Consider the internal process for hiring a new person. How many different people touch the relevant documents, even if they are in electronic form? How long does the process take from the moment the hiring manager identifies an open position until the time the new employee walks in the door? In my experience, the documents visit multiple people, and in some cases, completing the hiring process takes several months.
Our objective is to spend less time on things that don’t contribute to the goal.
Before I jump in, I want to explain a few concepts. Tasks and activities are the steps in the process. The item is the thing that gets changed by the process. Cycle time is the time required for one item to get from the start to the end of the process.
The telephone game is a communication process. The item is the message, the tasks involve the kids repeating the message, and the cycle time is the length of time to get the message from the start to the end of the line.
Reducing Cycle Time in Business Processes
Don’t be surprised as you learn how much time is wasted in business processes. It sometimes takes your breath away!
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[li]Eliminate errors: don’t spend twice the time on an item repeating the steps between when the error occurred and when it was found. Tip: errors that occur early in the process and are found near the end cause the most wasted time.[/li]
[li]Remove duplicate entries: save time spent on additional entries and on reconciliation of related errors. Tip: customer addresses are often maintained in several departments; combine them in one database.[/li]
[li]Consolidate sequential tasks: don’t let items spend time moving between and waiting for people if one can perform all the tasks. Tip: a person could be trained to do a new task so the item doesn’t leave one desk to return one step later.[/li]
[li]Combine related tasks: eliminate the time items wait between tasks as well as potential errors caused from excess handling. Tip: enter data directly into the computer instead of on paper and then into the computer.[/li]
[li]Perform tasks at the same time: items require less time in the process if activities can be performed while others are in progress. Tip: begin writing the report when items are submitted for approval instead of waiting until consent.[/li]
[li]Release one item at a time: don’t make the first item in a group wait for the others; release it when it’s finished. Tip: instead of holding a stack of work until lunch, send items to the next step every hour or two.[/li]
[li]Process items first-in first-out: items won’t have to wait for others to start and end before getting finished. Tip: something as innocent as sorting our inboxes by newest first makes us prone to process last items first.[/li]
[li]Minimize the number of approvers: the time required for six people to approve an item is twice as long as if only three need to review and concur. Tip: ask only those who are responsible for the results to approve.[/li]
[li]Approve simultaneously: instead of sending the item from approver A to approver B and then to approver C, send it to all three at the same time. Tip: capture their comments and distribute to all the approvers before finalizing.[/li]
[li]Improve the task: spend less time on a necessary activity by finding innovative ways to accomplish the same results. Tip: look for repetitive tasks that can be automated with something simple like Excel macros.[/li]
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How Much Wasted Time Can You Eliminate?
If you’d like to save time and eliminate unnecessary activities from your business processes, select a process you can experiment with. You can then use these tips to learn how to save time and test your efforts for success.
Start by determining the cycle time, which is the length of time it takes for an item to go through this process from start to finish. Then address half of the targets listed above and see how much wasted time you can remove from the process. My guess is you’ll quickly go back and work on the rest of the targets for even more reduction of wasted time.
As you practice what you’re learning, please share your results with us by leaving a comment. I get excited about this stuff. If you want to enlist my help, please contact me and we will talk about what you’re trying to accomplish and how I can support you.
