Problems have a way of bubbling up to the surface. The longer you let them simmer the bigger the problem will be when it surfaces. In our businesses, our goal is to create standardized work processes that bring issues and problems to the surface (using visual indicators so no problems are hidden) at the earliest possible moment. People are stimulated by the visual, tactile and audible.  People are part of the process.  So it stands to reason that being able to see everything you manage is a balanced and harmonious way of creating flow in your work.

Don’t overwork people.  I’ve been guilty of this. One of the benefits of creating standardized workflows related to customer or client demand is that you can level the workload. If you reduce waste, unevenness, excess burden on one person, you create a lean operation where people can continuously improve—themselves and the organization.

The service business seems to come inherently with a lot of waste, unevenness and overburdened people.  It’s one of the reasons you may get overwhelmed and frustrated with the work you’re doing, particularly once you’re booked solid. Let’s look now at how to level out workloads so you don’t overwork yourself and others, one of the most significant causes of burnout and poor production. 

The key is to fit customer demand into a leveled schedule (there are two types of customers: internal and external). Certain times of the day, or week, or month do certain activities—the way dentists do.  Have you ever noticed how organized dentists are?  They always seem to know how long things are going to take and they schedule accordingly. Mondays might be root canal day and Tuesday wisdom teeth day.  That’s because dentists establish different time allotments for different types of procedures. Contractors do (or I should say “should” do, since I see little evidence of organizational ability among the contractors I seem to use) the same. 

Establish standard times for delivering different types of services.  Yes, sometimes it is the clients who bring in new and hidden variables that muck up the standard timing, but over time even the unexpected can be accounted for.  If you have standard workflow charts, and your systems are visible, then you should have a very good idea of how long things take, too.  From there it’s simply a matter of calculating the resources you have (including you) and how much you can deliver, when.

Not everything needs to be responded to in 24 hours.  Better to establish standard, longer, response periods and occasionally surprise a client with faster service.  When you set an expectation, say of a 48 hour response time, when you respond more quickly people will be pleasantly surprised, instead of unimpressed, because let’s face it, everyone nowadays seems to think things should happen instantly. 

If you don’t know how long things take, then you need to back up and work on your systems some more.