UP
PRODUCTIVITY
How to Improve the Productivity of Your Staff
Scott J. Lisbin
Copyright © 2008 by Scott Lisbin All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form ISBN 978-0-557-06138-9 Manufactured in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Introduction and Overview Measuring What Matters Most Do the Math Managing Manpower to Match Workload Finding Ways to Improve Workflow The People Part of Productivity Quality Counts Implementing Identified Improvements Staying on Course Ready to Take The Plunge 1 6 19 24
Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
44 64 82 92
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Index
103 110 111
CHAPTER 1
Introduction and Overview
1.1
Do More With Less !
Do more with less ! Sound familiar ? If you work as a manager for just about any organization, you have probably already been asked (or soon will be) to do “more with less” and “do it better”. Most organizations today (whether manufacturing or service) find themselves fighting to attract and retain customers. These customers are more and more demanding and want to receive the highest quality product and/or service at the lowest available price. Most organizations have responded to these customer demands by putting increased pressure on their managers to both reduce costs and improve quality ! If you are like most managers, you have probably thought how can I do “more with less” and still “do it better” ? The answer is you have to improve the productivity of your staff. Why ? Because staff costs in the typical organization represent 70% to 80% of the total cost of operations. To improve the productivity of the staff in your department you will need to understand :
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1. What productivity is 2. How productivity is measured 3. How productive your staff should be 4. How productive your staff really are 5. What can be done to improve the productivity of your staff 6. How you can sustain the improvements you make If you follow the steps outlined in the following chapters you will have the tools needed to “do more with less” and “do it better”.
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1.2
Telltale Signs
Do you think that there are any opportunities for improvement of productivity in your department ? One of the best ways to initially assess if you have any opportunities for improvement is to look for some of the “telltale signs” which frequently accompany productivity problems. Some of the telltale signs you should look for include :
Large amounts of work becoming backlogged Significant amounts of overtime being worked Difficulty in meeting required deadlines Having to redo a lot of the work that’s been done Problems with service or the quality of work performed Problems or bottlenecks in workflow Problems staying within your budget Problems with high absenteeism or high turnover among
employees
Problems with low employee morale Troughs and/or peaks in demand Problems with idle employees Frequent complaints from customers Frequent grievances or complaints from employees
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If you are like most managers, you will probably see some (if not all) of these “telltale” signs when you do your assessment. While these “telltale signs” may suggest that you have opportunities to improve the productivity of your staff, they will not tell you how much more (or in some cases less) work your staff can do. So how do you determine how much improvement in productivity may be possible ?
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1.3
A Little More (or Less)
To determine how much improvement can be made (and where) you first need to know how productive your staff already are. The productivity of your staff is affected by : 1. The amount of work your department receives and completes 2. The amount of time needed to complete each task or unit of work your staff perform 3. The amount of hours actually worked by your staff If you are already collecting information relative to each of these variables, great ! You will be able to easily assess how much more (or less) work your staff can do by preparing a quick and dirty analysis. You can do this quick and dirty analysis by following the six steps outlined in Chapter 3 - Do the Math. If, however, you have not been collecting this information, then you will need to collect some information to evaluate your staff’s productivity (see Chapter 2 - Measuring What Matters Most for details).
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CHAPTER 2
Measuring What Matters Most
2.1
Getting Your Act Together !
So how would you begin to collect required workload volumes and/or performance time statistics to complete the analysis of your staff’s productivity ? The first place to start is planning what you actually need to collect. The easiest way to begin planning what data needs to be collected is to prepare a list (see example 2) of all of the tasks that are performed by your department. Besides a description of each task, this list should also identify :
Who has responsibility for performing each task The point at which each task begins and ends What constitutes a meaningful measure of the amount of work
received for each task At least a few of the employees from your department should be included in preparation of this list.
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Why ? By including some of your employees in the preparation of this list you will not only ensure that nothing has been overlooked but will ensure that your staff feel involved right from the start (which will help when planned changes need to be made later in the process)
EXAMPLE 1 The Chartroom performs the following tasks : pulling charts filing lab work refilling charts creating new charts researching paperwork with missing information
The list of tasks you would prepare would look like the example on the following page.
