Young
children are legendary for asking Why? Why? Why? when seeking to
learn. Adults, however, tend to simply do what's been done before
without asking – why
do we do this?
An
experience to consider. When appointed as head of operations years
ago, I suspended a dozen reports compiled by the accounting
department without announcing the change. Out of 200+ employees, one
person called about not receiving a report. We continued that report
and canceled the other eleven (which freed up ½ FTE in accounting as
a result).
This
brought into sharp focus the effect of doing something because: we've
been doing it; it's a tradition; it's SOP.
A
leader will not only question why but will also encourage the doers
to ask 'why do we do this?'
Base
evaluating why on:
- Does it directly create sales?
- Does it directly serve the customers' needs?
- Does it directly support operations and production?
- Does it directly advance the mission, vision, or progress to the goal?
- Does it exist in a different form – e.g., stored data – can it be accessible as needed instead of compiling a report?
A significant factor in
the current turmoil in the labor market is the obvious becoming
clear – the computer is now doing tasks and processes, and
fewer people are needed. For example - when you check in at the kiosk
in the airport, you get your boarding pass, the passenger list is
updated, your seat is confirmed, your connecting flight is notified
you are coming, food provisioning is updated, and the pilot and cabin
crew are informed you are boarding.
Visualize the effect of
multiple individual processing that was eliminated by sharing the
check-in information – resulting in less airline employee gate
agents and less passenger lines. Computer vs. people is occurring in
all sectors – corporate, non-profit, government, and small
business, with similar results.
Process automation frees
up individuals to do something else; however, currently there is a
limited amount 'something else' available.
To re-frame the picture of
jobs and roles, a leader can ask - What would directly improve key
areas in the organization. Focus on sales, results, customers, and
effective production – bundle tasks and processes together to
define
new jobs and roles, then train people on the technology
– not the equipment, but how to produce results.
Have a story about 'do
it because we do it' work or innovative job creating? Please
join the discussion.
No comments:
Post a Comment