How to organise others - and save time
Time-management invariably focuses on self - how you organise your day, your papers, your workload. But how well do your staff members use their time to benefit the organisation, you, and themselves? Do you really know whether they, and you, are getting full value? Your staff can save your time and theirs if you take the initiative and encourage them to be time-conscious...
1. Watch for the indicators of a disorganised staff.
Watch for messages indicating that the time of the human component in your organisation is not being used to best advantage:
- You are frequently interrupted by staff seeking assistance, instruction, or direction.
- Your staff practises reverse delegation - referring tasks back to you.
- Deadlines are often missed or postponed.
- Staff assignments often need to be redone because of their poor quality.
- Your action tray is overflowing and you seem to be taking home more and more work.
- Staff morale is low; work is no longer challenging.
- Employees seem to spend time off-task - chatting and socialising.
2. Find out how they spend their time.
Before staff can manage their time more effectively, it is important that they, and you, know how they are currently using their time. You might keep a time/task schedule, entering an employee’s name, the task assigned, the date assigned, your estimate of the completion date, actual completion date, and comments on unexpected interruptions. Or have staff keep an accurate record in their diaries; or construct a simple matrix indicating times and tasks. All this is valuable information for future discussions with individual employees.
3. Help staff to organise their work areas.
By observing what staff do and how they do it, you can identify efficiencies that can be introduced. Consider office layout, for example. Proximity to essential equipment like photocopiers, computer printers, and telephones is important. If employees have to walk the length of the office to use a photocopier, you will have detected a real time-waster. Office landscaping, too, improves productivity by not only enhancing visual appeal, but by reducing distractions as well.