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EXAMPLE 2
TASK STARTING POINT ENDING POINT STAFF RESPONSIBLE POSSIBLE MEASURES
Pulling charts
Receipt of request
Return to Zone clerks workstation after chart pulled
Number of requests
Filing lab work
Pickup lab slips
Completion File clerks of filing into chart
Number of requests or Pounds of lab work
Refiling charts Pickup of charts
Completion Zone clerks of refiling
Number of charts refiled
Creating new charts
Receipt of paperwork
Completion General clerk of new chart
Number of new charts made Number of sheets of paper or Pounds of paper needing research
Research paperwork with missing identification information
Pickup paperwork
Record General clerk missing information or unable to locate
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2.2
Every Little Bit Counts
Workload information will need to be collected for each key task performed in your department. Collecting this workload information may initially seem to be an insurmountable task - especially if you have a large department or provide a wide range of services. And it would be an insurmountable task if you or your staff had to count individually all of the work received by your department. However, there are several approaches that you can use to count all of the work received without having to count it individually. Some of the most common approaches include :
Weighing the number of pounds of paper or material received or
completed
Measuring the number of inches of paper or material received or
completed
Using line or other counts from computers or other pieces of
equipment
Subtracting starting numbers on receipts or other documents
from ending numbers
Tallying the amount of work received
How you determine the amount of work received and/or completed using each of these approaches is described below.
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Weighing the number of pounds of paper or material received Method : Weigh a random sample of papers (or other work) and then determine how many individual sheets of paper are in the stack weighed. Divide the total weight by the number of pieces to find out the average weight per piece. Incoming work can then be weighed and multiplied by the conversion factor to determine the amount of work received (see example 3).
EXAMPLE 3 The Chartroom receives paper to be stored in patient charts. Several stacks of paper were weighed. The combined weight of the papers totaled 10.2 pounds for a total of 1000 sheets of paper. The average weight per piece of paper was : 10.2 pounds = .0102 pounds/sheet 1000 sheets If the Chartroom received 12 pounds of paperwork, how many individual sheets of paper had to be filed ? 12 pounds = 1176 sheets of paper .0102 lbs/sheet
Measuring the number of inches of paper or material received Method : Measure the height of a random sample of papers (or other work) and then determine how many individual sheets of paper are in the stack weighed. Divide the total height by the number of pieces
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to find out the average height per piece. Incoming work can then be measured and multiplied by the conversion factor to determine the amount of work received (see example 4). EXAMPLE 4 The Chartroom receives charts to be returned to file . Several stacks of charts were measured. The combined height of the charts totaled 100 inches for a total of 400 charts. The average thickness per chart was : 100 inches 400 charts = 0.25 inches per chart
If the Chartroom received 400 inches of charts, how many individual charts had to be filed ? 400 inches = 1600 charts .25 inches/chart
Subtracting starting numbers on receipts or tickets from ending numbers Method : At the beginning of the day record the beginning number on receipts or tickets. At the end of the day record the ending number. Then subtract the beginning number from the ending number and add 1 to determine the amount of work done (see example 5).
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EXAMPLE 5
The sales clerks at the checkout counter at a store started the day with receipt number 0015. The last receipt they wrote was number 0032. The number of receipts they wrote was : 32-15+1 = 18 receipts If the store clerks started the day with receipt 001 and ended the day with receipt 051 how many receipts did they write up ? 51-1+1 = 51 receipts
Tallying the amount of work received Method : Prepare a form for staff to record the number of times they perform a particular task. Give them the form and have them use tick marks to record on the form each time they do that task. At the end of the day total the tick marks for all employees to determine how much work was completed.
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2.3
Just For The Record !
There are a number of ways that the workload data you collect can be recorded. The most common ways for this information to be recorded include documenting the data by :
Day (with all the data aggregated for each individual day) Shift (with all the data aggregated for each individual shift for
each day)
Half Day (with all the data aggregated for each half day) Hour/half hour (with all the data aggregated by hour/half hour
for each day of the week) Note : Data collected by hour can be aggregated to reflect the amount of work received by shift and data collected by shift can be aggregated to reflect the amount of work received by day The way that this information should be recorded depends on whether the work :
Needs to be done when it is actually received, or Can be done at anytime during the shift (or day)
If the work needs to be done when it is actually received you will need to document the amount of work received by hour or half hour. Documenting the workload information in this way will allow you to better assess how you need to staff your department to meet the demand at various times throughout the day. If the work does not need to be handled when it is actually received, you can record the amount of work received in aggregate by half day or shift.
