Inaccurate reports. I’ve been dealing with the topic of productivity for over 40 years. My take: Companies invest more time in inaccurate reporting than in sound planning—and this is especially true of off-production HR.
Most executives rely on their gut feeling. I’ve seen a few who can tell me right away, for example, how many hours of work they would need the day before to handle the workload of their department and how much time would be needed for the next day based on their expected workload. “You get what you measure” It is a basic law of productivity! This only reveals its full effect if a second principle is also applied: “Plan your business and carry out your plan!”
The following story fits with this: I find myself in the boardroom of a large corporation. I’ve been trying to do business there for years, to no avail so far. I know from my own experience that the quality of the services provided in processing orders is not very good: inquiries are usually called back only the third time, and waiting times on the hotline are a test of patience. I also know that the productivity of the sector in which the company operates ranks third in the world.
Activities, their duration and frequency must be specified.
But this time the conversation is different: my interlocutor listens carefully to me and asks critical but interested questions. Using a diagram, I explain what a flexible capacity and productivity management system looks like and how we develop and implement such a system on a case-by-case basis. Recall that an increase in productivity of 20 percent or more is possible, and this is one of our basic principles “Plan your business and execute your plan” is reading. I stress that the activities, their frequency and duration must be specified so that we can plan properly.
“At the next appointment, my colleagues will show you how they currently deal with productivity and capacity management,” says Naziri.
This appointment takes place after two weeks. Key figures are displayed: number of working hours, processing operations per hour, percentage of absent employees, etc. Data is recorded daily. We note that the main number “orders per hour” fluctuates greatly – from day to day often by 30 percent.
When asked, we were informed that the order complexity is not categorized hence the volatility is assumed to be due to the mix of orders. We keep asking how these aberrations interact. Answer: With more or less extra time – depending on how volume develops. Not a word is said about measures affecting productivity – further analysis of specific process flows, training measures and discussions for individual employees or teams, etc.
Formulate goals. Principle “You get what you measure” It also appears in this case: inaccurate measurements lead to irrelevant conclusions. Effective measures can only be determined insufficiently on this basis. Another question from our side: “Do you know how long individual activities should last?” Answer: “We use estimates, but they are not very reliable. And: Secondary activities such as meetings or information make up between 30 and 40 percent of work time.”
We show that based on our experience, capacity management cannot be implemented without accurate activity lists with realistic planned times. Because management means formulating clear objectives and formulating measures based on targeted actual comparisons that have a positive impact on efficiency and/or customer satisfaction.
Principle “Plan your business and execute your plan” Very little is followed in practice. The background is that there is a great reluctance to collect activities and planning times at the base and thus develop a system that clearly depicts productivity. The prevailing view is that such a system and the mindset associated with it undermines confidence in employees and restricts creative freedom.
The result of this situation: great potential for improvement of 25 percent or more remains untapped. In the example described, productivity increased by 30 percent after our project.
Contribution is direction. + edition taken from the May 2023 issue.
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