How To Create SOPs For New Employee Training And Onboarding

When you hear the term SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), you might think of an old corporate word. But today, we’re looking at it in a way that actually serves business owners like you. By the end of this post, you will walk away with two powerful mindset shifts, a simple three-step method for capturing SOPs, and a framework for creating an onboarding process that truly wins over new employees.

Are You Tired of Doing Everything Yourself?

Do you ever feel like you are the only person in the business who knows what is actually going on? Like you are stuck in the “I’ll just do it myself” cycle because no one else can do it the way you do? That cycle traps your company’s growth. To break out of it, we need to shift how you think about systems.

The Two Mindset Shifts: Systems Mindset and the Four Rs

The Systems Mindset

If you want to create effective SOPs for training and onboarding, you need to approach every task with what we call the Systems Mindset. Here is the core idea:

Whatever you are about to do next, capture it like it is the last time you will ever do it.

Whether you are doing bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, pulling a permit, completing an electrical walk, or anything else in your business, treat it as a capture-worthy moment.

The good news is that technology makes this extraordinarily easy. You can capture a process by:

• Writing it on paper
• Recording audio
• Filming yourself with your phone
• Using screen capture tools like Loom or Vimeo
• Using AI tools to document processes

The simplest method is often the best. Next time you perform a task, press record on your phone and explain what you are doing as you go. Then store that recording in an organized folder so you can find it later.

The Four Rs

This is one of our five core values. It transforms the way teams operate.

1. Receive without distraction.
   You cannot truly receive information if you are multitasking. Pay full attention.
2. Record.
   When someone asks you to do something, physically document the instruction.
3. Remind.
   Review what you recorded so you know what is expected.
4. Report.
   Follow through and communicate back.

When you combine the Systems Mindset with the Four Rs, your team becomes radically capable of learning, documenting, and executing.

The Three Step CPT Process

Now let’s break down the simple process for capturing and turning SOPs into training tools.

Step 1: Capture

Use your chosen method to record the task. Anything happening in front of you is worth capturing.

Step 2: Process It

Once captured, the task needs to be broken down into clear steps. Start by dividing your business into the Four Core categories:

• Marketing
• Sales
• Operations
• Administration (or Accounting)

On a sheet of paper, write these four categories and list every process that belongs under each one. This becomes your Master Process Roadmap.

Eventually, move this list into a simple spreadsheet. You do not need expensive software. A basic spreadsheet works perfectly.

Step 3: Train It

Take your Master Process Roadmap and map your training across 52 weeks. Put one process in week one, a couple in week two, another group in week three, and so on. This creates a training rhythm for your entire team.

We use a tool called The Anchor for this. Picture a Gantt chart with the weeks across the top and the list of training items down the side. This ensures you train consistently so the system never slips.

Using the Roadmap for New Employee Onboarding

Go back to your Master Process Roadmap and view it from your new employee’s perspective. Even if someone is hired into operations, they still touch marketing, sales, and admin in some way. For example, cleaning a job site is not just a safety task. It is a marketing tool because presentation influences perception.

In our company, we actually state in our vision that every team member is part of the marketing faculty. You should begin thinking that way too.

Identify the processes a new employee needs to know in their first few weeks and use those to build a four week onboarding script.

Final Step: Keep Going

You now have the Systems Mindset, the Four Rs, the CPT Process, the Master Process Roadmap, and The Anchor. These tools exist to empower you and your team.

Your next action step is to deepen your understanding of new employee training. There is a video linked below that walks you through how to train a new team member effectively. Follow that next.

Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose (mybusinessonpurpose.com) and speaker for the AEC industry and author of the book Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, and Build a Business That Matters. Business On Purpose works with business owners to articulate purpose, people, process, and profit to liberate owners from chaos and make time for what matters most.