In a previous article, How to Make it in the Cabinet Industry - Standardizing Systems, we talked about the necessity of standardizing your systems with SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures). 

We asked if you've ever had this exact dialogue, sometimes several times an hour, with an employee?

Employee: “How do you assemble this type of box?”

Boss: “Well, you take this piece and staple here, here, and here.”

Boss walks off.

Employee: (10 minutes later) ”Well, how do I do this type?”

Boss: “Well, you take this and staple here and here and here.”

We revealed that standardizing your systems puts an end to this kind of never ending dialogue. We also said that standardizing your systems sets your employees up for success, frees up your time as an owner, and puts your shop on track to be an unstoppable force.

See it in Action

We hope you've had a chance to start standardizing systems in your shop. Today, we are bringing SOP'S to life with a real world example from our shop. 

Let’s review our process for creating SOP's and then take a look at our video to see what it looks like in our shop. 

Outlined below are the steps our components business uses to build an SOP.

1. Identity the 4 main areas of your business.

2. Create cards from employee questions.

3. 15 minutes every week.

4. Add additional content.

5. Monthly purge.

STandardize now, Succeed Later

If you want your employees to become self-sufficient, give them the information and backup they need to be so. If you want time to work on your business instead of just in it, standardize the systems that allow you to delegate.

Standardizing your systems may seem time consuming and boring, but take it as an opportunity to make your business better. 15 minutes this week mean hours saved and a booming business in weeks down the road.

Do you remember reading about standardizing a couple months ago and planning to use it, but just didn't have time to get to it? Trust me when I say there will never be time to work on your business instead of just in it. You have to make the time to continuously improve. 

If you do, the pay off personally and professionally will be huge. 

Let's TAlk

If you have put standardizing and SOP's to the test, be sure to comment below and let us know if how its going and what effect it has had on your shop! 

Have a question about standardizing? Leave your answer and any questions in the comment box below and we will be sure to reply.