Systemization secures steady results. The New Year is the
perfect time to review the processes and systems you have or need in your
office. As a management consultant, I am often brought into organizations to
increase capacity and improve outcomes. I do this through developing systems to
help organizations run smoother. Having processes in place creates consistency
of results and increases productivity. I just read a book addressing this
issue, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. In The Checklist Manifesto, Dr. Atul Gawande
reviews the role of checklists in different settings and then applies it to his
field of surgery. Checklists rose to prominence with flight checklists
developed by test pilots in 1935. The checklist for test pilots of the B-17 was
short enough to fit on an index card, with step-by-step checks for each
activity – takeoff, flight, landing, and taxiing.

Dr. Gawande proposes two types of checklists: do-confirm and
read-do. In do-confirm checklists, team members perform their jobs from memory
and experience and then run the checklist to confirm that the needed steps were
completed. In read-do checklists, team members perform the tasks as they check
them off – like following a recipe.

While Dr. Gawande does not discuss the application of checklists
to business settings, I have found much success using checklists in my business
and with my clients. Organizations can develop do-confirm checklists based on
the expectations of their team members. In an organization with clients, have a
checklist attached to the file with all of the needed components of the file
listed. The team member fills out the appropriate paperwork and then confirms
the information is included.

One read-do checklist that is helpful for a range of
businesses is a simple incoming call checklist. On it, include information
such: demographics/contact information of the caller and next steps. The key to
effective checklists is for them to be edited ruthlessly down to the essence of
what is needed. If something so complex as flying a plane can be made into a
checklist that would fit on an index card, any organizational process can be
distilled into its essence. By systemizing your organizational processes, you
will create consistency.

 

To think about: Which activity in my office could most
benefit from being systemized using a checklist?

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