Not long ago, I helped a business owner solve a problem that was costing her money. She was pretty frustrated about her employees not meeting work deadlines. She had planned for the people and equipment needed to fill customer orders. She hired qualified and experienced people. Still, deadlines were being missed. It was my job to find out why and help her to fix it.
After my review, the reasons for low productivity became clear. Employees were spending a lot of time fixing mistakes and re-doing work tasks. Employees were often unaware of how the timing and condition of their work impacts the next person’s work.