Management! You have to love it when they roll out the objectives for the year. Here at JETPUBS we started off the year improving on how we plan on all levels, or in some cases just planning at all. We started by having each of us put together a plan on what we were going to do for the next week. Some people were much better than others, but after about a month of sharing different ways to organize everyone was planning out their weeks. It was interesting watching the progress. At first people were writing down a few things they were hoping to do that week, then it went to splitting the projects up by the day, and then by the hour. With everyone starting the day with a plan it really eliminated wasted time in the morning, and people were starting their work day with more enthusiasm. I think part of this is that each person knew what they needed to accomplish and there were a lot less surprises sitting on your desk in the morning.
We mastered the planning and we were asked to start the day with a morning huddle. This was to be a time to share something you accomplished the day before, a couple of items that you are going to accomplish today, and what had come up that you really weren’t expecting. It took a little bit of time to get traction. At first it started to turn into a coffee clutch; people weren’t too sure what to talk about and it was morning. Now we all come in, check our email, and gather, standing around our production table for about 10 to 15 minutes. We share how the previous day went, a couple of items that we plan on accomplishing today, and if there are any projects that we need help on. I am amazed at how many times someone thinks they are in for a horrific day in the huddle and someone speaks up and says that they can help or share some quick ideas on how to accomplish something faster. The team support that comes out of the huddles brings everyone together, reduces the anticipated stress of thinking you’re on your own, and creates opportunities for people to work on projects they may not even know are happening. As a manager it also gives you the opportunity to see where your projects are at, what pressures your employees are feeling, and where your support may be needed that day.
Oh yeah, just when we have all that in place we add the checklists. The objective was to create a list of items that were essential to complete in all the positions or stages of the workflow. As you might think, we found that some of these checklists are more applicable in some stages then in others. One area that this worked really well in is proofing our training material kits. Each kit is checked for the correct manuals, posters, handouts, and yes, checklists. At this stage we also proof the shipping label, pack the contents and a list of other items to ensure the kit is of the highest quality to provide the ultimate training experience for each one of the individuals who touch our materials.
We survived the year and implemented all three of these items: Improved Planning, Morning Huddles, and Checklists. Each of these items have helped to streamline our product production, ensure the quality of our product, and most of all reduce stress and anxiety by planning out what needs to get done and accomplishing it. Hopefully management doesn’t read this part, but I think we rolled out items this year that really made a difference in our company.
Going into the holiday season I would encourage you to take the JETPUBS approach. Plan out what needs to get done, make time for those morning huddles to share the plan and show your support to others, and check off what needs to get done to make time for what is super important – family, friends, and all of those that support you throughout the year!
Happy Holidays!
– Tim Nelson, JETPUBS Inc.