Page 24 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Jan-Feb 21

24
Office Efficiency
PAINT&PANEL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
DO HUNDREDS OF LITTLE TASKS DESTROY YOUR DAY ASKS STEVE O’BRIEN OF IBODYSHOP?
SWEATING THE ASMALL STUFF
LTHOUGH 2020 WILL PROBABLY better way? Maybe you would like to go down as the toughest year change things, but you are so busy ever, 2021 is bound to be there is no time to investigate better
packed with challenges. ways or it is outside your comfort
sleepless nights he spent de- ciding to spend $20k on office
software and equipment.
Please take a few minutes and think
through your average day – how does it look? Your staff – how do they look? Did anyone have the time to follow up on estimates that have been written but not won? Or maybe chase up credits for returned parts, or negotiate a better electricity deal? Most shops are way too busy doing the “little tasks” to do any of this. However in this competitive age it is vital.
Try the “Admin Quiz” on the inside front cover of this edition to help quan- tify the cost to your business in time and wages that these “little tasks” (backups, loading updates, transfer-
Most shops are way too busy doing the little tasks.”
ring images, etc) impose. I’m not say- ing you’re inefficient doing these tasks - they may be carried out in the most efficient manner possible; but is there opportunity to eliminate some of the tasks and/or reduce others from min- utes to seconds.
Also, what the Quiz doesn’t account for is “opportunity cost”. Definition – “Opportunity costs represent the poten- tial benefits a business misses out on when choosing one alternative over an- other”. By getting bogged down with the little tasks you don’t have time to follow up on written estimates which could mean missing out on an extra job or two every week.
Now that you have quantified/rec- ognised just how much these “little tasks” cost in time, wages and oppor- tunity cost it’s well worth investigat- ing new office software and equipment that will improve efficiency and pro- ductivity so necessary in this com- petitive environment.
When the going getst tough our industry is renowned for its ability to analyse, innovate, update, invigorate, reorganise, and improve. With this in
zone. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a shop owner 20 years ago – he explained making a decision to spend $120k on new shop floor equip- ment was a snap compared to the
mind, I would like to draw the “cost of admin tasks” that are often just accepted as part of doing business but can in reality consume hour after hour of scarce time which translates to thousands of dollars per month in wages.
It’s like ‘death by a thou- sand cuts’ – all those little tasks (emails, filing, job folders, etc) that only take a few minutes each but when collated totally destroys your day; every day.
The question must be asked – is this the best way to spend your day and/or your staff’s day? Is there a
attention to
LEFT & ABOVE: you wouldn’t use old equipment in the workshop – so why use it in the office?