From Problems to Procedures

Small Biz Book – Post #2

Teachers are told to reflect upon what annoys them in the classroom because that signifies the need for a procedure. With my 29 six-year-olds, I quickly discovered that the pencil sharpener was the kid version of the water fountain at the office. The scenario would begin with a student sharpening a pencil and then examining the point. Upon concluding a more razor-sharp tip was needed to complete an assignment to perfection, the child would reinsert the pencil. Next came the unmistakable sound of snapped led. Then: repeat. Inevitably, a line would begin to form for the use of the sharpener, followed by chaos. I began keeping sharpened pencils in cups at every work station around the classroom so that students could just trade out, but this resulted in some of my evening and weekend time spent sharpening pencils. I slowly learned that you shouldn’t do for others what they are capable of doing themselves, but it seemed inevitable that this mundane, yet necessary task was going to waste either my free time or my student’s educational time. This signaled the need for a procedure.

Thus was the creation of the glorified classroom job: Pencil Sharpener. One lucky and willing child (with electric sharpener dexterity skills) was chosen to devote 5 minutes a day sharpening pencils in the hallway. The child was proud and excited for being trusted to perform this task and it helped me not lose my mind (though the sound of a sharpener still pierces my ears even to this day).

The application of procedures carries over to house management. For example, when a frustrating key hunt occurred every time we tried to leave the house, it signaled the need for a key holder to be placed directly next to the door. Or, when 1/4 full water bottles were left lingering around the house to waste away, we created a spot next to the coffee maker to collect them for further use.

In the business world, procedures get a fancy title: Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs for short. Ideally, SOPs are well thought-out and in written form before a situation has become a mind-numbing issue. Alas, sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until the school of hard knocks offers the lesson. Enter in: the family business that I threw myself into after a career in teaching. (Let’s call it C.O.X. to be nice). This office furniture installation company has plenty of examples that I can draw from to make a case in point for the need for procedures. I’ll stick to just one today.

C.O.X. contracted out employees to other furniture installation companies. Therefore, scheduling was a hodge podge. At least 3 different companies, but more usually something like 6, would tell us every evening which employees they wanted the next day, at what time and where. One of the owners handled the dissemination of the scheduling information through nightly texts to groups or individuals. This owner happened to be the one I resided with while raising 5 kids. Therefore, I was able to witness the frustration of this practice- which came on the other end of the clock.

Approximately 30 individuals received their assignment from the owner’s phone every night. Not only was this time-consuming, but frequently an employee would be left off of the group text or would simply miss the text. At 5 am, when a contractor was a no-show for work, the owner’s phone was called. At 5 am when an employee called in sick, the owner’s phone was called. Believe me, a family of 7 awakened 6 days a week does not make for a kind, rested household. Based on the owner’s furious outcome that resulted from early morning texts and calls, a procedure was needed.

I’ve mentioned my bad-ass, super intelligent niece who holds a business degree in a prior blog post. She began a cleaning company while attending Indiana University. After graduating, she moved to Chicago, followed by running an Airbnb company in Breckenridge, Colorado. Guests of her properties ran out of toilet paper and towels at inconvenient times, like when she was living her life, but quick customer service results in good reviews and returning guests. Her solution? Create an Inbox Team in a country far away to monitor all incoming messages from guests. (Remember that previous post about delegating?)

My niece’s Inbox Team was simply a husband and wife in Venezuela, where the native currency is currently worth $0, making the American dollar comparative to gold. Remembering technology is our world-wide connection, payroll money went a lot further beyond our borders. For guest needs that needed immediate attention, the couple would contact a Colorado employee by text; emails were used for any needs that could be taken care of the following day. This procedure surely took time to research and trial run, but that’s a small price when the result is not being bothered by the constant, small, sometimes irritating issues that come about when running a company.

Whether at home or in the workplace, every situation that causes stress can be looked at with a methodical eye. For C.O.X., I established a (never implemented) schedule spreadsheet that employees could access via login on the company website. In the least, this would circumvent the owner’s nightly task and the format would alleviate overlooked employee assignments. And, although I hadn’t thought of Venezuelan employees, I’m certain a willing individual could have been trained to handle communications concerning call-ins.

Like delegating, procedures require an ability to release control. However, taking your hands off of the wheel from some of the small items on the to-do list allows for more focus in other areas that would be a better use of your time and mind. (In my case, for example, teaching a child to read instead of sharpening pencils). It is also worth mentioning that procedures can be tweaked even after they have been set into motion. When a procedure is finally perfected, the process that once drove you bat shit crazy will run like a well-oiled machine. With that being said, if anyone has a fail proof procedure to handle fair, consistent front seat disbursement between three children, please do share.

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To recap, Small Biz What Not to Do #2:

Don’t allow a current process to continually drive you loco when you are in the position to develop and implement a procedure that will handle it differently.

It is fair to say that both What Not to Dos #1 & #2 consist of allowing other people to help your business endeavors succeed, which transitions us perfectly to No-No #3.