Spend Time to Save Time - Jason’s Time-Saving Delegation Technique
By Robyn Pearce
(537 words)
I was part-way through a time management and delegation training programme for Synlait, an innovative Canterbury dairying consortium. At the time of writing (January 2007) they produced more than 50 million litres of milk. It was expected by the 2008/9 season they would have taken their by-then close to 1% of the national milk production out of the Fonterra catchment – they’re building their own processing facility. (Isn’t it fascinating how nimble and creative entrepreneurs always show up under the noses of huge conglomerates?)
Jason Bruce is one of their managers based at Robindale Dairies, a 900 hectare farm in Mid-Canterbury. At Robindale they put 3,000 cows through the one shed, making it one of the largest single-shed operations in the country. This is done with a farm operations staff of sixteen and a support team of five, plus management support from the head office team.
One of Jason’s responsibilities is the running of the shed. He’d taken this over a few months prior and quickly realized that things were slipping through the cracks; a better process was needed if they wanted to keep on top of the vitally important areas of maintenance and hygiene. For instance, he’d ask someone to clean the toilets, but then find a few days later that the job wasn’t done. ‘No time’ was the excuse trotted out far too often.
On a whiteboard in the shed he drew up a table. Along the top he listed all the jobs, big and little. Down the left-hand-side he listed the dates. In each square he put the name of the team member responsible.
‘What are the benefits?’ I asked.
He reeled off the following list.
- ‘Peace of mind – I know everything will be done.’
- ‘No one forgets anything any more – neither the staff nor me.’
- ‘There are no more ‘lack of time’ excuses. The shift isn’t completed until all the shift tasks are done.’
- ‘It’s a training tool. It’s easier to make sure everyone gets experience in the many farm tasks, rather than allocating tasks on the hoof and not noticing that I’m too often giving the same kind of work to the same people.’
- ‘Because everything’s on the board I don’t have people asking ‘What’s next?’ and me having to interrupt my work to thing of something. They look for themselves and then get on with it.’
The only rewriting or rethinking needed is when the shifts change and the tasks are reallocated, but it’s a significantly smaller task.
What tasks round your farm or business or even your family, could you use this technique for? (I’ve seen it used to train children in household chores, via a list on the fridge door.)
The slowest part is the job is the thinking. Once the process is laid down it’s a breeze - you don’t have to rethink or try and remember a bunch of relatively minor items. Take the strain off your brain – do the work once, get it right, pass it on to others in a way that minimizes interruptions - and you’re free to work on more useful and creative things.
Invest a small amount of time today - save a bucket load of time forever.
Robyn Pearce CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is the Time Queen. She mastered her own time challenges and now helps people around the world overcome theirs. She can show you how to transform your time challenges into high productivity and the life balance you desire.
Download her free report “How to Master Time In Only 90 Seconds”, a simple yet powerful diagnostic tool to help you identify your key areas for action. You’ll find it at http://www.gettingagrip.com/products/e-books/index.asp And while you’re there, enrol for your free Top Time Tips – practical advice every two weeks
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