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What could you accomplish if you stopped thinking about “This one time”?
In my last two blogs, we’ve talked about “isms,” thosecolorful sayings people use to help make their point. In case you missed them,I told you that “Email isnot a process” and how to win at the “Yeah, but”game. These are just a few of my own “isms” that I’ve used with myteams over the years, usually to point out the thought processes that inhibitcompanies from becoming more efficient and effective. For businesses with tightmargins like janitorial and security contractors, finding ways to become moreefficient is one of the only ways to reduce costs and see continued growth.Let’s look at one of those thought processes that causes companies to be lessefficient —and less profitable.
While most of my “isms” are original, this one borrows fromthe popular movie, American Pie. One of the characters in the movie prefaces almostall her stories with “This one time, at band camp…”. Interestingly, I’ve heardmany a justification for cumbersome and ineffective processes begin in a similarway where the defender of the process explains that this one time, an adverseoutcome occurred, and the existing process was created to prevent that outcomefrom occurring again. Similar to “That’sthe way we’ve always done it,” we see a multi-step process put in place toprevent one thing from possibly ever happening again.
Three commonalities exist in these “This one time” events.First, the process was a knee-jerk reaction to what was more likely aperson-problem rather than a process-problem. Second, the likelihood of thatissue, and corresponding consequence, is very unlikely to occur again. In severalcases, the situation is so different now then when this issue occurred to makeit no longer relevant. And last, people are the triggers for the next step inthese processes, which means it still has multiple potential points offailure.
These “This one time” processes typically involve multiplepeople repeating actions of others to try and ensure a mistake doesn’t occur. Inaddition to employees repeating the actions of others, these processes are alsodependent on email chains (remember, email isnot a process) that remind the next person in line to complete theirtask. The process is time-consuming, repetitive and has no real benefit to theorganization. The time and effort spent to prevent the event from occurringagain actually cost more than if they just dealt with the mistake if itoccurred again. That, by definition, is inefficient.
This is not to say that checks and balances aren’t worth theeffort. In some cases, it’s essential that work is checked and validated. Thekey is cost effectiveness. Does the process or check and balance cost more thanthe potential mistake might cost? Of course, we want to prevent mistakes andrework from happening. But what can you do instead?
Process mapping is a great exercise to flush out “This onetime” processes and inefficiencies. The visual picture of the flow of theprocess provides an excellent mirror to reflect to all individuals involved.The actors see their part in the overall picture and it provides theopportunity to more easily see duplication of effort as well as potentialpoints of failure. The extra benefit is the discussion of why: Why do we do itthis way? Why is this repeated here? Why is this a benefit?
As you consider ways to decrease costs, take some time to look at your processes. You might find opportunities to reduce steps, improve outcomes, and start your explanations with “All the time” instead of “This one time.”
About Denise Limato
Denise Limato is Vice President of Organizational Optimization Services at Watermark Risk Management, a Pro Services Partner. She provides consulting support to security and building service contractors, specializing in using and implementing TEAM solutions.
