According to Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the father of total quality management, every business produces three things: waste, administrative tasks, and "highest and best use" (value-added) activities.

To create a total quality environment that maximizes its human resources, a company must: (1) eliminate wasteful tasks, (2) outsource or delegate administrative responsibilities, and (3) focus at least 80% of its activities on value-added goals.

You can use time management analysis to achieve and maintain this focus. Have your employees chart what they do on a daily basis for a full week. Then analyze which of their activities are wasteful (dealing with conflict, double work, paper shifting, etc.); administrative (time-keeping, benefits administration, record maintenance, and so forth); or value-added (what you really hired them for in the first place).

Once you have this data, you and your employees must learn to say "no", "not now," or "not me" to wasteful or administrative activities. To the extent that these tasks can´t be eliminated, delegated or outsourced, don´t spend any more than 20% of the day on them.

Use this powerful approach to optimize your human resources - and grow your bottom line.