - EPA's SOP guidance says SOPs should be written in a concise, step-by-step, easy-to-read format, by subject-matter experts who actually perform the work. Source: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-06/documents/g6-final.pdf (checked 2026-10-26). - EPA says it is especially helpful if draft SOPs are tested by individuals other than the original writer, and that SOPs should be updated and re-approved whenever procedures change. Source: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-06/documents/g6-final.pdf (checked 2026-10-26). ## Who Elvina is not for, and when another tool fits ### Elvina is not the right choice if - You need a procedure checked against a regulation: a qualified person signs off on that. - You want one document that covers every process in the company. - Nobody can approve the SOP before staff start following it. ### Another kind of tool may fit better - A shared checklist, when a handful of people follow a few steps that rarely change. - A document management system, when an auditor expects controlled documents with signed approvals. ## Questions **Q:** What should an SOP include? A title and purpose, the roles involved, what the person needs before starting, the steps in order with who does each one, the exceptions and stop points, and the version, owner and review date. Forms and checklists go in as attachments to the SOP. **Q:** What should I record during an SOP walkthrough? The starting conditions, each action in order, the decision points, the exceptions and what the finished result looks like. Ask the person to say out loud the steps they normally do without thinking, because those are the ones a written draft tends to miss. **Q:** How do I test an SOP draft before approving it? Have someone other than the writer follow it, with the training the task requires and appropriate supervision. Note unclear steps, missing inputs and unresolved decisions, revise the draft, then have the process owner approve it. ## Two things you can check on this site - See a sample on the demo. [Book a demo with my team](https://calendly.com/o-dutchak-smartexpert/30min?utm_source=elvina-site&utm_medium=proof) - Every lesson, plan and quiz stays a draft until you approve it. [Check the approval step in the chat](/how-to-write-an-sop#talk-to-elvina) Checked October 27, 2026. No launch date is committed for planned features.