How many Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) does your organization manage and what is your opinion on whether the number is sufficient? Insufficient? Over-the-top?
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Director of IT in Healthcare and Biotech5 months ago
Our organization rationalized our SOP's as they were too many, overlapping and contained conflicting information - the more regulatory impact on your business the more the SOPs proliferate. We now only publish SOP's for Policy and the majority of previous SOP's were found to be actually Work Instructions (WI) and were curated and republished as such.
no title5 months ago
“Refresh, Revive, Revise” philosophy—refreshing outdated content, reviving critical SOPs with clear purpose, and revising the overall structure to improve usability and alignment with regulatory and operational needs. Also embedding a cycle of continuous improvement and periodic review to ensure the documentation remains current, relevant, and effective over time is the right way to go.
The number of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) our organization manages varies across departments and functions. I believe SOPs cannot follow a one-size-fits-all approach. The correct number and scope of SOPs depend on the nature and complexity of operations. In some cases, a single SOP can guide multiple teams through standard processes (rarely the case), while in others, it makes more sense to have team-specific or even situation-specific SOPs to address overlapping responsibilities or unique workflows. Most important is ensuring clarity, consistency, and usability—regardless of the total count. In my opinion, rather than focusing on whether the number is sufficient or excessive, the key is whether the SOPs are effective, adaptable, and aligned with operational needs.