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By David
Schwartz
I began my “working career”
about 38 years ago in our family retail businesses in Northern California.
From the time I was old enough to push a broom, someone in my grandfather
and father’s business trained me – stock keeping, delivery, sales,
bookkeeping, managing the stores, and more. Further, it was a guiding
principal of our businesses, passed down from my grandfather, to make sure
that all employees were cross trained in different areas and that office
workers documented their jobs. This was a time of mostly manual tasks and
our stores and main office had a healthy number of employees to perform
their required responsibilities with good backup personnel.
What has happened in the last 40 years?
First of all, modern businesses have no room in their budgets for excess
employees. In fact, most of us are probably working at least 150 percent
“harder” than we did a decade ago with the advent of modern technology and
automation of business processes utilizing computers…not to mention the use
of cell phones and email for instant communication. The thinking seems to be
that a computer system works automatically 24 hours a day and never requires
vacation or sick days. Also, it is believed that we need to run as “lean a
ship” as possible in order to better compete.
There is some truth to both of these statements, but there is also a
pitfall. More often than not, when an employee gives notice, there is no
backup. By the time the HR department updates the job description, posts the
job, interviews, offers the prospective candidate the job, runs a background
check, and hires the new employee, the original employee is long gone.
How well was the job documented?
When the new hire begins working, more often than not, they
do not have a detailed, step-by-step “roadmap” of how to operate in the
business utilizing either the venue’s written or electronic forms and
systems. Invariably, bits and pieces of needed information are not added to
the venue’s documentation leading to incomplete or erroneous results for
managers and executives that compile the data. Sometimes these errors are
caught quickly, sometimes they are not. The end result is that someone has
to spend additional time performing the training that should have been
accomplished in the first place. Also, it is quite common that more time and
money will be spent fixing the errors that were not caught early on by
managers or outside consultants.
Are we using all of the features of our
technology to their best ability?
Another thing that we see quite often is that employees get
stuck in their manner of using the technology at hand and are not trained in
new features. Features are continually added to automated systems to further
minimize tasks, speed up processes, and run the venue more efficiently.
Often, the release notes for technology enhancements are not disseminated
around the venue for end users to read so they can take advantage of these
new features. Additionally, technology updates are sometimes not loaded and
users do not have the ability to take advantage of time saving advances.
Lastly, we see a lot of “trickle down training” (TDT). TDT occurs when the
initial consultants do a great job training end users and managers at the
initial technology implementation. Then, over a period of years, these
employees leave the workforce and their replacements are given partial or
inadequate training, and there is very little internal documentation for the
new hires to follow. This leaves the end users woefully short on the skills
needed to best utilize the venue’s technology.
What’s the answer?
Documentation: It is imperative for all existing managers and
executives in your organization to make sure that all processes and
procedures are well documented. There really is no excuse for this not to
occur. It can’t be done overnight, but make sure that your department(s)
begin the process, that you monitor their progress, and there is a clear
deadline set. It may be wise to set up a committee within your venue to
decide upon the format of the documentation and a central repository for all
files. Once the documentation is completed, insure that it is updated on a
regular basis.
Central Technology Resource: For key areas of your venue management,
make sure that there is a technology “guru” that manages the documentation
and is proficient in ALL aspects of the technology used. Make sure that
he/she is a part of all technology training and is the editor of the
procedural documents. Make this individual a part of all management
discussions that impact the areas they oversee. All too often technology is
purchased that will not work in the current environment, is a duplicate of
something already in use, or may be deficient of needed features. Utilizing
your “guru” will insure that the person who best knows your processes and
technology will be your expert resource in helping to make technology
decisions.
Regularly Scheduled Training/Re-Training: About 10 years ago I read
an IBM study based upon an in-depth review of several thousand businesses
that concluded that 2 percent of revenue be set aside for technology
purchases, in-house employees to manage the technology, and provide for
ongoing training. In general, we don’t see anywhere near that being spent.
You should make sure that you have consultants re-train your employees on
key technologies within your venue on an ongoing basis. Having annual
training sessions lasting between 1-2 days will insure that you are getting
maximum benefit for your venue for the dollars invested in the technology
you utilize on an ongoing basis.
Follow my three recommendations above and I guarantee that your venue will
utilize the technology you have purchased more efficiently and you will see
and feel an impact on your employee’s performance as well as their overall
job satisfaction.
David Schwartz is the President
and CEO of Advanced Business Integrators, Inc (ABI). He founded ABI in 1990
as an information systems, software, and professional services firm and
currently ABI systems are in over 80 public assembly facilities in the U.S.
He regularly consults, lectures, and writes about business automation and
practice. David can be reached via email at
david@abico.com. |
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