Tips and Insights

I talked earlier about the importance of building a relationship with our clients. When the Internet allows businesses to stretch across the United States and across continents, it can be difficult coordinating face-to-face access with customers. So, how do we build trust when distance and everyday operations make it difficult for us to spend "quality time" with our clients?

We do it by being the same people whether we're in our offices in Kalamazoo, with a client in another state or country, or when talking on the phone instead of in person.

• We're comfortable explaining what we do and why we do it--no secrets, no surprises.


• We're excited about our work instructions and it shows when any of us talk about them (and we can all talk about them).


• We're honest and upfront when we talk to each other and it follows that we convey information to our clients the same way.


• We listen first, which means we're not second guessing or assuming knowledge.


• We make promises and we keep them.
  

Our goal is to resolve issues. If we can identify our client's pain points, we can begin to solve the problems. It is the inevitable back-and-forth talk--the clarification and feedback--that helps develop the trust in our process and creates longstanding partnerships.

Labels: teamwork, trust

I threw 5S/6S in my last entry without explaining it fully. Though most of you probably know the background, let me share its Japanese origins and definitions:

• Seiri = tidiness, organization
• Seiton = orderliness
• Seiso = cleanliness
• Seiketsu = standards
• Shitsuke = sustaining discipline

And the English counterparts that came from it:

• Sort = cleanup
• Straighten/Set in Order = arrange
• Shine = neatness
• Systemize/Standardize = discipline
• Sustain = ongoing improvement
  

(The sixth S stands for safety.)

I can't say that we always live by 5S/6S in our office, and as I stated earlier, some of us work quite happily within our clutter. We rely on technology in this business, however, and we want to make sure everyone in the office can access the information they need when they need it. To that end, we've strategically organized our computer files, added software programs that help us manage projects, and tried to define all our processes, even the ones we think are indefinable.

Defining the processes hasn't been easy. Because we deal in mostly intellectual information and communication (though we do produce tangible documents), our processes have been hard to capture. We're constantly catching ourselves doing work in ways that contradict what we teach others, so we have to back away and start over.

When we do that, we look at the issue and ask what the user needs in the end (only this time the user is us), and we invariably define our process.

For example, we have several clients who wanted to create our EXPLAINIT Integrated Work Instructions in-house, and they looked to us to train their staff. Privately, some of us balked, claiming that our processes couldn't be duplicated, couldn't be categorized. Of course, what we discovered in our efforts to satisfy the client was that yes, we can define our processes. But would our clients be able to produce the same level of quality? It depends . . .

• Will the document designers be given the necessary software to develop the work instructions?
• Will they be given enough time to train on the software, learn the processes and create the documents?
• Will they have access to illustrations or be illustrators themselves?
• Will they be able to implement both a system that verifies the document's accuracy and a system that allows for changes?

These are questions we can't answer, yet we do know that when our clients aim for quality, creative solutions come alive. We're betting on their success.

So, as we continue to refine what we do to help our clients, we organize our thoughts, improve our processes and create standards that we can duplicate. Any 5S/6S proponent would say that's the kind of order that works.

Labels: 5S, 6S, Lean, organization, standardization, work instructions

For obvious reasons, we're proponents of Lean manufacturing concepts; standard work procedures based on best practice is our calling card. We're used to being part of 5S/6S* initiatives on the manufacturing floor, creating some pretty effective visual documents that help employees keep their areas tidy.

I know, though, that when 5S/6S moves to the office environment, things can get a bit sticky, especially if the employees think standard work (and Lean) only belongs in the shop. Without employee buy-in, the disgruntled will make themselves known. Take, for example, a recent article from BBC News which reports that black tape was stuck onto the desks of the National Insurance staff in Longbenton, North Tyneside (UK), presumably strategically mapping the areas where employees should store their pens, arrange their computers and lay out other items--the 5S system. The article doesn't make it clear whether the staff is upset, but the union is disgusted by the perceived humiliation.

That got me thinking about my own desk and those of my officemates. I'm pretty neat and orderly--a trait passed on from my parents and exacerbated by my husband. Several of my cubicle partners, however, have piles of papers, plastered bulletin boards and random scatterings of pens, pencils, markers and Post-Its. We all work efficiently and easily, however, ruling out any generalization.

On the other hand, David Freedman just coauthored a book with Eric Abrahamson called A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder. In it, he suggests that too much organization may stifle creativity. Based on our own little corner of the world, I'd have to say he may be right. All of our artists have more clutter than I do, and though I'd like to believe my writing is a bit creative, I know they come up with more ideas--more ridiculous and out-of-this-world ideas, true, but it's those ideas that often end up providing the spark for a new direction.

Maybe I need to think about letting my desk go . . .

Labels: 5S, Lean manufacturing, organization

I told you earlier that we work as a team here at The Bishop Company, which figures into how we produce our documents, too.

Though our EXPLAINIT Integrated Work Instructions look simple, and many will think they can duplicate them, they aren't easy to create. We work hard to make them straightforward and uncomplicated. That takes a host of skills from a team of experts, including designers, illustrators and writers.

Trying for simplicity is deliberate. What we've learned in our 25 years of experience is that workers don't always have time to read, they may not want to read, and sometimes the circumstances inhibit reading. That's what led us to create our first EXPLAINIT's.

I latched onto this concept easily. As a former middle school teacher, I know how frustrated students get when they don't understand a direction, when they can't figure out what to do next, when someone speaks with sophistication beyond their comprehension.

At Bishop, we champion for the users, the ones conducting the procedure or implementing the process . . . the ones reading the work instructions. To do that, we have to work closely with the client--the key figure in our team--so that we understand what the user needs. Sometimes gaining that access can be tough. We have to develop a relationship with our clients--a trusting relationship. How do we do that? I'll share some ideas soon.

Labels: teamwork, trust, work instructions

Today's my first try at writing an online journal. For the most part, I avoid this kind of technology. I don't have a cell phone or BlackBerry, no Game Boy, PlayStation or Wii. I don't even listen much to the radio, and I can live without TV. Most would call me a technology curmudgeon.

So when I look at my job, I can't help but smile at the irony.

Here at The Bishop Company, my job for the past year has immersed me in technology. I've learned page design software, dabbled in Flash and HTML, trained in isometric illustration, created CBT's, manuals, and work instructions--all using a computer that, before now, provided only word processing and e-mail. I love this kind of learning, and I'm surprised at how quickly it comes.

The fact that I have experts surrounding me doesn't hurt. We have artists who can draw a machine faster than it runs, techno-geeks who can dissect sound to the last pin drop, and trainers who know when to demand and when to nudge.

More importantly, what comes with all that expertise is teamwork. We're a team within our company and with our clients. So though I haven't ventured off to purchase the latest game or create a MySpace page, I know that if I did, I'd have the gurus nearby, guiding me through it. And as I bring you more news and views, I'll have this team feeding me knowledge and sharing their stories.

We'll cover several angles of work instructions, including quality standards, tips and techniques, and the use of metrics to measure success. We'll pose questions, pick apart fads and present solutions. So I hope you'll join me on this adventure down Technology Lane, and maybe we'll learn something together.

Labels: technology