I read another interesting book recently, “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande. The author shows how a simple tool, a checklist, can help organizations avoid errors and improve results. Gawande is a surgeon and he was asked by the WHO (World Health Organization) to come up with a low-cost way to improve surgeries across the globe. After a great deal of research Gawande came up with a simple checklist. The results were pretty staggering. This simple step caused an incredible decrease in infections and many other post-operative problems that plague surgeons.
I immediately thought of several areas where a simple DO-CONFIRM checklist could help improve customer service and results for Envisionable clients. The concept is simple. Checklists ensure the stupid, but critical tasks are not overlooked. Are there any “stupid but critical” tasks in your business? I’m sure there are. In a fast paced environment, memory and judgment can be unreliable. Checklists help make sure tasks which are critical to success happen every time without fail.
My suggestion is to examine your business for areas where your employees drop the ball. Every business has these areas. Put a simple checklist in place. It doesn’t keep your employee from thinking, but allows them the freedom and security of knowing balls are not dropped.