Fix the Handover Before Writing Another SOP

A process can look complete on paper and still fail between teams. Sales agrees a customer requirement, operations receives an incomplete brief, finance cannot reconcile the terms and the founder becomes the default problem-solver. The useful starting point is the handover, not another long procedure.

Follow one real piece of work

Choose a recurring journey such as order-to-delivery, enquiry-to-proposal or new-employee onboarding. Trace one recent example from beginning to end. Record what actually happened, including side conversations, spreadsheets and informal approvals. Do not begin with the ideal process.

Map the points where ownership changes

For each handover, note the sending team, receiving team, information required, decision needed and system used. Mark where work waited, returned for clarification or progressed without a clear approval. These points often explain more than the number of steps in the process.

Define what ready means

Agree the minimum information needed before the next person accepts the work. A delivery brief may need confirmed scope, commercial terms, customer contacts and an agreed start condition. The exact fields depend on the process. Keep the requirement practical and make exceptions visible.

Give exceptions an owner

Not every situation will fit the normal path. Define who can resolve an exception, what information they need and how the decision is recorded. Avoid creating an escalation route that sends every minor issue back to the founder.

Test a small change in the workflow

Try the revised handover on a manageable set of work. Ask the people receiving it whether they can act without reopening the same questions. Review rework, waiting time and missing information. Use the findings to improve the process before documenting it as the standard.

Then write the operating guide

A useful SOP explains the trigger, owner, inputs, main steps, handover standard, exception route and record of completion. Add an example where it helps. Assign someone to maintain the guide when the underlying process changes. A document is valuable when people can use it to complete the work consistently.

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