Creating Value In Schools
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If you take away the waste, the friction and the difficulties, and some of the time spent doing stuff that doesn't need to be done or isn't important, you will inevitably become more efficient. (Emma Burge in Unbound SBLs: Sector support and striving for excellence)
What are you doing in your role that doesn’t feel like a good use of your time? Where are the pain points? Use these activities and questions to identify what could be working better and how to bring about change.
Try one of these three activities to identify where energy is being wasted or processes could be smoother.
Interruption audit
For two days, keep a tally of how many times you are stopped in a corridor or ‘popped in on’ for a request that could or should be a formal process (e.g. ordering, maintenance, HR queries).
Energy leak identification
Identify one task you perform weekly that feels like wasted effort. For example, duplicated data entry, or data entry that is never reviewed.
Right the first time?
Review the tasks you worked on today, or over the last two days. How many required a follow-up email, message or phone call because something was unclear or missing in the information you were given?
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Download to share with colleagues: What-could-be-working-better.pdf |
Take one of the time or energy suckers you’ve identified from the suggestions above. What could make the process work better?
1. What’s the goal?
What’s the desired outcome of this process? For example:
2. What’s the current process?
List the steps towards this goal, as they happen now. Include the potentially ‘hidden’ steps – such as being stopped in the corridor for the request, or having to go back and check a request because you haven’t received sufficient information.
Make a note of where friction or wastage occurs in these steps.
3. What’s the desired flow path?
How can you make this process ‘right first time’? For example:
4. What’s needed for change?
What’s needed to get your desired flow path into action? What steps are required? Are other people or permissions needed? Is there a small change you could make tomorrow that would ease the friction?