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The forms on the next several pages show how you can record the workload that is received and completed by your department. Hourly Summary of Work Received By Day of the Week Week Beginning : ____________ Hour 0800 - 0859 0900 - 0959 1000 - 1059 1100 - 1159 1200 - 1359 1400 - 1459 1500 - 1559 1600 - 1659 Average Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Avg
Daily Summary of Work Received By Week Task : ____________ Week Beginning Date 1 Date 2 Date 3 Date 4 Date 5 Date 6 Average Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Avg
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2.4
It’s About Time !
Once collection of workload data is underway, you will then want to start collecting some data on the length of time that is required to perform each task. The simplest way to measure task performance times is to document, using a stopwatch, the time it actually takes your staff to perform each task. Note : Other methods that can be used include methods time measurement and work sampling Before beginning to collect any information you should prepare a worksheet for each task. Besides a description of the task, each worksheet should include :
The point at which each task begins and ends The workload unit being measured (ie orders, calls) Space for documenting the length of time for each observation
made Before you begin to collect any information, you should list which employees you plan to observe. The employees you decide to observe should be competent at the job you will be assessing (ie not trainees or new hires). When you are observing these employees, it is important to make sure that they :
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Are performing the task in accordance with departmental
policies and procedures
Are working at a speed that can be sustained for eight (8)
hours (not too slow; not too fast)
Are maintaining an acceptable level of work quality
The length of time it takes to perform each task is calculated by determining the average for the timed observations you make for each task. Generally about thirty (30) to fifty (50) observations are sufficient for calculating the average time for most tasks. Time for personal, fatigue, and delay (PFD) then needs to be built into the task performance time to reflect time for breaks, uncontrollable delays, etc (generally a fifteen percent (15%) adjustment is used). This “standard” time is what you will eventually use in calculating the productivity of your staff.
Method : 1. Determine the starting and ending point for each task you want to measure. Use a stopwatch to determine how long it takes the employee to complete the task being evaluated Note : You want to use an average employee - not the fastest and not the slowest 2. Document each observation in a logbook. You can generally get a good sample with 30 to 50 observations Note : You may find it easier to measure the time it takes to complete more than one repetition of a task when it has a short cycle time
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3. Calculate the average time required to perform the task by adding the individual time observations together and dividing by the total number of observations. Multiply the average time by 1.15 (or another factor if you are not using 15% PFD) to determine the standard time you should allocate for performing the task (see example 6)
EXAMPLE 6 The Chartroom clerks are each assigned a stack of paper to be slipfiled in each patient’s record. The length of time it took the clerks to complete their assignment and the amount of papers each filed are identified below : Clerk 1 2 3 2 3 1 Time (min) 10:05 20:10 15:15 30:00 17:25 19:45 Pieces Filed 43 90 58 136 64 77
Given this information, what is the standard time required to slipfile a piece of paper ? Clerk 1 2 3 2 3 1 Total Time (min) 10:05 20:10 15:15 30:00 17:25 19:45 112:40 Pieces Filed 43 90 58 136 64 77 468 Avg (min/piece) 0.23 0.22 0.26 0.22 0.27 0.26 0.24
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The average time to slip file a piece of paper is therefore : 112:40 minutes 468 pieces = 0.24 minutes/piece
Adjusting this by 15% the standard time to slip file a piece of paper is therefore : 1.15 x 0.24 minutes/piece = 0.276 minutes/piece To say this in another way, each employee should be expected to file 217 pieces of paper per hour 60 minutes = 217 pieces/hour worked 0.276 min/piece
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CHAPTER 3
Do The Math
3.1 Putting It All Together
Once all of the workload and performance data have been collected, all that you will need to do is put it together to evaluate how productive your staff have really been. The easiest way to begin putting all this information together is by preparing a list of all of the tasks that are performed on each shift. Besides a description of each task, this list should also identify :
The amount of work that is received for that task for an average
week
The length of time it takes on average to perform that task
Once this information has been listed, the productivity of your staff can be calculated by filling in the appropriate numbers and just doing the math ! The six step process is outlined on the next page :
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PROCEDURE FOR ESTIMATING YOUR STAFF’S PRODUCTIVITY
1. List the key tasks performed in your department 2. Beside each task, identify : The volume of work that is received for that task for an average day or week The length of time it takes a fully competent employee on average to perform that task. You should increase the time by 15% to allow for personal, fatigue, and delay.
