Why do employees make stupid mistakes and what to do about it. Part 1
Once one of the characters in the popular TV series said, "All lie!". And this is partly true. And that really 100% true that everyone is messed up. Everyone can remember when our employees failed to fulfill their commitments, thwarted the deadlines, did something - but not at all, and sometimes it would be better not take the initiative at all. Unfortunately, not only employees bother, but also managers. The saddest thing about this is that they are far from fools, but there are such stupid epic fails that I don’t want to say.
There are quite a lot of options for doing this. I would like to talk about one of the approaches that worked in my case. According to the results, the number of jambs and mutual conflicts of the head-subordinate became much less.
I had another IT project, plus the usual work (standard matrix management structure).
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There was a lot of uncertainty in the project itself, in the technologies used, in the end, the final result of the project also changed several times. The monstrous bureaucratic machinery on the part of the Customer did not add optimism. Delivered a special joy of the stands from the suppliers. Well, her highness crowned the hierarchy of project problems — politics: there were strange solutions, various schemes of “patsansky” agreements, and much more. In general, the usual such a project.
But this was not the most unpleasant. Something was wrong with my staff. It should be noted that we worked for the first time in such a lineup, although I somehow encountered each one of them at work. In the team, everything is like selection: smart and competent guys. But, if it was necessary to take the initiative, to take responsibility, to make a decision, even the smallest one, then this led to some epic feils.
My first reaction was: “Well, it happens. It is necessary to relate to mistakes more tolerantly, this is actually the accumulation of experience and maturity. ” I was proud of my balanced approach - a real experienced manager.
I talked with each employee on the fact of every joint, asked him: “What have you learned now?”. And after the conversation, he beat on the shoulder: “Well, nothing happens. It is important that you understand what you did wrong. Next time this will not be. ”
Do you think the number of errors and jambs decreased? Not at all. They even appeared in places where I could not imagine. I was then a narcissistic fool living management theories.
By the middle of the project, I was already a very theoretically savvy guy in project management (I completed several courses and got PMP). Need a scientific approach! This was my second attempt to do something.
I led the work schedules, built the network diagrams, discussed the risks with the team and planned to work with them. I managed expectations, communicating with stakeholders (stakeholders), I held joint meetings and project discussions within the team, and all that. But damn, my team worked against me.
My next reaction was the introduction of a system of fines. After a couple of fines and reprimands, the motivation of the staff has dramatically decreased, but the problem has not disappeared. A fine applies in the case of clearly defined rules: you need to do something, and then, otherwise it will be painful.
This only led to the fact that my phone was red-hot from calls like: “We ran out of hardware, where do we get them?”, “We got an error here, but it’s not possible to work further. Need to call the developers? ". Nobody wanted to take a single extra step without agreement.
Then there was an attempt number 3. I decided to review the job descriptions, describe the main business processes, take into account all the details in detail. The result is logical - I drowned in the details.
Finally I finished off the story of Elbert Hubbard's "Message to General Garcia." A short story with just a few pages. Next, there will be a spoiler ... I strongly recommend reading the story yourself.
I went through all my staff in my head ... none of them could deliver a letter. There was no such person who can just say the end result, and he would have achieved it.
I do not remember when I had an idea: you need to formulate the rules of the game. That is, you need to set the initial coordinates of our relationship leader - a slave. Something that you could rely on when you need to make a decision or complete a task in the context of insufficient information.
The essence of any conflict is the different expectations of the parties. What was normal for me was completely abnormal for my employees. We needed general rules, a common foundation.
I formulated several key principles that in my opinion every employee should adhere to. These are just those implicit expectations on my part. I sent the draft to all my employees. We co-wrote them several times. So in this document there were implicit expectations of my employees, both in relation to each other, and to me.
The final version of our collaboration was two documents:
The first document describes the basic principles of working in a company: who, how, when and what should be done. These are common principles for all company employees.
The second document describes the general standards of behavior and decision-making in conditions of insufficient information - a cure for uncertainty. The following text is written in the annotation to this document:
“During work, you may encounter difficult situations when you need to make decisions that are not described in the instructions. The company hopes that in such a situation you will commit an act and will follow the following corporate standards. They are followed by everyone in our company, they form the basis of our corporate culture and therefore are called corporate standards. ”
Only “Principles of Management” will be presented here, since the volume of the article and so became large. I will describe the company standards in the next article if there is interest.
