n a fairly large manufacturing plant in South Carolina, a daily ritual took place, pretty much at the same time each day. A man would get up from his machine and walk to the front of the plant, passing the women’s bathroom. As he passed, someone would hand him a sack of quarters.
He would then proceed out of the plant to the front gate and give the quarters to the guard. The guard would walk down the street to the bank (this is a small town) and ask the teller to count the coins and give him a counter check. He would then take the counter check back to the plant and turn it in to the accounting department, who would add it to the daily receipts, make out a deposit ticket and hand it back to the guard.
The guard would then take the daily receipts and the checks back to the bank where the funds would be deposited. He would take the receipt back to the accounting department and then resume his duties.
Can you guess why this daily ritual took place? The money was taken from a feminine products machine in the women’s bathroom. The accounting department was not set up to handle a bag of quarters, so the quarters had to go to the bank and be turned into something they could handle.
The company was spending 15 man-hours per week in this ritual. Figure in benefits, wages, and other costs and this little exercise was costing the company more than $250 per week or $13,000 per year. That is a pretty significant cost in this era of lean manufacturing.
Was the whole operation handled efficiently? You may argue yes or no, but just think about it…each person worked diligently to take care of their part of the operation. The machine operator from the plant floor walked swiftly and efficiently, didn’t stop to chat, and completed his task efficiently. The guard did the same, and so did the bookkeepers. Everyone involved was efficient.
Was the operation effective? Probably not…okay, not at all! Was the operation of the plant enhanced at all? No. Did this activity help the company achieve its vision, values and mission? Of course not. Once this particular dance was discovered, new arrangements were made. A company was brought in to service the machines…and send the company a check once a month.
This is a great illustration of a simple concept. Efficiency is doing things right, effectiveness is doing the right things. You can be efficient without being effective. You can be effective without being efficient. If you want to outperform and outlast the competition, both personally and professionally, you need to be both.
No matter the size of your business, there are rituals that are carried out every day. There are rituals in your business that are performed by you, by your employees, by your vendors and by your customers. Take the time to look at your operation. What are the rituals that continue to be carried out, even though there isn’t a really good reason for them? What are you taking your time to do that could be outsourced easily and cheaply? What is it that you do that makes you effective, and how can you be more efficient at it? What is creating friction and drag on your performance and the performance of your company?
Isn’t it time you did something about it?
