Five warning lights
Two of these five and you're losing hours every week: double typing, one keeper of the knowledge, catch-up day, cracks, "where's that?"
Five warning lights say your office is ready for a better way to work: the same things typed twice, one person who knows how it works, Friday catch-up day, things falling through the cracks, and "Where's that?" as the most common question in the office. If you nod at two of them, you're losing hours every week. None of it means anyone's doing a bad job. It means the business grew faster than the way it runs, and that's a fixable problem.
Key points
- The same things get typed twice: a job goes into the schedule, and then again into the invoice. Every retype is time paid twice, and a mistake waiting to happen.
- One person knows how it works: a spreadsheet, or a routine, that only one person understands. When they're on vacation, it waits. If they leave, it leaves with them.
- Friday is catch-up day: the week's paperwork piles up until somebody stays late to clear it. If catching up happens every week, you're not behind once. You're behind by design.
- Things fall through the cracks: a change order that never got billed, a follow-up nobody sent, a job that finished and never got invoiced. Each one is money you earned and didn't collect.
- "Where's that?" is the most common question in the office: the latest version of a file, the total on a job, whether a part got ordered. If finding the answer takes a phone call, you pay for the search every time. Pick the light that's been on longest, and start there.
Transcript
Here are the five warning lights that say your office is ready for a better way to work.
If you nod at two of them, you're losing hours every week.
Warning light one.
The same things get typed twice.
A job goes into the schedule, and then again into the invoice.
Every retype is time paid twice, and a mistake waiting to happen.
Warning light two.
One person knows how it works.
There's a spreadsheet, or a routine, that only one person understands.
When they're on vacation, it waits.
If they leave, it leaves with them.
Warning light three.
Friday is catch-up day.
The week's paperwork piles up until somebody stays late to clear it.
If catching up happens every week, you're not behind once.
You're behind by design.
Warning light four.
Things fall through the cracks.
A change order that never got billed.
A follow-up nobody sent.
A job that finished and never got invoiced.
Each one is money you earned and didn't collect.
Warning light five.
"Where's that?" is the most common question in the office.
The latest version of a file.
The total on a job.
Whether a part got ordered.
If finding the answer takes a phone call, you pay for the search every time.
None of this means anyone's doing a bad job.
It means the business grew faster than the way it runs.
That's a good problem.
It's also a fixable one.
Pick the light that's been on longest.
That's where to start.