How We Saved Our Jobs - With Workflow Management

Work is never manageable if we don't know the procedure. Our office was chaotic and whenever someone new joined they had to spend a month or so getting used to the chaos rather than learning "the ropes". We couldn't teach them the ropes, because we weren't sure how the work moved ourselves. We never questioned the logic of running an office this way. We never studied the process, so we didn't know what role we had to play in the process which ended in the mysterious depths of the boss's office!

Then we got a shock. A rumor was rife that the boss was incurring huge losses and may have to close down the business. We were concerned. We apprehensively talked about the developments and worried ourselves to death about the axe that was poised to fall. A few quietly packed their bags and left in search of other jobs. Those of us who had been the longest in this business, could not just leave without first confirming that our worst fears were to be realized. We hung on, anxious for news, hoping endlessly that the business would not close.

Suddenly, a new group of strangers were seen everywhere and talking to us about workflow management, office procedures and reviving the business. We were relieved and anxious to cooperate. What do these strangers want us to do? Who were they? We listened to the grapevine and drew our conclusions. We were basically having a business makeover. The business was getting a new lease on life. We still would have our jobs - provided we could improve the business enough. So much for small mercies, we went back to our desks and began explaining our various tasks to the strangers who were there to help us through the crisis and provide us with the necessary office tools to aid us in our work.

We began to learn the ropes again. Anything that came in was to be put into a desk tray designated "inbox" and everything that was pending was to be put into a tray called "pending". Anything that had to move from one place to the next was to be placed in the "outbox" tray. All mail that came into the office was to be placed in wall mounted wall files for distribution. Anything that needed the boss's attention should find its way to the wall file mounted next to the boss's office door. It was all very interesting. We were told that this was called workflow management and that this was essential for the success of any business. It all seemed to work very well. The chaos seemed to have disappeared and all of us knew exactly what was expected of us. We were more disciplined and orderly. It was all very nice.

After we had received adequate training we began putting the system into practice. We found lovely hardwood desk trays, desk pads, wall files and card files at www.successimage.com. The pieces fit in well with our office decor, just as our customers would expect, and were so beautiful that it was a pleasure to work with them. The functionality of all that we had been taught during the workflow management course became apparent to us. We felt honored to be working with an organization that knew just what it was about. Any new recruit would not be ignored and helpless in this new environment we found ourselves in.