The Definitive Guide to Operational Efficiency
How to maximize the use of your operations by being faster and better than the competition
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
— Muriel Strode, poet
What is operational efficiency?
Before we begin, let’s define what operational efficiency mean. Simply put, operational efficiency the ability to deliver products or services to your customers error free and of high quality. It’s about doing things right and doing them efficiently.
Thinking about it from a financial perspective, operational efficiency is the ratio between the input required to receive the desired output. Some examples are:
INPUT = costs, employees, time
OUTPUT = quality, revenue, customer retention
Your toolkit for improvement
1) The benefit of creating a RACI chart is the analysis that follows it. You get to ask yourself questions like:
🔸 Are there too many Rs? Not enough? Who should be responsible for certain tasks and why?
🔸Do all of those people need to be consulted or is it fine for them to only be informed?
🔸Why are there two As for this task when there should only be one? That's why the team is confused!
Yes, it takes some time to develop a RACI but the results lead to potential eye-opening moments that tell you where you've needed to streamline the process all along!
2) The Eisenhower Matrix is an easy-to-use productivity tool that gets you to consider the long-term outcomes of tasks and makes you more productive. Check it out! You'll be crossing things off your to-do list in double time. How satisfying.
3) A gap analysis is a study of your current business practices to identify missing strategies, processes, technologies or skills.
Recommended solutions are then offered to fill the gaps in order to help your company meet its goals and perform at its top potential.
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The team
Meetings are a necessary part of successful meeting operations. But, here’s the thing, knowing why and if you should have that meeting and how to do it effectively makes all the difference.
Collaborating is taking a different form now that most businesses are working remotely. Here are some tips to keep collaboration at the fore-front.
Your customers
The customer journey map is a visual representation of the customer’s experience and relationship with an organization. It’s the process of understanding the steps a customer takes as they interact with the business. How can understanding the journey help with operations?
Articulate the current and ideal state of the overall experience
Understand existing gaps
Design a plan to improve the experience
Share and implement the change plan
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How to measure your success
There’s no doubt that KPIs are important - the name, key performance indicator, says it all, but how do you choose the right ones?
Hone in on a few: More isn’t necessarily better in this case. Focus on the critical KPIs that align with the organization’s strategy.
Data validation: Is the data available? If not, what must be done to get it and will it be accessible for all?
Motivational: For a KPI to be motivating, an employee must be able to impact it.
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