Best Practices

Whether you are a manager, a cog in the wheel, or scratching together a business with your two hands (or all three), you should keep the concept of “Best Practices” in mind.  A fast Google search returned this definition:

Commercial or professional procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective.

“Hold on, Mister. Have you been cleared to access this computer?”

For example, in a manufacturing setting, a best practice would be to require clear pathways at all times.  Employees with quotas may be impatient with or even angered by the enforcement of the policy by management (“We’ve got three backlogged orders and she’s worried about whether the aisle looks pretty!”)   But it’s up to management (and long-sighted employees) to understand that clutter can cause accidents that not only create delays but could cause injury or even death.

How do you establish Best Practices?

1.  You’re probably a better person than I am, but I have a tendency to re-invent the wheel.  Why learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before when you can figure everything out by a series of painful experiences?  You’re better than that.  Whatever your industry, someone has already dealt with many of your same challenges.  They’ve had stalled production, angry customers, injured team members and lost data.

You have an internet — use it!  Find out what others have done to prevent and address these problems.

2.  Constantly monitor and refine.  While you can learn from others’ experiences, your situations will be unique.  Their wisdom is your jumping off point.  Figure out a way to track specific outcomes, change things up, and compare results.

3.  Enforce compliance.  Explain to your team why these Best Practices are essential.  Reward compliance.  Address non-compliance, every time.  Make sure job requirements don’t force employees to choose between job success or compliance.

4.  Seek feedback.  You can’t address a problem until you know about it.  Put a system in place to gather feedback from customers, co-workers and every employee on the line.  Make sure every employee has more than one way to convey concerns to you, and make sure you respond in a positive way.

You’re so busy trying to stay out of the red, it’s far too easy to fall into a pattern of putting out fires.  Unfortunately, taking that approach can only work for so long before one of the fires gets ahead of you.  Be knowledgeable and proactive, and, like the bear says, prevent those forest fires.