Improving the efficiency of your procedures

The strength of efficient procedures lies in the fact that, once established they become automatic.

As you look for ways to save time through efficient procedures, consider these four major steps:

• Identify routine activities
• Study existing procedures –  Look at the procedures currently in place to complete a task and ask:
  – Who does the work?
  – When is the work done?
  – Where is the work done?
  – Who uses the results produced?
  – Is it necessary?
• Develop a new method or improve the existing one – once you understand the need and exactly who has been doing the work and how, develop an improved method for achieving the task:
  – Eliminate obsolete tasks
  – Combine several routine activities that can be done by one person
  – Rearrange the order in which work is accomplished
  – Get feedback from those who will use the new procedure
• Apply the procedure – put the new procedure into operation. Institute adequate training and analyse the results.