Retreat:
This transparency is achieved by using a specialized system XXX.
All communications on work issues should go only through XXX . The results of the meeting, telephone conversation, Lync communication and ICQ responsible person must bring all the agreements reached in XXX .
Who is such a responsible person? If clearly inexpressible, then the one who gives instructions.
Conclusion 1: In case the task was not delivered at XXX, it may not be done. The consequences for this will not be. (Except for emergency situations and accidents)
Conclusion 2: If the task is not marked as completed in XXX , it is considered not completed.
After receiving the task, the performer must analyze it. The purpose of the analysis is to assess the sufficiency of its own resources, namely:
The work is divided into two parts: performed with all the obligations and conditions in the task, and not done. In other words, either the result is there or it is not.
In the event of any obstacles in the form of real interference, your own doubts, the receipt of new information and all that in your opinion in some way changes the task - you must immediately inform the supervisor.
The ideal option is to offer a guaranteed solution to the problem. In the absence of such, proposals are accepted for a possible solution.
Terms, requirements, conditions of the assignment must be discussed in the analysis of the job just received. In the course of the assignment, it is not allowed to interpret the circumstances that have arisen in their favor.
Example: The absence of a manager at the workplace does not cancel the submission of a scheduled report at this time.
If you do not agree with the parameters of the assignment, then you can discuss them
The opinion of the employee is very important, but it is better if it is supported by facts other than emotions.
The executor is fully responsible for the execution of the assignment. If in the course of the assignment he needs any help, information, interaction with other people, this does not relieve him of responsibility for the completed task on time.
Each project must have:
Mandatory rule: Each project must have tasks. The total number of tasks should be such that after they have been completed, the project result will be achieved. If the project has no tasks, either it is not executed this month, or the person responsible for its implementation does not work.
The whole project is divided into tasks. A task is the amount of work that is performed either by one person or in
within 1 business day.
The name of the task necessarily begins with the verb: “Make, send, receive, plan, execute, etc.”
Each task has:
Additionally can be used:
In case of emergency situations, urgent orders, it is allowed to set tasks by cellular or landline telephone. In this case, if the task was completed during the current day, the contractor notifies either by a call or SMS about the execution of the order. If the notification is not received, the task is considered as not completed.
If the task takes more time, it is necessarily fixed in the XXX system. If this is not stated explicitly, the person responsible for the registration in the system is the one who has set the task.
In the next article I will talk about our “Firm Standards” and what it all led to.
Continuation here
UPD: Corrected the author of the story "Message to General Garcia." Scientologists blurred my brain. Indeed the author of this story is Elbert Hubbard. Thank you for your attention to vfrolov .
There are quite a lot of options for doing this. I would like to talk about one of the approaches that worked in my case. According to the results, the number of jambs and mutual conflicts of the head-subordinate became much less.
Part 1. Background "Like someone playing chess, and someone in checkers."
I had another IT project, plus the usual work (standard matrix management structure).
')
There was a lot of uncertainty in the project itself, in the technologies used, in the end, the final result of the project also changed several times. The monstrous bureaucratic machinery on the part of the Customer did not add optimism. Delivered a special joy of the stands from the suppliers. Well, her highness crowned the hierarchy of project problems — politics: there were strange solutions, various schemes of “patsansky” agreements, and much more. In general, the usual such a project.
But this was not the most unpleasant. Something was wrong with my staff. It should be noted that we worked for the first time in such a lineup, although I somehow encountered each one of them at work. In the team, everything is like selection: smart and competent guys. But, if it was necessary to take the initiative, to take responsibility, to make a decision, even the smallest one, then this led to some epic feils.
My first reaction was: “Well, it happens. It is necessary to relate to mistakes more tolerantly, this is actually the accumulation of experience and maturity. ” I was proud of my balanced approach - a real experienced manager.
I talked with each employee on the fact of every joint, asked him: “What have you learned now?”. And after the conversation, he beat on the shoulder: “Well, nothing happens. It is important that you understand what you did wrong. Next time this will not be. ”
Do you think the number of errors and jambs decreased? Not at all. They even appeared in places where I could not imagine. I was then a narcissistic fool living management theories.
