Why do some people work faster than others? Sorry, I have no idea but I did hear of a study that discovered that manual work rates could double between slow and fast workers. The more complex the work, the higher the multiple so that a software engineer might be 16 times faster than a peer.
When I set up my first accountancy business my plan assumed that everybody worked at the same pace as me. When I started recruiting (good) staff I found that this wasn’t the case and that I was a lot faster than others. I had to adjust my business model accordingly. We still keep approximate timesheets to track individuals’ work rates for planning purposes.
So how can you help slower workers to speed up?
- Have proper processes so that everybody knows the most efficient way to do things
- Training and processes help people to get started sooner on each task with less planning time
- Help them to find the best time of day and working environment for them to do their ‘deep’ focused work and fit simpler tasks around this
- Build in controls and reviews so that faster work doesn’t become sloppy work
When building your business cost model consider cheaper, slower trainees/junior staff vs more expensive but faster qualified/senior staff. When could you use different staff?
Plan your work and your resource accordingly. Most of our accounts work is carried out by other members of the team and I only review it. This also means that all year end accounts have the benefit of at least two sets of eyes. BUT if a client needs something quickly, I often do it myself. The costs are passed on to the client if the extra speed is needed because they have delayed.
Any other ideas on how to speed up work rates?