How to Write Work Instructions (SOPs) by DISC Personality

The first method to getting your processes documented is demonstrated by our character, Chuck, who has the “D” persona. To get SOPs written, Chuck locks his team in the room and basically says, “We’re not leaving until SOPs are written. Let’s go!” For an added incentive, Chuck encourages the team with pizza, beer, and a pep talk to kick things off.

 

This “bootcamp” strategy is perfect for getting a massive amount of workflows documented in a short timespan, particularly if your team has the positivity to turn it into something fun.

 

To implement the Bootcamp Strategy for your team, you’ll need a concrete task list and training for all team members. To outsource that homework, sign your team up for ProcessDriven’s annual SOP bootcamp. It’s designed to allow anyone to come in, learn SOP basics, and then get to work making some SOPs! Sign up here.

Next up, we have a chatty character, Heather, who has the “I” persona. She’s skilled at connecting 1:1 and uses this skill to capture SOPs in a conversational interview format. By positioning SOPs as a win-win in a non-threatening format, Heather is able to capture a process in minutes during the course of normal conversation, making this strategy perfect for change-averse team members!

 

Using back-and-forth conversations to create SOPs is also an excellent way to train a new hire to write SOPs while you teach them your process.

 

The As-You-Go Strategy is exactly what it sounds like: when you have a moment to write an SOP, write it! In the stellar video skit, the character Bro-La is faced with a question from a colleague. Rather than asking directly, Bro-la took a few minutes to put his answer into a (reusable) SOP and share that SOP link, rather than just answering in the chatroom.

 

While this strategy can require a fair amount of discipline for fast-paced teams, this is one of the most sustainable and long-term approaches to process documentation that almost any team should strive for.

Finally, our “S” persona in DISC demonstrates the power of using Key Metrics as the driver for process documentation. In this example, our character introduces a company-wide individual performance metric for how many SOPs are in excellent condition. She makes it clear that, on a regular basis, this metric will be used to appraise individual company contributions and that it has executive support.

 

Key Metrics drive incentives, not actions. Unlike all other strategies, our character here isn’t personally involved in how teams write their business systems down. For this reason, the Key Metrics strategy is one of the best tactics for company-wide change driven by senior leaders or middle management who aren’t directly available to “rally” a team of front-line direct reports.

 

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Whether you’re a charismatic visionary or an analytical operations expert, you can be a driving force for documenting business systems. Start small and pick one strategy for your next quarter. Then, revisit this list by adding more strategies to speed up your progress!

 

Stuck in indecision? The easy button for documenting your business systems and processes is attending ProcessDriven’s annual SOP writing workshop. Register or join the waitlist to get your team enrolled right here!

 

Until next time, enjoy the process!