Overview
How many times have you wrapped up a big project, breathed a sigh of relief, and then found several issues that needed to be done over again? Or handed in what you thought was awesome work, only to find out it wasn’t what your boss or client was looking for? Worse yet, has a crashed file or version control issues forced you to do the exact same work over again? We’ve all been there…some more than others.
Doing things the first time is tough enough, having to do them over again is beyond frustrating! Rework is a part of life, but the good news is you can minimize it. In this article, we’ll discuss three key approaches you can start today – continuous training, flexible planning, and standardization.
Why does rework happen?
- A lack of comprehensive, relevant training
- A lack of incentive or focus
- A lack of thorough planning
- A lack of standardization or documentation
- A lack of quality (taking the wrong kind of shortcuts)
The good news is that these are avoidable with some thoughtful effort, starting with the approaches below.
Train people continuously
There’s a correlation between continuously training employees and company success. I’ve personally seen many points on the spectrum:
- Virtually no training (or no approval when I sought out training!)
- Some initial training and nothing afterwards
- Robust onboarding and continuous relevant training
Which do you think led to success? Which do you think was most engaging?
Thorough training is crucial – how else do you think people will be expected to do their jobs? It’s not enough to just train people when they start – it should be reinforced through exposure and experience. When things change (as they often do), training should as well. The best companies have a cadence to training, and not just when it’s convenient.
Training is a big investment, especially when considering people’s time. But the trade-offs in quality, less rework, and better engagement are well worth it. Here’s a bonus: training often leads to creativity of all kinds – more efficient ways of doing things and even new product or service offerings. Make sure that training is adequately budgeted for and more importantly, use it!
Enforce thorough, flexible planning
It’s amazing to me how many people start major projects without planning adequately. Whether it stems from ignorance, arrogance, or a lack of communication, it often results in extremely expensive errors and rework. Some professions, like architecture and construction, need to consider every last detail. Others just need to have the crucial goals and the first few steps defined. Finding balance is important…if you aim for perfection, you may never finish planning and the opportunity may pass you by.
Many experts note that you should make an important decision once you have 80% of the information needed for the decision (not 100%). It’s often optimal to take the same approach with planning. The theory is to get started once you have enough information and adapt as things change and the exact requirements become clear. Define the goal and the most important milestones, and let the rest take care of itself.
To create a solid plan, consider these key steps:
- Involve the key stakeholders and communicate regularly (use the RACI framework)
- Leverage prior experience wherever relevant and refine
- Define SMART goals, major milestones, and deadlines, working backwards
- Identify potential obstacles, bottlenecks, and risks (and how to mitigate them)
- Take detailed notes about what is working and what isn’t (valuable for future projects)
- Be flexible – things will change, so be aware of those changes and how you can respond to them
One last tip for planning – if it makes sense (such as for cyclical work), have planning sessions for multiple projects together. The brainstorming can find some great efficiencies and acts as a completeness check.
Standardize the process
Standardization isn’t sexy…it can often be extremely boring. But it works. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are often defined to be very specific in how a process should be performed. Though they can be time-consuming to build and maintain, they are often extremely valuable in limiting rework and ensuring quality (otherwise, why would companies go through the effort?). An often overlooked component of standardization is the order of operations. Defining pre-requisites for each task and those that can be performed in parallel is a great way to cut down on rework.
Throughout my career, I’ve built hundreds of templates, checklists, and cheatsheets. Many of them have been in use for almost 20 years! The goal is to reuse my thinking as much as possible and of course, minimize rework. Resources like these should be shared and communicated as widely as possible to ensure consistency. Sharing knowledge and best practices is extremely important for building a culture of excellence and quality.
Defining and communicating acceptable benchmarks and expectations around quality and effort are key parts of standardizing processes. Measuring and reporting results is a great way to reiterate how important quality and continuous improvement are. At the very least, measure and report errors and exceptions so you can see how improvement efforts trend over time.
Another major part of standardization is a robust review process. It should start with a self-review checklist. Checks and balances, exception reports, and variance analysis are great ways to guide an efficient review. As good as some team members are though, for the most important processes, a second set of eyes can be invaluable. To best leverage team members’ capacity, consider peer reviews as a dual training/review effort when managers might otherwise be overwhelmed.
Summary
While rework can be frustrating, it doesn’t have to be so frequent. Start with a commitment to excellence across your team, department, and entire organization. Invest in training – it’s worth it and has benefits well beyond minimizing rework! Invest in flexible planning. If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail! And lastly, invest in standardization. Document and communicate key processes. Get everyone involved in adequate reviews, and track your progress. You’ll be amazed at the improvement you see!
What steps have you taken to minimize rework – either in your professional life or your personal life? Please let us know in the comments below!
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