Ever since artificial intelligence (Ai) ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November 2022, I’ve been fielding questions about whether it can be used to create SOPs and operating manuals.
“Generative” Ai models (like ChatGPT) base their responses on what its large language model has learned from a huge repository of information. The better questions you ask, the better output you will get—though sometimes it takes a few rounds. Much has been written and demonstrated on best practices for using generative Ai, so I’ll leave you to Google those resources.
That said, with the right prompts, absolutely Ai can generate a list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). An SOP is a list of to-dos or a checklist—very useful!
However, if your goal is to establish uniform operating procedures and keep them in the culture, there has to be one document that prescribes 80% of what you expect people to do based on the box they are occupying on the Box Org Chart. (You can see the Box Org Chart I recommend, here.)
Those operating manuals should also be integrated, meaning that each aligns with what is in the operating manuals for the other roles they interact with. (Tech-CSR-Dispatcher for example.)
Achieving this takes more time effort and money than you might think—which is why I created a program with 90% done for you operating manuals you just have to tweak. (You can learn more about that program here.)
The point is, trying to run your company with SOPs alone is like asking your staff to figure out what’s expected of them by looking at whiteboard with a thousand random post it notes.
Yes, I’m prejudiced toward Operating Manuals (supported by SOPs) but for one simple reason. My family’s 4th generation PHCE business runs on operating manuals and I’m gone from there 22 years now. More importantly, I’ve seen integrated operating manuals transform hundreds of contracting businesses. Something that a bunch of one-off SOPs could never do.
Here are just 7 reasons why you should buy proven, integrated operating manual templates and tweak them.
- You’re going to spend more time nudging the model to get what you think you want than you would if you just bought templates that map to the roles on the right box org chart. And it’s bound to end up more like a ransom note of random SOPs. Leaning on Ai to create Operating Manuals vs. a checklist or SOP will not provide the framework you to hang it all on, i.e., the tonality, the interconnectivity, how to get buy in on the front end, and how to get it into the culture for the long haul.
- What you put in and what you leave out of operating manuals really matters. You want a “just right” amount of information and to make sure the stuff that could work against you is left out. The models have improved dramatically over the past year, but they are still capable of serving up incorrect information. This is a problem because there are a lot of things we do as contractors that if they are done wrong can cause serious injury and worse!
- You want the manuals to have the right “tone.” Too much bold, too many capital letters, and color is perceived as yelling. Or, you end up creating a DON’T manual. (If you have kids, you already know how well they listen when all you say is “DON’T.”) Or, the manuals are shorter or longer than they should be, both for ease of adoption and maximum legal protection.
- You want to know who you should get involved in the process and when. If you get too many people involved, it gets way harder to get things done. That’s something that’s hard to know unless you’ve been through it, like we have.
- You really want all your manuals to be integrated with each other. Why? Many activities in a contracting business impact multiple positions. Integrated manuals ensure that the baton gets successfully handed off vs. dropped again and again.
- You can have the greatest manuals in the world, but unless you get buy-in from the staff at the beginning of the process, implementation will go nowhere—and that takes some knowledge and finesse on the part of you, the owner.
- You also need to know exactly how to roll out all these procedures the right way so they immediately are recognized as an important part of your company culture and then you need to know what you need to do to keep it in your culture after you’ve rolled them out.
You see where I’m going with this.
The technology continues to evolve at light speed. The reality is that my blog and other public facing content (including the box chart) will likely be used to train the models. I’m not mad about that.
What does concern me is not just the result you are going to get and the time you’re going to spend getting that result. A result that will not be based on a proven system but rather an unproven, untested mash up of different approaches and content the model thinks seems right.
You may think I’m biased, but know that I LOVE technology! The challenge is knowing what it can and can’t do at any point in time. If I thought this was THE answer, I would be the first one to stand behind it. Instead, I’m urging you to educate yourself beyond this article and think this through.
That said, if the conversation about ChatGPT has inspired you to get moving on putting operating manuals into place in your contracting business, that is great.
Manuals and SOPs done right is what will allow your business to grow and for you to finally get your life back. I just don’t want you to start down a path where you end up with yet another group of procedures that end up collecting digital dust—because that doesn’t serve anybody.
Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected].
Interested in seeing what my proven integrated manuals look like? Go to 7powercontractor.com/soms and request a free 30-minute meeting if you want to know more.