By the middle of the project, I was already a very theoretically savvy guy in project management (I completed several courses and got PMP). Need a scientific approach! This was my second attempt to do something.
I led the work schedules, built the network diagrams, discussed the risks with the team and planned to work with them. I managed expectations, communicating with stakeholders (stakeholders), I held joint meetings and project discussions within the team, and all that. But damn, my team worked against me.
My next reaction was the introduction of a system of fines. After a couple of fines and reprimands, the motivation of the staff has dramatically decreased, but the problem has not disappeared. A fine applies in the case of clearly defined rules: you need to do something, and then, otherwise it will be painful.
This only led to the fact that my phone was red-hot from calls like: “We ran out of hardware, where do we get them?”, “We got an error here, but it’s not possible to work further. Need to call the developers? ". Nobody wanted to take a single extra step without agreement.
Then there was an attempt number 3. I decided to review the job descriptions, describe the main business processes, take into account all the details in detail. The result is logical - I drowned in the details.
Finally I finished off the story of Elbert Hubbard's "Message to General Garcia." A short story with just a few pages. Next, there will be a spoiler ... I strongly recommend reading the story yourself.
In a nutshell, the content
There is a war. You need to send a message to the rebel leader. Where he is - no one knows. How to find it is also unclear. They called a simple guy named Rowan and handed him a letter, naming only the final addressee, General Garcia. Rowan took the letter, sealed it in a pouch on his chest, and disappeared into the jungle. Three weeks later, he delivered a letter to General Garcia. How he did it and what he went through to deliver the letter to Garcia is a mystery. But he did it without asking too many questions, without asking for extra resources, without complaining about anything - he just took it and did it.
I went through all my staff in my head ... none of them could deliver a letter. There was no such person who can just say the end result, and he would have achieved it.
I do not remember when I had an idea: you need to formulate the rules of the game. That is, you need to set the initial coordinates of our relationship leader - a slave. Something that you could rely on when you need to make a decision or complete a task in the context of insufficient information.
The essence of any conflict is the different expectations of the parties. What was normal for me was completely abnormal for my employees. We needed general rules, a common foundation.
I formulated several key principles that in my opinion every employee should adhere to. These are just those implicit expectations on my part. I sent the draft to all my employees. We co-wrote them several times. So in this document there were implicit expectations of my employees, both in relation to each other, and to me.
The final version of our collaboration was two documents:
- "Principles of Management"
- "Firm Standards"
The first document describes the basic principles of working in a company: who, how, when and what should be done. These are common principles for all company employees.
The second document describes the general standards of behavior and decision-making in conditions of insufficient information - a cure for uncertainty. The following text is written in the annotation to this document:
“During work, you may encounter difficult situations when you need to make decisions that are not described in the instructions. The company hopes that in such a situation you will commit an act and will follow the following corporate standards. They are followed by everyone in our company, they form the basis of our corporate culture and therefore are called corporate standards. ”
Only “Principles of Management” will be presented here, since the volume of the article and so became large. I will describe the company standards in the next article if there is interest.
Part 2. Principles of Management
Retreat:
- I honestly copied a part of the principles below, a part was written by my staff, a part was written by me. I don't remember where they came from. If you find your thoughts, let me put the links below.
- We used at that time a specialized IT system for project and task management, I replaced its name with XXX
Principle 1: Transparency.
- Everyone should know what he should do when he is expected to get results.
- Everyone should know who is responsible for what and who is slowing down the process.
- Everyone can see the progress of work on any task, who did what and when.
This transparency is achieved by using a specialized system XXX.
Principle 2: All in one place
All communications on work issues should go only through XXX . The results of the meeting, telephone conversation, Lync communication and ICQ responsible person must bring all the agreements reached in XXX .
Who is such a responsible person? If clearly inexpressible, then the one who gives instructions.
Conclusion 1: In case the task was not delivered at XXX, it may not be done. The consequences for this will not be. (Except for emergency situations and accidents)
Conclusion 2: If the task is not marked as completed in XXX , it is considered not completed.
Principle 3. The assignment must be analyzed before starting work.
