How to write an SOP someone will actually follow

Start by saying it out loud

Explain the job to an imaginary new hire, as you would on the floor. That's your first draft, and it's better than anything you'd type, because it's in the order you actually do things and the words you actually use.

One action per step

Not "clean and sanitize the station" — that's two steps with a wait in between. "Wipe the surface. Spray sanitizer. Wait one minute. Dry." Each line is one thing a person does.

Put the safety points where they'll be seen

At the top, before the steps, or called out beside the step where they apply. A warning at the end of a procedure is a warning nobody reads.

Exact figures, every time

"Under 40°F" not "cold". "Five minutes" not "a while". "One capful per gallon" not "a bit". Vague instructions produce vague results, and they don't survive translation.

Keep it under a page

If it's longer, it's two SOPs. Nobody reads page two at a station.

Or don't write it

Describe the job out loud into Tiendo and it comes back in exactly this structure — steps, safety, checkpoints — then translates into your crew's languages and posts as a QR code. The method above is what it applies. You skip the typing.

How it works

1. Talk it in. Walk through the job out loud, in whatever language you think in.
2. Get a clear routine. Tiendo structures it into steps, safety notes and checkpoints, then translates it into your team's language — numbers and times kept exact.
3. Your team reads and confirms. Post a QR code or hand a new hire one link. They read it on their phone and tap "read and understood."

Questions operators ask