How I made my employees more efficient

Overview

With so much on, your to-do list can become your to-do list for the to-do list!  Some staff are very organised and are naturally this way and others are not. I wanted to make sure that all throughout the organisation that my staff could have tools and techniques to make them more organised and to be able to deal with the ever increasing workloads that they've got on their plates.

The challenge

Too much to do and not enough time to plan!

The solution

We went back to the basics and stripped out all of the tasks that we were doing to see if they were adding value and that the right person was doing them.  Everything we did needed to contribute to our company goals and we needed to be ruthless with this too! We ran a series of workshops and meetings to do this so everyone had a clear understanding of what needed to be done and why for each business area.

We also reviewed the skills of our staff against what needed to be done. At the end of the process everyone knew what they needed to start doing, stop doing, do more of and do less of.

In order to support my staff in their day-to-day work we then started to implement company-wide mind maps (through electronic software) for company, team and individual tasks so we could thoroughly brainstorm what we were doing. Mind maps became a way of life and enabled our staff to think through key issues and to plan more effectively. We also had training on how to schedule work more effectively.

Key lesson

It pays to take a step back and to look at what you are doing as a company and individually. You can be so wrapped up in fire fighting and "doing stuff" especially when you are growing rapidly like we are that you are constantly running at a million miles an hour without anytime to catch  your breathe!

Make sure that you periodically take the time to review what you are currently doing, why you are currently doing it and whether it is contributing to your company goals. You can get too close to the actual work itself that you often forget what you are doing it for in the first place!

Top tip

Make full use of software to work smarter. Applications like electronic mind maps and using your scheduler more effectively can really make a difference in your productivity and clarity of thought.

Don't see them as an expense, see them as a way to save time and to make you more money.