Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are essential to the functioning of many enterprises. Some
organisations – for example, in the pharma sector – have thousands of them floating around with
employees receiving constant reminders of an ever-updating list of documents and PDFs that they
must make themselves familiar with.
SOPs are written and promulgated to regulate and control
processes. Yet, even in the largest enterprises, they
represent a vulnerability – they come in so many shapes and
sizes, via multiple media, that the control of their uptake is
patchy at best. Some high visibility SOPs already get
converted to conventional full-blown e-learning. But more
than 80% remain in static or semi-static documents, PDFs,
and PowerPoints. Yet, by definition, this is mission-critical
information. It is essential that the relevant staff come to
know the information that is in an SOP – otherwise it would
not be in an SOP.
