Find the queue and ask who owns it
Every business has lists of things waiting. Few have an owner.
The first question I ask is where things wait, and who is responsible for the waiting.
Not every business has this problem, and some should leave it alone.
Most of these can be handled better. Whether it's worth doing is a separate question. What follows is one common form of the problem, described in general terms, because your version will differ. These are possible challenges, not a description of your business, and some should be left exactly as they are. If it sounds like your week, that's worth a conversation.
Watch: How to Look Before Changing Anything
Sound familiar?
- There is a pile somewhere that everybody adds to.
- Nobody can say who empties it.
- Things in it are found only when somebody complains.
- Its size is a guess.
What it looks like
Every business has places where things wait: jobs to bill, bills to pay, documents to sign, quotes to answer, requests to handle. Some are lists in a system. Some are folders, inboxes, piles on a desk.
Most of the problems in this guide start in one of those places. Something went in, and nobody was responsible for making sure it came out.
What it costs
Waiting is invisible. A queue nobody looks at does not look like a problem.
Everyone assumes someone else owns it. Things go in from many hands and come out from none.
Its size is unknown. Without an owner, nobody counts it.
Where it goes wrong
- Nobody is named. The queue belongs to the business, which means no one.
- It is not counted. Nobody knows how many items, or how old.
- It is worked in a crisis. Only when something breaks.
- Some queues are not seen as queues. A folder or an inbox is not recognized as a list of waiting work.
What a better version looks like
The first step is not a tool. It is a list of the places work waits, what goes into each, and who is responsible for each one. Each queue gets a count and an age. Once a queue has an owner and a number, whether it needs anything more becomes a clear question.
What still needs a person
A person owns each queue. That is the whole point. Tools can count and remind, but responsibility is a person's.
Questions worth asking about your own operation
- Where does work wait in your business?
- For each place, who is responsible for emptying it?
- How many items are in it, and how old is the oldest?
- Which one would you least like to look at?
If this sounds familiar
Bring me the version you actually have. I'll learn how the process really works before I suggest anything. If it isn't worth changing, or isn't a fit for me, I'll say so. Talk through a problem