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When a company replaces a manager with a new person, he or she is frequently asked to make some changes...." />
Shake Up Your Organization
Date: 11/01/2010When a company replaces a manager with a new person, he or she is frequently asked to make some changes. Improvements are expected based on the new person’s other experience and fresh approach. If the changes aren’t too radical, the new policies and procedures improve operations.
When a company, department, or individual don’t change the way things are being done year after year for a decade or more, chances are the operation has become stale and inefficient, behind the times, and more than likely unprofitable.
But you don’t have to bring in a new face. In fact, an unwise stranger can sometimes do more harm than good. Here are some things you can do to generate ideas for better ways of running your purchasing department.
1. Get away from the office. First alone, to think about possibilities. List any problems you have with your staff, your colleagues, your suppliers. List possible objectives. Then send a written memo to your staff to prepare a written list of their purchasing problems with any ideas to fix them. Follow this by scheduling a meeting with your staff, again away from the office to avoid interuptions, to discuss your ideas and theirs.
2. Have all of the ideas presented at the meeting, first without discussion. Then go through each idea, one by one, analyzing the pros and cons.
3. Next, begin a step by step analysis of your operation, listing every detail. Ask for comments and suggestions. Some of the things being done may not be necessary. Other tasks may be necessary to improve efficiency.
4. Look at each form and each piece of software used to see where improvement can be made.