3. Multiply the amount of work that is completed for each task by the average time it takes a fully competent employee on average to do the task 4. Add together the amount of time it should have taken to complete each task 5. Determine the amount of time actually worked from payroll records (exclude vacation, sick leave, etc) by your employees for the period evaluated 6. Divide the total amount of time it should have taken to complete all of the work performed by your department by the total number of hours actually worked by your staff (per payroll records) Or putting it another way : Total Time Required = Task 1 Workvolume x Time +Task 2 Workvolume x Time +Task N Workvolume x Time Total Time to do all Tasks
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% Productivity
= Total Time Of All Tasks Total Hours Worked
Note : It’s important to make sure that the time is in the same format for all of the variables (ie minutes/hours/seconds) Example 7 shows you how to put it all together and determine the productivity of your staff.
EXAMPLE 7 The Chartroom receives loose paperwork to be slipfiled in the patient chart. The Chartroom receives 5,000 pieces of individual paper per day that need to be filed. It takes an average of 20 seconds or 0.33 minutes to file each sheet of paper in the chart. The Chartroom also pulls 3000 charts per day. It takes an average of 1.2 minutes to pull and prepare each chart for delivery. If the Chartroom employees worked a total of 100 manhours actually completing these tasks, how productive were they ? Step 1 : List the key tasks performed in your department Task File paperwork Pull charts Total Volume Time (hrs) Manhours
Step 2 : Identify the volume of work and length of time it takes to do each task (note: convert all of the time units to the same unit of time ie 0.33 minutes = .0055 hours) Task File paperwork Pull charts Total Volume 5000 3000 Time (hrs) .0055 .02 Manhours
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Step 3 : Multiply the volume and time together for each task to calculate the amount of time it should have taken to do the actual work received Task File paperwork Pull charts Total Volume 5000 3000 Time (hrs) .0055 .02 Manhours 27.5 60.0
Step 4 : Total the amount of time required to do all tasks Task File paperwork Pull charts Total Volume 5000 3000 Time (hrs) .0055 .02 Manhours 27.5 60.0 87.5
Step 5 : Determine the number of hours actually worked from payroll records Step 6 : Calculate the percent productivity 87.5 hours % Productivity = 100 hours = 87.5%
Once you have completed this quick and dirty analysis, the next question is “what do the productivity numbers you calculated mean ?”
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3.2
Hitting The Bulls Eye !
If the level of productivity you calculated was 100% CONGRATULATIONS ! You’re right on target. You are making good use of the staff you have. If, however, the level of productivity you calculated is significantly below 100%, then there may be some more work that you need to do. Why ? Because the goal is 100% productivity. This level of productivity may seem impossible to achieve without pushing your staff to give it “their all”. However, 100% productivity does not require your staff to “work all out”. Rather 100% productivity means that your staff are doing just the right amount of work. The reason is that the times that you used for estimating your department’s productivity reflected the following :
Staff were working at a normal pace that could be sustained
for eight (8) hours
Only competent employees (not trainees or problem
employees) were included in the estimates used
Allowances (15%) were made in the average time for personal,
fatigue, and delay (PFD) A productivity target of 100% is therefore a realistic target to not only aim for … but to hit ! So what should you do if you fail to hit the bulls eye and the productivity of your staff is significantly below where it should be ? The next step you should take is determine what the problem is … and fix it ! (23)
this material has been excerpted
UP PRODUCTIVITY
by Scott Lisbin Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form For more information or, to purchase a copy of this book, please go to my website at http://mysite.verizon.net/resrag82/upproductivity2/ or visit www.amazon.com