After receiving the task, the performer must analyze it. The purpose of the analysis is to assess the sufficiency of its own resources, namely:
- Understanding is an assessment of the clarity of the task itself, both in terms of goals and methods of execution. In addition, it is necessary to take into account other parameters of time, quality requirements, priority.
- Qualification - assessment of own knowledge and skills necessary to perform the task, taking into account the required parameters
- Information - assessment of its completeness to complete the task, taking into account the required parameters
- Time - assessment of the possibility of completing the task in the required time, taking into account the remaining obligations for the previously received tasks, routine duties.
- Powers - assessment of the sufficiency of powers for the assignment (comparison of the powers available and those that were delivered along with the assignment)
Principle 4. The assignment must be completed at 100%.
The work is divided into two parts: performed with all the obligations and conditions in the task, and not done. In other words, either the result is there or it is not.
Principle 5. Obstacles to the 100% fulfillment of the task should be immediately reported to the supervisor and all interested parties.
In the event of any obstacles in the form of real interference, your own doubts, the receipt of new information and all that in your opinion in some way changes the task - you must immediately inform the supervisor.
Principle 6. A proposal to solve a problem is preferable to information as it arises.
The ideal option is to offer a guaranteed solution to the problem. In the absence of such, proposals are accepted for a possible solution.
Principle 7. Expanded interpretation of the assignment is not allowed.
Terms, requirements, conditions of the assignment must be discussed in the analysis of the job just received. In the course of the assignment, it is not allowed to interpret the circumstances that have arisen in their favor.
Example: The absence of a manager at the workplace does not cancel the submission of a scheduled report at this time.
Principle 8. Disagreement with the parameters of the task or the execution regulations cannot serve as a reason to ignore them.
If you do not agree with the parameters of the assignment, then you can discuss them
- When analyzing the task received
- When a situation arises when it is impossible to finish the work at 100%
Principle 9. Facts and argumentation are preferable to opinions.
The opinion of the employee is very important, but it is better if it is supported by facts other than emotions.
Principle 10. Your task is only your task.
The executor is fully responsible for the execution of the assignment. If in the course of the assignment he needs any help, information, interaction with other people, this does not relieve him of responsibility for the completed task on time.
Principle 11. Systemic work on projects in the system XXX
Each project must have:
- Name - briefly the essence of the project or its result
- The essence of the project. What is the project about? Short Description: what is the project, what should be the result.
- Counterparty For which organization the project will be carried out. If there is no such counterparty, add it.
- The author of the project, he is also responsible for the results of the project.
- Project status If this project has active tasks that need to be performed, then the project is considered active. (Tasks are considered active, there are deadlines somewhere or they need to be completed before the last day of the current month)
- Deadline for the project
- Project auditor - the head of the responsible person for the project results.
- Artists of the project. They can be added later when assigning tasks.
Principle 12. Proper project planning
Mandatory rule: Each project must have tasks. The total number of tasks should be such that after they have been completed, the project result will be achieved. If the project has no tasks, either it is not executed this month, or the person responsible for its implementation does not work.
The whole project is divided into tasks. A task is the amount of work that is performed either by one person or in
within 1 business day.
The name of the task necessarily begins with the verb: “Make, send, receive, plan, execute, etc.”
Each task has:
- Task manager.
- Artist task, there may be several.
- A brief description of what needs to be done.
- Deadline task
Additionally can be used:
- Files
- Check sheets
- Reminder / Repeat Task
- Analytics
- Notes / other sources of information
Principle 13. Statement of emergency tasks and assignments
In case of emergency situations, urgent orders, it is allowed to set tasks by cellular or landline telephone. In this case, if the task was completed during the current day, the contractor notifies either by a call or SMS about the execution of the order. If the notification is not received, the task is considered as not completed.
If the task takes more time, it is necessarily fixed in the XXX system. If this is not stated explicitly, the person responsible for the registration in the system is the one who has set the task.
In the next article I will talk about our “Firm Standards” and what it all led to.
Continuation here
UPD: Corrected the author of the story "Message to General Garcia." Scientologists blurred my brain. Indeed the author of this story is Elbert Hubbard. Thank you for your attention to vfrolov .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/218435/
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