A perfect understanding between the service provider and the customer is a must for the business to fall in place without causing doubts
Industry veterans came together for an interactive discussion on deciphering Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) and formulating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on Day 1 of Clean India Show 2025.
The experts highlighted how these frameworks have changed over time. Reflecting on how SOPs and KPIs — once designed as enabling frameworks —have increasingly become pain points for service partners, experts noted that KPIs today are often structured more as penalty-driven monitoring tools rather than collaborative performance enablers.
“Jargons such as scope of work, SOPs, and KPIs started coming into prominence in the early 2000s, when the industry began to flourish and clients wanted to put some kind of check on contractors. Over time, it became more about how to catch or penalise the vendor rather than treating them as service partners,” said Edward Dsouza, CEO of SMC Integrated Facility Management Solutions Limited.
The expert added that even today, many customers continue to speak the same language and often do not understand the difference between KPIs and SLAs. “Confusion between these terms remains common across the industry. However, every facility and every sector is different and thus SOPs must be industry-specific,” said Dsouza.
Speaking on the fundamentals of service agreements, Vinay R Deshmukh, executive director and CEO at FFServices, said, “When two parties come together, there has to be a clear agreement defining what is expected from both sides. Service providers need clarity on commercial aspects such as payment and business expectations, while the customer must also understand what will be delivered. This is where the Service Level Agreement plays a crucial role.”
Moving to KPIs, Deshmukh highlighted that KPIs come into play when service delivery starts getting recorded and tracked. “KPIs help assess whether what was agreed with the customer has actually been delivered and how well it has been delivered,” he said, adding that SOPs come later in the process.
In response to an audience question, Saji C Sebastian, founder and advisor of FM Future Labs highlighted that the effectiveness of service delivery in facility management depends not just on well-defined agreements, but on how clearly organisations translate commitments into execution. “Once a service offering is finalised and a client engagement begins, companies typically develop SOPs as internal reference tools to guide delivery. These help track operational and commercial performance, assess progress, and identify areas requiring course correction. Ideally, SLAs, SOPs, and KPIs should function as a continuous, integrated framework,” said Sebastian.
The expert further pointed out that in practice, SOPs often become lengthy and overly complex documents. “Organisations may maintain 20 to 50-page SOP manuals covering multiple activities, with separate procedures for tasks such as dusting, wet mopping, and dry mopping. Despite this extensive documentation, implementation at the ground level remains a challenge. Frontline teams responsible for execution frequently do not read or fully understand these documents. As a result, a disconnect emerges between corporate-level SOPs, audit or certification requirements, and actual on-site practices,” he said.
According to the experts, the most effective way to bridge this gap is through structured and practical training which is a critical link that converts SOPs from static documents into actionable processes, ensuring consistent understanding and execution across operational teams.