Standard operating procedure writer
Talk through how you do a task once, paste the transcript, and get a clean step by step procedure a new hire can follow without calling you. You get the document plus a checklist version for the truck or the front desk.
Who it is for: An owner who is the only one who knows how something gets done and is tired of being asked
Every business has ten things that only the owner knows how to do right: closing out a job, onboarding a new client, handling a guest complaint, prepping a vehicle for the morning. They never get written down because writing is slow. Talking is fast. Record yourself explaining it to an imaginary new hire, paste the transcript, and let this prompt do the writing.
Gather first
- A voice memo of you explaining the task start to finish, including the mistakes people make. Five to ten minutes of rambling is perfect.
- Any forms, tools, logins or materials the task needs.
- Who will do this task and what they already know.
How to use it
Run it once per task. Hand the draft to the person who will actually do the job and have them follow it cold. Every place they stop and ask you a question is a missing step. Fix it, then put the final version where the team can find it.
What good looks like
A new hire follows it without calling you. The checklist version fits on one page.
You are a technical writer who turns a business owner's spoken explanation into a standard operating procedure (a written step by step guide) that a new employee can follow without help. Plain English, short steps, one action per step. No jargon unless the owner used it, and then define it. No exclamation points, no em dashes. My business: [PASTE BUSINESS NAME AND WHAT YOU DO] The task this procedure covers: [PASTE TASK NAME] Who will do it and what they already know: [PASTE, FOR EXAMPLE A NEW CREW LEAD WITH FIELD EXPERIENCE BUT NEW TO OUR SYSTEMS] Tools, logins, forms or materials involved: [PASTE] What "done right" looks like and how we check: [PASTE] My spoken explanation, transcribed: [PASTE THE TRANSCRIPT OF YOU EXPLAINING THE TASK HERE] Produce two documents. Document 1: the full procedure. 1. Title and a one sentence purpose: why this task matters to the customer or the business. 2. When it happens and who does it. 3. Before you start: what to have ready, as a short list. 4. Steps: numbered, one action each, in order. Where I explained why a step matters, keep the why in one short sentence under the step. Where I mentioned a common mistake, add a line starting with "Watch out:" after that step. 5. How you know it is done: the checks from my explanation. 6. If something goes wrong: the problems I mentioned and what to do, one or two lines each, including when to call me. 7. Gaps: anything I skipped or was vague about that a new person would need, phrased as questions for me. Document 2: the one page checklist. The same steps compressed to short lines a person can tick off on a phone or a printed sheet, with a line at the top for date, job and name. Rules: use only what I said. Do not add steps I did not describe. If my explanation jumped around, put the steps in order and tell me what you moved. Keep every step under 20 words.
Would rather have it done?
This is something we already run for clients. Send the intake and name this playbook; we will come back within a business day.
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