Improve My Business

When you find an error in your process or system, you should do an analysis of the reason you made that error.  Many times, you may find out that the reason that an error was made is that you don’t have a process - or that the process wasn’t followed (but that’ll be another post…)

So, if you don’t have a process - design one!

HOW do you design a process?  Easy peasy - map the process out.  How do you map a process?  Write down the steps that need to be done in order, try following those steps, then refine it until you’ve got it where  you want it.

Here’s an example:  we rent our Texas beach house out on VRBO and HomeAway. During this time of year, we get a LOT of requests for summer rentals.  The big risk is to rent the place twice for the same night(s) - double booking, so we want to make sure that we have a process in place.  Sure enough, we didn’t have our process in place, and ended up with a double booking this year; luckily, we caught it within an hour of accepting the second booking, so only had to apologize profusely and refund the deposit.  [It would've been MUCH worse if both families had shown up at the beach place expecting to stay for a week!]

So the problem remained - we had double booked.  How to revise our current process?

1. we stopped letting all folks take and make reservations - I am now the linchpin for the reservation process, and although others can check the account and answer queries, I’m the only one who accepts a deposit.
2. We track every reservation and deposit on a spreadsheet - and the process has to be followed in order.  So, a reservation has to be logged in and the calendar dates have to be blocked out before we deposit the money, as an example - to ensure that money isn’t accepted prior to verifying that the calendar is available.  The spreadsheet is sorted by date, so this should ensure that we don’t double-book.
3. Our double check for this is to make a copy of the check or credit card deposit, and to file those by dates  in a paper backup file.  [That's how we found out that we had double booked - the calendar hadn't been updated, but we had a deposit for that week already.]
4. Then, and only then, do we let our guests know that they have secured the reservation and continue the process.

We are hopeful that these tweaks will work for us, but are vigilant to identify possible ‘loopholes’ in the process, and plug them up. This is the essence of effective corrective action - monitoring to ensure that the process design is robust enough to prevent recurrence of the problem.

Have you had a problem, or made an error, and put a process in place to ‘fix’ it?  Post it here or contact me at marymcd@mcdcg.com - I’d love to hear about it!

Technorati Tags: beach home, process design, process improvement, process map

Do you feel overwhelmed with your to-do list? Is it something that can be compartmentalized, or delegated? Consider doing so… here’s some ideas:

1) Can you delegate some of the chores? If you have willing spouse/children, can they handle some of the chores for you? How about neighbors who offer services - petsitting, lawn services, etc. - can you free yourself up sharing the load?

2) Can you hire someone to take over the responsibility full time? First, decide what’s important to you. Second, analyze your calendar. What are you doing that is NOT important to you, but you continue to work on? Third, find someone else to do these tasks for you. In my case, I found a couple of someones, who can each focus on areas that they are strong in. (After all, if I’m trying to be efficient, I should play to my team’s strengths, right?)

3) Can you eliminate the task altogether? I’ve been doing this with my email account - weeding out the information, either unsubscribing, or auto-filing the notes for future reference. I used to subscribe to several ‘gurus’ in the field… now I’ve cut that down to 2 or 3. And only one of those is left in the inbox - the others are filed automatically, bypassing the inbox.

Any of these should help you divide and conquer - let me know which ones work for you!

Technorati Tags: efficiency, email, mcdonald consulting group, process improvement, working smarter

Clutter - it’s everywhere if we let it be… and it’s insidious, sneaking up on you.

When we moved to a new home we had a chance to declutter, and although it was sorta weird not putting everything out that we had in the old house, it was also really nice.  Although you don’t have to move abodes to declutter (that’s pretty extreme) - you can take some easy steps.

Here are some tips from a variety of experts:
From SCJohnson:  tips for decluttering your home

from Lifeorganizers.com: 10 ways to declutter your home and office (cable/wire) organization and organize your desk

Now, I was able to find these sources in literally seconds; and the info they provide is great.  What are some de-cluttering tips that you use?

I open mail at the recycle bin - if I don’t need it, into the recycling it goes.  If I do need it, it gets handled right away or the next day (hopefully).

I clean the kitchen counters off every evening (if I can/I’m home, etc.) so nothing has a chance to build up.

I file invoices as they’re paid, and don’t print them out from the accounting software until they are - so I only print once, not twice, and I file it right away.

What’s your best idea for decluttering - either at home or at work?  Do tell!

Technorati Tags: de-clutter, organizing, process improvement, Streamlining, stuff-onomics

Mary is on vacation this week so the task of contributing to the blog falls squarely on my shoulders, which is great, but the topic of process improvement is so overwhelming getting started has been a bit of a challenge. At least it was until last night when I decided to change my usual work process…

Normally, I do all my work from my desk in my home office during daytime hours. This usually works great since I can shut the door and work much like anyone would from a conventional office. Every day I get up get dressed and “go” to work. But every once in a while I get up, get dressed and go to work only to find myself stuck, staring at email and not able to generate the enthusiasm I need to tackle the tasks of the day.

So, when I found myself pondering what I would write about while brushing my teeth before bed, and actually coming up with ideas, I decided to change my process. Normally it is against my personal policy to bring work to bed. This policy was decided based upon multiple articles and interviews I’ve seen with doctors and relaxation experts that say over and over again that if you bring your work, bills, and other stressful tasks with you to the bedroom, the bedroom will cease to be a place for relaxation and rest. This theory made sense to me, except I still found myself laying awake and thinking about work. Well, obviously my policy was not having the desired effect.

Instead of trying to forget all the ideas I was having, I gave in, grabbed my laptop and just let them out. Voila! I now have something to share on the blog, and it even has a message that may help others: If you find yourself stuck, try something new! Break your own rules every once in a while to see if they are serving you well or holding you back!

Please share a comment if you’ve had a similar epiphany and let us know how it worked out for you. Did you eventually go back to the old routine, or did you make a change for the better?

Technorati Tags: blogging, change, process improvement, working smarter

I came across this great article at MyCustomer.com on Key Attitudinal Indicators vs Key Performance Indicators, and why KAI’s may be better suited (as a leading indicator) to predict customer loyalty than KPI (a lagging indicator)… give it a read and see if you agree!  Please post your thoughts here… I’d love to hear ‘em.

Technorati Tags: customer service, KAI, KPI, organizing, predictor, process, process improvement, process monitoring, processes, quality metrics