Firstly, to clarify, I am currently the director of a smallish company and we all constantly step in to help each other out when and where we can, so I didn’t consider myself out of touch at all. This past week has, however, been an invaluable learning curve for me. And subsequently for the company. I experienced firsthand the daily resource challenges this staff member has to work with. It’s small stuff, but it makes a huge difference.
In addition to that we managed to make some system adjustments that have streamlined the processes and our clients, our team and management will definitely benefit from these.
In our Developing Your Management Potential workshops we talk about standard operating procedures, cross-training and succession planning and this exercise has once again highlighted to me how important these concepts are.
Because we had formalised the operating procedures, I had quick reference links that saved me time when querying a specific process. Because I performed most of these duties a few years ago, I was able to quickly slot into the groove, so that was good, but the creative and innovative spin-off that came as a result of actually performing all the tasks the position required for the week has been invaluable.
I will definitely repeat this exercise in other positions again.
© Debbie Engelbrecht
Debbie is the CEO of Staff Training, a soft skills training company offering more than 60 short courses including a suite of management and leadership options. Find out more here.