Sep
25
“Completed” Doesn’t Always equal “Done”
Filed Under Management
A great tool in a busy person’s life is the checklist. As David Allen rightly says: “Get it out of your head.” I think his analogy of visual RAM is an excellent one, particularly as I upgraded the RAM in my MacBook by a Gb and now it is running a lot smoother, thank you.
But I’ve also found that checklists can become their own enemy. Particularly when it comes to business checklists.
I joined a new company recently and the Induction process is basically a checklist of things to do. Good start. However, not so good when things are checked off that haven’t been fully completed. And the new start employee can’t be the judge of that. There is a trust level that the Induction has been completed correctly - only to be verified over the next few days and weeks when gaps start appearing in the mind of the new employee.
Personal Checklists
Personal checklists are great because the creator of the list knows the level of detail required to successfully complete their tasks. If modifications are required, they will make them on the fly and the list will be completed.
Business Process Checklists
… are a different story altogether. The creator of the list needs to have a balance of detail and yet allow for some initiative on the part of the user. And yet when the chips are down and the day’s tasks are mounting up, the easiest thing to do is just check the list. Initiative and “extra mile” thinking is sacrificed for “completion”.
So What’s the Solution?
Well, to my mind there is and there isn’t one.
There is in the sense that, along with a checklist itself, there needs to be some recognition of the value of each part of the checklist. Why it is being done, the consequences of it not being done properly versus the benefits of a doing it well.
An example might be:
Task: introduce new employee to key contacts within the company
Benefit 1: employee can get up to productive speed with right contacts quicker
Benefit 2: employee feels connected with company quicker by developing their own contacts
Benefit 3: you are interrupted less with questions like: “who do I see about this again?”
But the alternative can be disastrous, particularly with the current skills shortage here in Australia. Any disaffected employee can leave, produce less effective work and contribute an overall lessening of productivity.
All because the task of “introduce new employee to key contacts” was completed on the checklist, but it wasn’t really Done!
But how much detail will a company want to provide to these checklists?
That becomes the issue when developing corporate checklists or processes. A high level view, in my opinion, isn’t enough. A 1-page overview of the importance of the process needs to be provided, or easily accessible or the company runs the risk of poor implementation (or no implementation!).
It also provides the value of reviewing the checklists in context. Reviewing a flow chart or checklist is one thing but reviewing it with the background of its inception is another altogether.
Action:
- Grab a checklist at your work and try and follow it.
- Do you understand its context?
- Do you know who developed it?
- Is it easily accessible?
- Is there a brief explanation as to its purpose?
Could this “Completed but not Done” syndrome be causing serious productivity issues at your place of business?
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I read similar article also named Completed” Doesn’t Always equal “Done” | b i l l w a l l a c e … o n l i n e, and it was completely different. Personally, I agree with you more, because this article makes a little bit more sense for me