Screen Printing - February/March 2018 - 8

THE MARSHALL PLAN

THE TACTICAL USE OF TIME

Marshall Atkinson is the owner
of Atkinson Consulting, based in
Gilbert, Arizona. He coaches
apparel decoration companies on
operational efficiency, continuous
improvement, workflow strategy,
business planning, employee
motivation, management, and
sustainability. He is a frequent
trade show speaker, author of
management articles and blogs,
and host of InkSoft's "The Big
Idea" podcast. He can be reached
at marshall@marshallatkinson.com.

What if your team had more hours in a day to
concentrate on their roles in getting quality
products out the door?
MARSHALL ATKINSON

ne consistent challenge that every shop faces is the
effective use of time. It's a resource - maybe the most
important one you have - but that doesn't mean it's being
spent wisely.
Throughout your shop, your staff may appear to be busy,
but are they working effectively on things that matter? Any
time they spend on tasks that aren't a priority or that involve
redoing work that wasn't done correctly isn't helping your
bottom line.

ESTABLISH EXPECTATIONS
It's great to have long-term goals such as how much revenue
you want to bring in this quarter. Hopefully, you established
that before the quarter started and have mechanisms in place
to achieve that number.
That's not what we are discussing here. We are talking
about today. Does every single worker in your shop know
exactly what is expected of them today? (Stop laughing; I'm
serious.) It should be mapped out, with a schedule or list
that has been prioritized to put "first things first." I'm not just
talking about your production teams: This goes for sales and
customer service, purchasing, invoicing, and your creative
group. Even you.
If you want to be more successful this year, then build and
implement a tactical strategy for how you use time in your
company. This means that for each employee or work group,
there is a predefined set of instructions or priorities that they
use to map out their day, instead of just working on whatever
they happen to get to. That's the "you get what you get" strategy.
Instead, set expectations for each staff member, ideally
based on a customized set of predetermined rules. Every
department works differently. Each team member in those
departments has different tasks, skills, and abilities. Create
a framework where they always know what they should be
doing, eliminating the "busy being busy" type of work. Look
for software or an app that can help automate the process of
setting your staff's daily goals.
Here's what you are shooting for: Take someone who has
10 things to do today. Make sure they know what those 10
things are. Help them do 18 in the same amount of time.

PRIORITIZE
More things happen when we organize the work. Often, one
department depends on something another department does
8

SCREENPRINTING

before they can get started. What happens in your company
in that situation? Is there good communication, or do things
just sit?
For example, let's look at a rush order. It doesn't matter
what market you're in: Rush orders are commonplace and a
headache for any scheduler. When a rush order comes in, each
department should know exactly what to do. Maybe in your
shop, rush orders go to the head of the line and are worked
on first. You want a process in place where everyone has what
they need and the order can be completed from start to finish
without having a special meeting or discussion. If that's not the
case, you have some work to do to create that workflow.
But not just for rush orders - think about everyday, average
orders, too. Consider how each department prioritizes its workload to accommodate those jobs so they ship on time.

SAY NO
One great way to gain more time in your company's day is to
learn that it's OK to say no. Screen printers pride themselves
on taking every crazy job that comes along. Admit it: Right
now, you have jobs on your production schedule that are not
as profitable as others.
A better tactical use of your time is to concentrate on
higher margin jobs, filling your schedule with profitable work
that makes sense for your business. But that isn't going to
happen by magic. It will take an on-purpose initiative.
Try saying no to jobs that require overtime to complete
when the customers aren't willing to pay for it. Try sending
digital mockups instead of producing samples for your customers to free up some production time. I'm not advocating
doing anything that may jeopardize business relationships
that matter. What I'm suggesting is to be more judicious
with the work you accept.

BE PROACTIVE
One trait that characterizes all the top shops I've worked with
is their ability to be proactive on a continual basis. They don't
just look at tomorrow's schedule - they think a few weeks
out. They know what's in the pipeline and are planning for
any challenges or issues that the upcoming work may bring.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - February/March 2018