In our recent Water Cooler Chat, Wilfred Bailey, our associate for data management, showed us many repetitive data task that can be handled through Power Automate. As a follow up, this blog post shares ideas for finding automation in your work so that your brain and time are available for creativity and strategy.
FIRST: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
You may remember the old question: If God is omnipotent, then how can He create a rock that He cannot lift? It is a fun philosophical discussion, but philosophizing does not forward your work. Instead, remember that once upon a time no one thought that you could get physically from New York to London in less than several weeks – we are made to create more and more tools and methods for doing more and more using the same number of hours.
Whatever is needed, we humans have the creative capacity and will to create it, including a solution to – say –staff meetings that have no agenda or mailings that take days to prepare. Someone has solved these, and so you adopt their solution or build your own.
SECOND: THE PROBLEM STATEMENT COMES BEFORE THE TOOL SELECTION
It happens to us and to our executives: We hear about a new product or service and decide to buy it, hoping for the magic bullet. Well, tool selection is more complex than that. Figure out the problem statement, even if you have to map the process using a flow chart. The other mapping method is to write each step down on a Post-It Note and put sets of tasks for one project into a paper bag. Then pull them all out and sort them.
Problems are often caused by:
- Hand offs: The information or documents are not being sent to the appropriate people in the most efficient and effective way.
- Communication: The information or documents needed are stalled somewhere or withheld.
- Access: Too many people or not the right people have access to the information, documents, or process
- Manual processes when an automated process would work (called, “The Monkey Do” processes)
What slows you down? Do you get what you need to meet your deadlines? If not, what gets stuck and where (remember not to blame people! It’s usually process that’s the issue.)?
Once you know the problem, you can look at tools.
THIRD: TOOL SELECTION SHOULD BE LED BY THE TOOL’S PRIMARY USERS
Again, shiny object syndrome can lead us to be assigned to use a new tool. This method does not work for most shops. Instead, new tools must be selected by the people who will ultimately use them. Someone who never has to travel, for instance, does not need a travel credit card.
As a left-handed person, I have empathy for staff who are squished into cubicles that do not work for them, for clients who tell me that they do not yet know how to use the newest project management software, and for colleagues who are learning another new CRM. Let’s look at a good set of requirements instead.
- The tool should solve the problem at hand. If the problem determined in your process mapping does not get taken care of by a tool, then the tool will be useless. Remember that adding a satellite tool for your department’s use alone does not solve the problem.
- The tool should be understandable by the new users. Yes, training will be required and sometimes we have adoption-to-the-new-thing resistance, but the tool should be trainable.
- The tool should be usable by the users. I remember an episode of Undercover Boss where the undercover boss realized that he had designed a color-coded client management system but that he himself was color blind.
- The tool should not make the problem worse or create worse problems down the line. It’s common for one department to solve a problem by passing it forward to another department. In the end, that bites everyone in the wrong place. Also, a new tool that has to be bailing wired onto the other shop systems will fail early and often.
- The tool must save time.
WRAP UP: TAKE TIME TO SELECT AND TO IMPLEMENT
I have had a lot of bosses tell me that setting up an automated process would take longer than just doing it by hand. As true as that is, an automated process will save time cumulatively. The more time you take to set up, hear everyone’s needs, install and test, the better your usage of the product will be.
That being said, I repeat that sometimes the problem is that too many people are involved in accessing your information or process. I have visited shops where a gift check was copied and sent to 10 different inboxes – imagine the security risk on that. So, balancing the need for those who will use the tool and those who will accept its output to be comfortable with the new way of doing things – but no one else.
You can do this! Remember that we have coaching hours for process mapping, tool selection, and setting up automation to make your repetitive work easier. Email Marianne at marianne@staupell.com.