There is no way to make a comprehensive list of where you can find savings. But our experience has shown there are a lot of common sources of waste in the modern organisation.
The key element to identifying it though, is to generate a master activity list and process maps for significant activities that cover the complete process from end-to-end. Without those you can’t see the problems and you can’t judge if they are problems at all.
Below is a general list of some of the productivity-killers we’ve found.
Oh, and there’ll be more after every project we do!
| Paper filing parallel to IT systems | Rekeying from one system to another |
| Duplication: Same data 2 places | Duplication: Different people do same thing |
| Time spent queueing | Senior staff doing low-level work |
| Shadow IT systems (Excel-ERP common) | No data validation on entry |
| System truncates necessary data | 100% checking when no errors |
| Excessive number of signoffs | Historic steps “We’ve always done that” |
| Shadow records to protect v Head Office | Different benchmark times same activity |
| Excess backup systems | Unused reports |
| Processing backlogs | Supervisors not supervising |
| No work allocation & followup | Data loss and time searching |
| Parallel processing across agencies | Unused IT/electronic workflows |
| Data in databases not used/known | Backlog that isn’t (actually done elsewhere) |
| Data loss leading to rework | Single person bottlenecks |
| Uneven workflows/workloads | Manual workarounds |
| Excessive phone queries/emails | No IT Benefit Realisation in processes |
| Failure to batch | Benefits of centralising common tasks |
| Absence of call answers/email replies | Unclear accountabilities (RACI matrix) |
| Same data into different forms | No access to system information |
| Failure to use database/interfaces | Diffuse responsibility-need single point of contact |
| Role design – inappropriate mix of tasks | Poor system screen design |
| No SOPs or performance standards | No clear contract/SLA with outsource providers |
| Insufficient use of specialist outsourcing | Staff not trained for roles |