I Am Lean LLC

Standard Operating Procedures or “standardized documents” or SOP’s are the documents that help ensure the Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and People metrics that you have established in your daycare are being adhered to. These documents define and govern how the daycare is ran, what the expectations are of the staff, how communication is done with parents, etc. They are “standard” because the daycare should have everyone doing every repetitive or cyclical process the same way. They also govern how non-cyclical processes are run.

In this article we’ll help you understand the purpose of standardized documents, the various types of standardized documents, when to use each of them, and who writes the documents.

Before we get started, welcome if you are new to I Am Lean. We help daycare owners spend less time in the center to pursue other passions. We love helping daycare owners systematize their daycare operations which include their strategy, operating procedures, and training plans. Out of the need to give small businesses in my neighborhood the same advantage that big businesses have, I decided to quit my corporate job and start I Am Lean. Lean is a methodology that saves time, energy, and space, the three things that once spent is very hard or impossible to get back. Want to know more? I invite you to accept our free gift and book one of our live demonstration sessions.

Why Use Standard Operating Procedures?

Having these documents and making their content the standard, helps your daycare to move away from being a people-based organization to a systems-based organization. Consider what retirement looks for you. If you plan to sell the business, having everything documented and standardized makes for a very compelling story to a banker looking to help you finance the sell. It also looks good to a prospective buyer who may be hoping to keep the staff, client list, and enrollment list in order to start making a profit right away.

Purpose of Standard Operating Procedures

There are four primary purposes of standard operating procedures. They are to audit variation (detect or observe), to train someone to do something, or for use by staff as a reference. Each operating procedure document has one of these primary purposes, however it can fulfill several secondary purposes.

When using any standard operating procedure, it is important to consider the purpose of the document. A document used to detect or observe variation is not the best training document. Neither is a training document the best reference document for staff to use while doing their job.

Types of Standard Operating Procedures

The first type of document is called the Standard Work Document. The purpose of this document is to audit a process. The Standard Work Document defines repetitive work processes that can be visually audited. The document is usually one page with space to audit steps, sequence, the layout, timing, safety, and movement of a process.

The second type of standardized document is call the Control Plan. Its purpose is to audit work that has to detect variation. This document is used in both repetitive and non-repetitive processes. Tools required to detect variation can be colorimeters, rulers, magnification tools, temperature check tools, etc.

The third type of standardized document is called Job Aides. These documents are operator or staff reference tools. They can be handwritten notes, post-its, or printed power-point slides. They are highly visual usually loaded with pictures, highlights, arrows, etc. Job Aides are used by the staff member at the point where work is done for each cycle of work that is completed.

The fourth type of standardized document is called Work Instructions or Job Breakdown Analysis. The purpose of these documents are to train someone to do something. These documents have the steps and sequence like a standard work document, but they also have a “why” column. They inform a trainee why is it important to do work in a certain way.

Who Writes Standard Operating Procedures?

Standardized Documents can be written by anyone who understands how to perform the work. They can also be written by upper management before later auditing and updated by staff members closer to the work. The best individual to write the content for a document is the one who performs the work. The best individual to write the document in a standard way that is good for your system one who is trained to write standard documents.

Even though anyone can write or attempt to write a standardized document, not anyone can own or be accountable for them. The work instructions and control plans are owned by the Engineer or Child Care Director. These are the people responsible for ensuring that the “Why” column has critical information.

For example, if you have a work instruction for how to clean toys, the Director should make sure to notify everyone that if they forget to add bleach the germs might not get cleaned and someone may get sick.

Job Aides and Standard Work documents are owned by the Lead Teacher. They are responsible that the content is correct because everyone should be trained the exact same way. They also audit the work and encourage the staff to write updates or improvements to the documents as needed.

For more information about templates or anything related to standard operating procedures, we invite you to accept our free gift and book one of our live demonstration sessions.