Sample Section from book
1.2 Telltale Signs
Do you think that there are any opportunities for improvement of productivity in your department ?
One of the best ways to initially assess if you have any opportunities for improvement is to look for some of the “telltale signs” which frequently accompany productivity problems. Some of the telltale signs you should look for include :
· Large amounts of work becoming backlogged
· Significant amounts of overtime being worked
· Difficulty in meeting required deadlines
· Having to redo a lot of the work that’s been done
· Problems with service or the quality of work performed
· Problems or bottlenecks in workflow
· Problems staying within your budget
· Problems with high absenteeism or high turnover among employees
· Problems with low employee morale
· Troughs and/or peaks in demand
· Problems with idle employees
· Frequent complaints from customers
· Frequent grievances or complaints from employees
If you are like most managers, you will probably see some (if not all) of these “telltale” signs when you do your assessment.
While these “telltale signs” may suggest that you have opportunities to improve the productivity of your staff, they will not tell you how much more (or in some cases less) work your staff can do. So how do you determine how much improvement in productivity may be possible ?
