Tips for Standard Operating Procedures (SOP):
- Avoid relying on “intuition” or “experience” when hiring employees. Instead, consider more scientific methods, such as personality assessment tools.
- When designing procedures and standards for human resource management, it is advisable to adopt “multiple sets” of practices tailored to the nature of services and positions.
- Develop appropriate operational procedures based on the nature of the “service” to ensure a consensus between employees and clients regarding the services provided.
There is one of our clients who manages an education center specializing in survival skills for both children and adults. Despite the successful establishment of three branches over the past decade, the company faced a stagnation in growth and prompted us to consult and assist them for restructuring.
Regarding the issues of work processes and management tools, you may refer to our previous articles for more details:
Let’s talk about employee management this time.
For many employers, managing staff can be a significant challenge. Some employers even believe that dealing with employees from the young generation, especially post-’90s and the Millennials, or individuals labeled as the “Strawberry Generation” which carries the perception of them as easily bruised, self-absorbed, pampered, and overconfident, can be difficult due to their perceived strong personalities and resistance to management.
Consider this scenario: Two individuals join your team with seemingly similar personalities, equivalent educational backgrounds, identical training, and are equipped with the same tools and authority to give instructions. Despite these similarities, why does the quality of the services they provide differ significantly?
Take this education center as reference and opportunity for employers to introspect on their human resource management practices. If your company faces similar situations, you may find valuable insights on how to strengthen internal operations.
Avoid using one method to manage employees!
Human resource management in a company primarily involves five key stages: recruitment, hiring, training, appraisal/evaluation, and retention.
Taking this education center as an example, human resources are divided into administrative and professional groups. Therefore, it is crucial to develop two sets of operational procedures to manage employees.
When designing internal operational procedures in the service industry, it is often necessary to determine whether the company’s services fall into the category of pure intangibility or a combination of tangible and intangible elements.
How should one go about developing standard operating procedures for services that are purely intangible?
Everything seems straightforward; is it merely a matter of finding the right individuals willing to learn, follow instructions, and capable of problem-solving?
Within the realm of pure services, management involves overseeing two crucial components:
- Those receiving the service: Customers
- Those delivering the service: The service personnel you’ve hired
“Relying on feelings” leading to customer dissatisfaction and complaints?
Improper management of these two groups can often lead to a situation where expectations diverge significantly.
The concept of expectation disparity arises when your sales team outlines a service as level A, but customers interpret it as level B. This mismatch creates a void in customer expectations, resulting in dissatisfaction and even formal complaints.
In the case of services combining intangible and tangible elements, the presence of a product helps bridge the gap in customer perception. However, when the service is entirely intangible, customers are left to rely solely on their “feelings.”
During such instances, there is a common inclination to place the blame solely on the service-providing company.
However, that’s not entirely accurate. Frequently, the root cause lies in cognitive biases and discrepancies in understanding. Those receiving the information may introduce distortions based on their interpretation, and until individuals gain authentic hands-on experience, their claimed “understanding” is often only a partial grasp of the situation.
This may not necessarily be a fault of the company; rather, it’s a human nature issue.
“Relying on feelings” and its consequences: Hiring the Wrong Employees?
However, in the realm of business management, attributing every challenge to human nature or simply categorizing issues as customer-related is insufficient. It is essential to focus on managing the expectations of both parties.
When it comes to hiring service personnel, the initial step involves clearly defining the characteristics of the “right” individuals, particularly in terms of personality.
Back to the initial inquiry raised in the article — why do individuals with similar training and utilizing identical tools deliver disparate service levels? The answer lies in variations in personality and human nature.
We recommend that companies explore personality assessment tools to gain a clearer understanding of these differences, rather than relying on feelings, intuitions or experience.
With years of professional experience, we frequently advise clients against expecting a mere salary to transform a person’s personality. In essence, it is not the individual’s character that is at fault; rather, it could be a misalignment with their chosen profession or a lack of a comprehensive behavioral training program within your company.
Stay connected with us to delve deeper into the steps and principles behind developing SOPs (standard operating procedures) for managing professionals in your business. Feel free to reach us via: WhatsApp | info@3sadviser.com | Facebook | LinkedIn .
Read More:
- Effectiveness Check: Are your SOPs Still Relevant?
- The key to effective SOPs for SME: WHY to do it?
- Mastering Business Success: The Winning Formula & Handbook You Need!