One of the most precious resources we have is our time. It is the most often lament I hear from clients, “I don’t have time.” Very often when I look at how and why they do things a certain way, it is clear to see answers that would free up time. Often time it is that they don’t use the tools they already have at their fingertips.
Photo by Orvalrochefort
While visiting a client the other day I had the opportunity to witness first hand, the flow of information at the company. I was shocked to see the work that was needlessly created because of lack of training on software and complacency. The people in the company were used to doing something one way and were resistant to change. “This is how we do it” was the attitude. There was no one questioning , “why do we do it this way,” or “is there a better way”
This particular client is buried in paperwork as he downsized and eliminated the position of bookkeeper. His staff, as good as they are at what they do, are limited by old systems that he set up long ago and clings to. Old Ideas that hold him back. Old accounting systems weigh him down and he has his staff doing menial tasks that are easily automated and integrated into his accounting. He focuses on the small things that don’t matter instead of looking at the big picture.
I watched as one of his staff wrote a purchase order on a spread sheet form that she manually multiplied the quantity x the price of each item. Then she manually entered that purchase order into a spread sheet log, and printed out two copies of the purchase order. She placed one copy in the client folder, and one in the purchase order folder and proceeded to delete the purchase order spread sheet she created . “There was no need for it” was the argument, “we have the hard copies.”
All of this took her well over an hour. I am still shaking my head in disbelief. All of this could have been done in Quickbooks at the time of the order in a minuit or two at the most. I then started thinking of all the work that still needs to be done like entering the transactions into Quickbooks for which I am sure he will pull out the purchase order file and compare the agreed on price with the receipt he receives from then vendor. When he bills the client, he will have to pull out the file of purchase orders and receipts and manually calculate his hours and prepare a bill for the client. ALL BY HAND. He has Quickbooks but does not use it to simplify his life. Instead it is one more chore that needs to be done.
I know this may be an extreme example, but I also know that many people don’t use a fraction of their resources. Many times because they simply don’t take the time to learn the tools the have. If we take a few moments and look at how and why we do things, we can come up with solutions that can save us time.
Do you have resources in your company or organization that you under utilize?
