Standard operating procedures (SOPs) can sound like the opposite of goals: routine versus ambition. In practice, they work together. SOPs define how work should be done consistently. Goals define what should get better. Connecting the two is one of the most practical ways to improve a team.
What an SOP is
An SOP is a written, step-by-step description of how to complete a recurring task: processing an order, onboarding a new starter, closing the month, handling a complaint. A good SOP means the task is done the same way, to the same standard, whoever does it.
Did you know? When the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist was tested in eight hospitals around the world, results published in 2009 showed the death rate fell from 1.5% to 0.8% and major complications fell from 11% to 7%. A simple standard procedure can have a dramatic effect.
Three ways to connect SOPs and goals
1. Creating SOPs as a goal
If key processes live only in people's heads, documenting them is a valuable goal:
- "Write SOPs for the five most common customer service requests by June and train two colleagues on each."
This reduces risk, speeds up onboarding and frees you from being the only person who knows how things work.
2. Using SOPs as the baseline for improvement goals
You cannot improve a process consistently until it is standardised. Once an SOP exists, you can measure it and set goals:
- "Reduce average order processing time from 12 minutes to 8 minutes by redesigning steps 4 to 6 of the order SOP."
3. Using compliance with SOPs as a quality goal
In regulated or safety-critical work, following procedures is itself a goal:
- "Achieve 100% completion of the pre-shift safety checklist for Q3."
How to write a useful SOP
- Title and purpose: what the task is and why it matters.
- Scope: when the SOP applies.
- Roles: who does what.
- Step-by-step instructions: numbered, clear and short.
- Standards: what "done correctly" looks like.
- Review date: SOPs should be updated as processes improve.
Keep SOPs alive
An SOP that nobody reads is not a standard. Review SOPs whenever a goal changes the process, and make updating them part of every improvement project.
The bottom line
SOPs protect consistency; goals drive improvement. Create SOPs as goals, use them as baselines for improvement targets and treat compliance as a goal where it matters. For more example goals, see work goal examples by role. Our Business Planning and Goal Setting course shows how operational processes connect to wider business goals.