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For many years, the ABC technique was used to divide tasks in order of importance; for example, the most important tasks would go into category A and be done before category B or C tasks. However, thanks to the global recession, in which most companies have had to make cutbacks, this way of thinking no longer works. Thus, the ABC technique is no longer used and seems to have been replaced by task overload.
In fact, it is more important than ever to remove unimportant and non-urgent work, because it is simply not reflected in the rewards we expect. So I have some tips for designing new positions while removing any work that brings little benefit to customers or employees. For starters, I leave some examples of when you should try to do this:
New workers – if you have a new worker starting the job, ask them to thoroughly evaluate what they do and what can be changed. If this is done in the first few weeks, while they still have a different perspective, many non-important and non-urgent tasks can be removed and the job can be redesigned.
Reorganization- after a worker is laid off, existing employees will take on all the work, for fear of being the next to leave. But it shouldn’t be this way. Employees should be encouraged to speak up and ask to reorganize their position, because it shows that they want to make the business more efficient.
Workload increases – Sometimes we may not realize how much stress workers feel. So if you feel you have too much on your hands, ask what should be prioritized.
With this in mind, a new question arises – how to do it? Let’s look at some of the techniques for removing non-important, non-urgent work.
The goal of the process is to make the workforce more efficient. One way to do this is by paying attention to what is being produced. If you see an employee doing a report that no one has read, you will have to take action because that task has become useless. Have you ever been to a store and been asked at the checkout if you want a tax number on the invoice? They are asking the customer to remove a non-important and non-urgent task, and you can do the same. Why not ask customers if there are some tasks that are no longer needed?
In addition, as technology advances, you should look for automation solutions. When it comes to appointments, for example, there may be an automated function that can do that work while your employees focus on something more important. Finally, you need to evaluate non-important and non-urgent work on a frequent basis. Personally, I like to sit down from time to time and think about each employee’s work.
As you can see, removing non-important and non-urgent tasks can make the difference between your company being more and more efficient or not.
You might also like to read: Don’t be right. Be effective.