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Writing SOPs, Briefings, and Onboarding Docs

What This Guide Covers

  • How to write clear, specific SOPs for recurring kitchen and front-of-house procedures
  • How to generate pre-shift briefings quickly, tailored to that day's specifics
  • How to build onboarding documents that actually prepare a new hire, not just check a compliance box

Why This Matters

SOPs, pre-shift briefings, and onboarding materials all serve the same underlying purpose: making sure the right information reaches the right person at the right time, consistently, regardless of who's working that day.

Case Study

Brightleaf Kitchen

Brightleaf Kitchen had never written down its opening procedures formally, new hires learned by shadowing an existing staff member. The owner spent an afternoon working through three core SOPs and a standard onboarding document with Claude.

Result: New hire ramp-up time noticeably shortened, and the owner started using the same documents as a reference point whenever a question came up.

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. 1

    Pick One Procedure and Describe It in Real Detail

    Start with one recurring procedure and describe it in as much real detail as you can, including the parts that feel obvious.

  2. 2

    Turn Your Description Into a Structured SOP

    AI Prompt
    Help me turn this into a clear, structured SOP: [paste your detailed
description]. Format it with numbered steps, note anything that's
safety-critical or easy to get wrong, and write it in plain, direct
language a new hire could follow without additional explanation.
  3. 3

    Stress-Test It Against a New Hire's Perspective

    AI Prompt
    Read this SOP as if you're a brand new employee with no prior context
on our restaurant. Is there anything assumed or unclear that an
experienced person might take for granted but a newcomer wouldn't know?
  4. 4

    Build a Pre-Shift Briefing Template

    AI Prompt
    Help me build a reusable pre-shift briefing template covering:
today's specials, any 86'd items, a reservation or event note if
relevant, and one focus area for the team today. Keep the entire
template short enough to read aloud in under two minutes.
  5. 5

    Build the Onboarding Document

    AI Prompt
    Help me build an onboarding document for a new [role, e.g. line cook,
server] joining our team. Include: what to expect in the first week,
where to find our key SOPs and checklists, who to ask for help with
what, and anything specific to our restaurant that a new hire should
know early on.
  6. 6

    Keep These Documents in One Accessible Place

    Store them somewhere consistent and easy to reach, your Notion operations hub if you have one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many SOPs does a small restaurant actually need?

Most independent restaurants land somewhere between ten and twenty core SOPs covering the essentials.

What if different staff members do the same task slightly differently?

Ask your most experienced staff which approach they'd recommend and why, then write the SOP around that.

Should pre-shift briefings be written down for staff to read, or just spoken aloud?

Both work well together.

How often should onboarding documents be updated?

Whenever something changes that a new hire would need to know.

What if a new hire still has questions after reading the onboarding document?

That's expected and fine, the document reduces repetitive questions, it doesn't eliminate the need for a human.

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