Articles


MAKING LEARNING AT WORK EASIER

We all know knowledge multiplies when you share it.  What challenges many businesses today is how to share knowledge effectively, retain industry knowledge, role specific knowledge, and even general experience when many in the work force move regularly as they advance their careers.  Two years in a role seems to feel like a lifetime for some people and we all know the old scenario of 40 or so years in one role is likely gone forever.

Systems and processes need to evolve too.  They are the roads staff travel in their day- to-day work.  When systems and processes are well thought through and clearly communicated and understood by everyone in the organization, things can run more smoothly, people know where they stand, boundaries are clear and results are optimized.  When they are out of date or non-existent your business can get haphazard, you end up constantly fire-fighting and time, effort and energy gets wasted, costly mistakes can be made and resentment and dissatisfaction can result. 

The challenge in keeping a record of relevant processes and systems in our businesses can become a huge job especially if operations manuals are needed and intranet knowledge storage has to be regularly reviewed.  Businesses big enough to need an intranet also usually need a technical expert (or team) to maintain it and often the bottle-necks created by this kind of system frustrates staff because updates don’t happen fast enough or the system itself becomes so complex staff don’t bother with it.

And what about small businesses?  How do they capture systems and processes so that new staff can learn the ropes fast? 

At a business seminar run by Dale Beaumont recently I was introduced to a great little web site called Backpack (www.backpackit.com)  This site is designed for small businesses that want staff to have easy access to information, process documents and so on – all in one place and accessible to everyone in the organisation.  Its easy to manage and can help ensure you retain all that good industry and business knowledge that accumulates over time because everyone can add to it.  If a system is needed, the appropriate person or people clarify it and post it where all staff can access easily.

We all learn differently and giving staff a variety of ways of learning is more engaging than the old school Ops manual that gathers dust on a shelf somewhere – another advantage of ‘Backpack’.  The use of mutli-media will speed up induction and training of new staff because a variety of learning styles can be catered for.

Regardless of how you organize your business, clarifying your systems and processes and recording them in some way will save heaps of time and energy in the long run.

KEY QUESTIONS:

  • Do you have up to date systems and processes in your business/organisation?
  • Are they easy to teach others?
  • Are your systems and processes truly reflective of your current business needs?
  • Are your systems and processes easy to access by all staff?

Many small business owners get too busy to plan even though planning is a ‘must do’ on everyone’s list.  Make some dedicated time to review your business systems and processes - what you do, how you do it and why you do it.  Spring is the perfect time to refresh things, generate new ideas and get the broom out – it usually feels like a massive undertaking at first glance but if you start in one corner and go from there you will be sparkling in no time!

Amanda Fleming
p: +64 21 357753
e: info@amandafleming.co.nz
a: PO Box 56064
Dominion Road
Mt Eden
AUCKLAND