We have all heard the old saying “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” or “if it is working well don’t change it”. But is it really true that if something is working okay that you should just continue to do things the same way? Many times it is a good thing to sort of “shake” things up in the office to see what possibly can be done in a better way or see what doesn’t need to be done anymore. A quick example of what I am getting at would be something like this; You work in a medical office where the patients come up to the front window and sign in and sit down, only to be called back up to the front window to be asked about insurance, forms, or other information, and then to sit down again. When it would be more efficient when the patient comes into the office for the administrative staff to check them in immediately and ask all pertinent questions when they are at the window before they sit down. It is rethinking through the everyday tasks that take place to see how they can be done in a simpler way. Restructuring can be beneficial in many ways when following the four key steps below.
1. Restructure one task at a time – By changing one task at a time everyone involved can focus on this one change which makes for less confusion.
2. Clear directions – Everyone involved with making the change needs to have clear directions as to what the change and how to go about it.
3. Clear understanding – Everyone involved with the accomplishing the change needs to clearly understand why the change is being made and what the hopeful outcome will be.
4. Clear evaluation – Before the change has been implemented there needs to be a time frame set up for when there will be a clear evaluation if the change has been successful (beneficial) or not and the feedback by all parties involved is necessary to get a true clear evaluation.
If the change has been beneficial then fantastic, and start with the next task on the list. If the change was not beneficial then it needs to be determined to leave it as it was before or to look for possibly another way of restructuring the task. Restructuring the way we do things at work and getting good results is exciting and motivating for all those involved and it also inspires everyone to see what other possibilities there may be to continue to improve the workplace.
If we always do what we’ve always done, we will get what we’ve always got. ~Adam Urbanski
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