The Simplest Way to Improve SOP Quality

SOPs involve two types of stakeholders:

Those who produce SOPs (write, review, and approve them), and
Those who follow SOPs in their daily work.

The former group often consists of senior personnel. The latter is usually made up of junior-level staff who execute the procedures on the ground. Unfortunately, the quality of SOPs often suffers due to the disconnect between these two groups.

Whenever I conduct pre-training surveys on the problems users face with SOPs, the feedback is consistent: SOPs are often too wordy, lengthy, complex, and impractical. When I ask them why this happens, their answer is usually the same:

The people who write SOPs are not the ones using them.

In other words, the writers are out of touch with operational realities. This is a common scenario in many pharmaceutical organizations.

Bridging the gap

So how do we bridge this gap? One simple practice I’ve found extremely effective is this:

Share the draft SOP with actual users and invite them to review it. Then hold an open meeting where anyone can offer feedback or critique. Every time I’ve done this, it’s been an eye-opener.

People who work with SOPs daily offer insights that office-based authors often overlook. These users are grounded in real-world constraints and can spot what will or won’t work. Incorporating their feedback dramatically improves the quality and practicality of your SOPs.

There’s another benefit:

Users become familiar with the SOP even before it becomes effective. You also get early buy-in, which improves compliance and implementation.

Involving users at the draft stage is one of the simplest, most effective ways to improve the quality of your SOPs.

The people who do the work are the ones who hold the answers.

W. EDWARDS DEMING