"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein
At times, companies can grow so fast, and their departments so quickly, that they can become burdened by the day to day paper trail of work. As a company grows, so to does its procedures, policies, work flow and delays from one department to another. One of the easiest things I’ve ever done in consulting is to locate bottlenecks in operations, and the day to day causes of work stoppages from one department to another. Finding the problems was always easy. Anyone can find problems, but providing solutions is something else entirely.
To make it easier, we came up with a simple, but extremely effective, way to pinpoint the day to day work stoppages from one department to another, that simply bog down the process, creates delays, cost money and ultimately, lead to unsatisfied customers. So, how is it done?
Take a big brown sheet of paper – 5 feet high and run it down the length of a high traffic area at work
Now, you’re probably wondering “what he heck is this guy talking about?”. Well, this works, and works extremely well. What you need to do is to map out your company’s entire work process, from how you receive a customer inquiry, all the way through the internal departments, out to production, to packing and finally, to the customer’s location. You’re going to map out this process from beginning to end on this large brown sheet of paper. That’s right. You’re going to put all your operations, including department approvals, sign-offs, and processes from one department to another.
six simple steps to identifying bottlenecks in Operations
You’ll include every possible delay, from the most common, to the most expensive. Doing this will show exactly where the bottlenecks are, and you’ll be able to pinpoint areas of concern. Having this brown sheet of paper in a high traffic area at work will guarantee employees take part.
You’ll have arrows running from one policy/procedure/process to another. If your internal operations are clean and seamless, the work will transition easily from one department to another. However, if you see arrows crossing from one department to another, waiting for approvals and sign-offs, then you’ll know just how serious the issues are.
One of the more proactive ways to outline your business processes is by starting from the original customer request for quotation. This gives you an excellent point from which to analyze how work flows from one internal department to the next. To learn more about this process, please go to: Business Operations: Critical Steps to Business Process Mapping
A value-chain analysis is a great tool to help you and your team define both your internal and external business strengths.
Ultimate Goal is To Eliminate Work Stoppages
When doing this exercise with a company, I often find examples of employees and departments who use processes, sign-offs, approvals to protect their own interests. This doesn’t make them evil. In fact, in most cases, employees and departments do this to cover themselves. I’ve often found this to be the case when companies have a culture of blame, finger-pointing or Teflon managers who push responsibility to the next chain in the process. This “hot-potato” management approach typically starts at the top and trickles down.
In doing this exercise, you may just find out more about yourself, as you do about your company’s operations.
Take it as an opportunity to learn. In the end, this exercise will eliminate redundant operations and work procedures that do nothing more than delay delivery of product to your customer. At the end of the day, making everyone’s job easier, empowering them to make decisions, and confronting issues, will improve your company’s service capabilities.
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