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organisational Blockages
Observe-Ask-Act-Manage
“Without doubt, a plumbing situation is probably the most apt analogy here. When we take the plug out of the sink, instead of the water disappearing quickly down the drain it sits still simply staring at us, not moving. A blocked drain. We call the plumber, they come and perform their magic and voilà, the water starts flowing again. Or we are on a freeway and it comes to a grinding halt. We travel for the next 15 minutes at a snail’s pace and then finally, all clears and things are back to normal. These are analogous of business systems.
All seems to be flowing perfectly then over a period of time we notice that lead times on jobs are starting to increase, invoices that were being sent out daily are now at 14 days average and customer complaints and re-works seem to be increasing at a steady rate. Chaos descends as processes jam up.
Observe-Ask-Act-Manage
Often, the pace of leadership overruns our capacity for understanding what is really happening, both at a surface level and then at the root cause level. If we are running too fast, or we don’t have the appropriate reporting mechanisms in place to receive critical information on the fly, before we know it, all manner of issues can present themselves.
When it comes to efficiencies, a few areas worth taking time for observation are:
• Common delays;
• Job lead times and completion times extending;
• Drop in personnel outputs;
• Common and increasing customer complaints;
• Increased tiredness in staff members;
• Staff satisfaction declining;
• Cashflow tightening;
• Paperwork, orders, job preparation getting further behind;
• Managers/business owners always gap filling.
From observation, it is essential to ask probing questions in order to find root causes. Once the root is found, acting in order to make changes along with the management of those changes is critical for the change process.
The above article was provided by Ray Hodge from Ray Hodge Consulting. Ray specialises in streamlining business efficiencies and offers MPA SA Members special rates on all consultancy. Contact MPA for more information or visit www.rayhodge.com.au