5 Steps to create an inclusive SoP - Vittakosh
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5 Steps to create an inclusive SoP

Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs, are a set of documents created by businesses to ensure that the whole system follows a streamlined set of rules, processes, and procedures to drive efficiency. Ensuring you and your team are operating from a formalized, and coordinated process not only increases productivity but reduces the risk of errors. Therefore, SOPs form a much-required strong base for business success.

But most organizations need to improve on creating these SOPs by following an inclusive lens to ensure that all employees within the organization benefit from it. It is essential to ensure that your teams’ SOPs are unbiased and convenient to follow. Vittakosh can help you create these inclusive SOPs that align well with your business goals in five easy steps. Read on to follow:

What are SOPs?

SOPs are documented processes and rules that an organization designs to ensure that services and products are delivered consistently every time. They also consist of essential checklists like government rules & regulations, HR policies, and tax details, along with items crucial to business design like roles & responsibilities, work hours, processes to follow for each department, etc.

SOPs are different for different industries and even different companies in the same industry. They depend mainly on your business goals, the founders’ vision of work culture & services, and their short-term & long-term plans.

Critical factors for an SOP

For the initial point, an SOP must consist of broad-based guidelines for internal and external processes associated with your business. It should follow all legal frameworks and not consist of any rules or regulations against the law of the land.

While it is pretty challenging to simplify legal terminologies, it is important that your SOP is written in a non-technical manner so that it’s easy to follow for employees across all rungs. SOPs should always allow some flexibility to suit the particular needs of any employee if required. Further, an SOP must be clear and concise.

An SOP should be reviewed periodically and improved based on suggestions, reviews, and requirements of the staff. It is important to note that SOPs are designed to serve the employees as much as to serve the business goals.

Vittakosh’s services help you frame SOPs that are easy to comprehend and follow for all employees.

Things to include in an SOP

Vittakosh follows the standardized industry framework to create SOP formats for your business while keeping in mind your distinct requirements. The standard SOP contents include the title of the procedures, identification numbers, publication & revision dates, name of the organization/department the SOPs are meant for, details of the processes and regulations, signatory information, and information about help desks or query departments.

5 Steps to ensure your SOPs are inclusive

With DE&I rules becoming stringent and crucial for businesses, it is important that your SOPs are also inclusive. Vittakosh follows a simple five-step procedure to ensure that any SOP they work on is inclusive, people-friendly, and sustainable.

1. Avoid pronouns that appear to be sexist.

It is standard for organizations to work with SOPs in a format that addresses the employees as “he/him.” It is important to write your SOPs with pronouns that don’t indicate a particular gender and are inclusive for people across the spectrum. You can replace the pronouns indicative of any gender to “they/them” to involve everyone.

2. Include flexible procedures for differently-abled employees

It is clear to denote flexible rules and processes for differently-abled employees. Any special allowances, rules, or help available for them at the organization should be included in SOPs. It is also important to sensitize all people towards differently-abled colleagues, and such details should also be mentioned in the SOPs.

3. Making sure SOPs are understandable and accessible for all employees

They should be written in a language that all employees can easily understand and comprehend. Translations could be provided for employees who are not trained to understand details in the English language. You can also consider having your SOPs printed in braille or any other format that can be accessed by visually-impaired hires.

4. Ensuring hiring and marketing policies are not partial.

SOPs should define well the purviews of all hiring and marketing functions. There should be no stringent rules that could make hiring policies partial. For example, set working hours must be challenging to follow for physically impaired individuals or female employees travelling to work from far-off places. Your marketing activities should not be racist, sexist, classist, or against a particular group of people or communities.

5. Make everyone feel involved.

There should not be any ambiguity in your SOPs regarding any department’s roles, responsibilities, or processes. There should be clearly defined aspects for each employee to follow.

Vittakosh is an expert in creating standard SOPs that are inclusive, well-curated, and serve the unique needs of any business.