1. How to create an efficient workforce without becoming a micro-manager.
Automate your army.
How to create an efficient workforce without becoming a micro-manager.

2. Imagine if you could do more with the same amount of staff.

3. It’s possible.
But first there are some problems you need to address.

4. Chapter One.
Defining efficiency.

5. Automation just means being more efficient, right?

6. Attempts to improve business efficiency can often lead to a poor customer experience.

7. An efficient team will get you there faster.
But isn’t this what the customer asked for?

8. Automation should be about creating the most efficient way to deliver the service your customers want.

9. So…. How do you find the balance?

10. #1 Rethink how you measure efficiency
By measuring effectiveness alongside efficiency you will obtain a deeper view of the quality of your service.

11. So instead of focusing on efficiency measures like:
Time to finish a task
Response time
Work in the queue

12. Focus on effectiveness measures.
Customer satisfaction
Number of customers
Number of errors
Number of complaints vs jobs completed
Staff turnover

13. #2 Lock it in with your customers
Service Level Agreements built around quality, efficiency and effectiveness measures hold you accountable and reasonably manage customers expectations.

14. Make them short.
Make them meaningful.
Make them measureable.

15. #3 Lock it in with your staff
Once you know what efficiency looks like, work with your staff – one on one if possible – to set some real KPIs.

16. Effectiveness Measures
Efficiency Measures
Response time
Time to finish a task
Work in the queue
Effectiveness Measures
Number of complaints vs jobs completed
Staff turnover
Customer satisfaction
Number of customers
Number of errors

17. They’re the things you need to measure for each and every staff member.

18. And just like SLAs…

19. Make them short.
Make them meaningful.
Make them measureable.

20. Chapter Two.
Automation.

21. Managing what your staff do creates bottlenecks in itself.

22. Your employees don’t think they have the time to be more efficient and more effective.

23. You don’t think you have the time either.

24. There’s too much paperwork, log books, inventory ordering, logistics, calling around, driving around, waiting around.

25. Solution: Stop micro-managing and let technology take the load.

26. Start by identifying where your inefficiencies are.

27. We’re talking specifics like…

28. “There’s a fifteen minute lag between jobs because the driver has to call in for another job, we’ve got to call around and see who’s available, then we have to send an address and any special requirements for the job.”

29. Then, once you know what’s not working… Automate.

30. When your most time-consuming admin tasks are automated or easier to do, you and your staff are free to focus on the jobs you’ve been hired to do… efficiently and effectively.

31. #1 Move to the cloud
With smart phones and the cloud, most essential business tools can be accessed remotely – dispatch details, customer orders, , time sheets and more.

32. #2 Install GPS tracking for your fleet
GPS tracking is one of the most powerful tools for any business with a mobile workforce.

33. With GPS you can automate:
Job dispatch
Inventory ordering
Time sheet recording
Logbook recording
Invoicing
Time on Job reporting
Vehicle maintenance history

34. #3 Explore Bluetooth Beacons
Fast moving into the operations management space is Bluetooth Beacons. The beacons work by emitting data at regular intervals to a receiver, essentially saying “Hello! I’m here!”. They are discreet, cheap and aren’t reliant on the internet.

35. If there is a replicable task your staff do, involving moving, cleaning, shifting inventory…

36. … a beacon is an excellent tool for tracking exactly when and if the task was completed.

37. Automating the unpredictable.
Chapter Three.
Automating the unpredictable.

38. A new job has come in and you need to know who’s available to work on it.

39. Have your workers knocked off for the day?

40. Even with KPIs and SLAs in place, you need a way to monitor and measure the work your staff is doing.

41. GPS live tracking gives managers unprecedented access to workers daily activities.

42. If your staff head to the beach – you’ll know straight away.

43. When a vehicle breaks down – you’ll know straight away.

44. When a job is complete – you’ll know straight away.

45. And that’s how you Automate your Army.