Introduction
Process improvement plan is generally required for any process, which takes too much time, overfilled with numerous insufficient details. As for the process of e-mail checking, receiving and responding, it should be emphasized that the entire process should be reconsidered and recalculated from the perspectives of time investments. Thus, all the possible control limits should be considered in the calculations. Moreover, the details of process forming and outlining should be evaluated, and compared with the improved process flow.
Analysis
To begin with, there is strong necessity to define the basics of the process, and process improvement. For clear understanding the essences, the definition of a process should be regarded: “A process is no more than the steps and decisions involved in the way work is accomplished. Everything we do in our lives involves processes and lots of them.” (Hopkins, 2001, p. 45) In the light of this statement, the process may be improved by the means of reducing the amount of steps, or improving the quality of decisions. Another variant possible, is the reduction of the time, spent for each step. Thus, there is strong necessity to define which step takes too much time, and improve it. On the other hand, additional optimization steps may be implemented.
Time Investment
The main part of the problems are covered in the excessive time waste, required for performing some particular operations. Thus, the possible time killers may be the following:
- Slow I-net connection
- Slow reading of the incoming mail
- Slow typing tempo
Thus, all the listed time killers may be eliminated. If the problem of in-net connection is solved on a technological level, the issues of slow reading and slow typing require more serious solution. The most effective way of resolving these problems will be the “time investment” tool. It presupposes, that workers should sacrifice a fixed amount of time for improving their perception and motoric skills. Thus, average high-speed reading training course takes up to 15 hours. Reading of the received e-mail takes up to 15 minutes a day in average. If the reading speed doubles, the following results will be achieved:
- 250 working days x 15 minutes = 3750 minutes (62 hours)
- 62 / 2 = 31 hours of saved time.
Thus, the time investment of 15 hours will cause the time profit in 31 hours each year.
The same should be stated on the matters of typing tempo increase. In average, the blind methods of typing take up to 35 hours. Some people achieve the quintuple increase of the typing speed, while other only double it. Nevertheless, the average speed triples, thus, typing takes three times less time, than it was before the training.
Responding e-mails takes in average 30 minutes a day:
- 30 x 250 = 7500 minutes (125 hours per year)
- 125 / 3 = 41,6 hours, thus, 83 hours are saved each year.
Time investment of 35 hours will cause the time profit of 83 hours each year.
Optimization Steps
Another way, which may be resorted to for improving the process, is the optimization of the required steps, or adding of the additional – correction steps. Thus, the entire chart of the mail receiving and proceeding process may be restructured. Thus, the entire process entails checking of the e-mail, and defining whether it is important or not. This step may be essentially simplified, if mail filter is arranged. Thus, all the important addresses may be listed in this filter, for the important mails were received directly. Mails from the other addresses will get into the other folders, and reviewed later, in the case of necessity, or when all the cases from “priority one” folder are resolved. Thus, if there are at least 40 % of the unimportant mail, and reviewing e-mails takes up to 40 minutes, up to 15 minutes may be saved by simple automatic sorting of the incoming mail. (15 minutes x 250 working days = 62 hours).
Another optimization step may be the appointment of a person, responsible for receiving, sorting and responding all the e-mails, thus, most of the workers will be liberated from this time-killing process, and will have to participate in it only in the case of extreme necessity. Surely, this way is the most expensive, and not the most effective from the perspective of time-waste, nevertheless, all the other workers will have an opportunity to concentrate on their direct working obligations, not connected with e-mailing. Thus, as it is stated in Wolf (2006, p. 293):
A process owner may choose to be a team leader and participate directly in the actions of a process improvement team. The process owner may delegate the team leadership role to another person who is knowledgeable about the process. It is very important for the process owner to stay informed about the team’s actions and decisions affecting the process.
Conclusion
Finally, it should be emphasized that there are several ways to improve the process, and the optimal variant will depend only on the opportunities of the company. Nevertheless, there is strong necessity to consider the time investment tool as one of the most effective.
References
Hopkins, D. (2001). Project Improvement for Real. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Wolf, R. M. (2006). Evaluation in process Improvement: Foundations of Competency Assessment and Program Review (3rd ed.). New York: Praeger Publishers.