In today’s businesses, complexity can limit productivity, leaving employees feeling unsatisfied with their jobs. It’s important to focus on simplifying these bottlenecks so you can focus on what is important to the business. Figuring out the most important areas can help you prioritize so you can start making positive changes in your organization right away. These solutions can help you start as soon as possible.
Evaluate Current Processes and Systems
This is a great time to evaluate how you do things at your organization. Evaluating processes and systems can give you a better idea of the key areas complexity gets in the way of productivity. Write out each process and the purpose it serves, as well as who oversees it. This is a great way to see if there are any hurdles in the way of progress. You likely spend a lot of time overseeing your fleet, and there may be several manual tasks you have to work through, like dispatching vehicles. This can be a time-consuming process because of how many factors go into determining the best route. That’s why so many companies have turned to dispatch software because it will help drivers travel the most efficient routes possible. There are some things to consider when choosing a service dispatch software for your company.
Remove Busy Work
The best way to begin simplifying is to remove busy work, such as low-value tasks. Perhaps presentations need to go through a multi-step review process, or small expenses may need to be signed off on by multiple individuals before approval. If you can remove some of these steps, managers and employees can focus on the more important activities. One way to look for these low-value tasks is by putting yourself in an outsider’s shoes. Take some time to learn about what your clients are really looking for so you can help them meet their needs. If your clients are other businesses, perhaps you can tour some of your customers’ facilities so your employees can see the way your product or services are used. This might help employees see how a certain task does not add value to the customer and think of a new task that will provide more value.
Make Sure Workflows Are User-Friendly
Most business goals are to improve sales and marketing initiatives and produce an easy to understand standard operating procedure so there is accurate information about how work should flow. It should be user friendly and not require hours to figure out how to do. Every department has a different objective, so it’s important to make sure these operating procedures contain key information that will help employees find the sections that are most relevant to what they do.
Ask Team Members for Input
The higher the management level, the less insight an individual has into daily operations, which means higher individuals may not understand how complex things might have gotten. Someone in assembly or customer service is there all the time and has a much deeper understanding of common challenges. One way of meeting this challenge is by making sure employees are given a chance to speak up if they come across something unclear or unnecessary. When they speak up, your team can be more honest about anything you are doing that might contribute to these difficulties.
Speak Up When Necessary
It’s common for employees or even managers to avoid challenging their seniors when there is an inefficiency, and this can lead to a higher level of complexity. Whether it is unnecessary emails, unclear work, or over-analysis, senior management may not realize they have poor habits unless someone points them out. It’s important to give subordinates a space where they can give constructive feedback, which can keep management accountable.
Reduce Structural Complexity
It is common to add many layers of management and supervision, and this often leads to managers having authority over only a few employees. When managers don’t have many people to oversee, they often feel like they need to prove they are adding value, and they may do so by micromanaging the employees they oversee. This reduces morale, and it adds unnecessary work. You can reduce micromanaging by evaluating the way your business is structured so you can find ways of reducing layers of management. Make sure managers have other tasks in their job descriptions as well so they can have control over more areas.
Build a Workplace Culture of Less Complexity
Workflows and processes can almost always be simplified if there is a will. Building a workplace culture of less complexity can help you move your organization closer to your objective. In this type of scenario, the individual in charge of the task should have enough authority to decide how to complete it most efficiently. They should know they are allowed to try and potentially fail as they look for ways to innovate and improve. Encouraging employees to experiment along the way should come from the top down, which can help your employees feel like they don’t have anything to lose if they fail. This type of culture can also keep complexity from coming back as employees continually develop the way work is done to best fit with the company’s needs.
Don’t Feel Like You Need to Control Everything
It’s common to not be in control as much as you might think, so focus on controlling the things you can, and when you can’t, try to let it go. It’s important to know the difference between the two. Too many people need the illusion that they are in control, and they may look for it through strategies or other plans. While plans are helpful to an extent, they are not reality, so it’s important to recognize that not every plan will come to fruition. It is important to think about your resources, options, and priorities. But if things go in another direction, it is also important to be able to deviate from your plan and be flexible. Planning should take a backseat to organizational growth.
