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10 Step Document Review Best Practice

May 7, 2011 by gary Leave a Comment

Gary Eckstein is a Business Analyst based in Sydney, Australia. Gary can reduce your organization’s costs and improve quality by implementing and managing document review processes. Gary may be contacted at Gary Eckstein, +61 (0)4-1092-3445, gary@eckstein.id.au, http://eckstein.id.au

In large corporations the review of documentation comprises tens of thousands of labour-hours per year. In this article a best-practice approach to document review processes is offered; this document does not describe authoring documents but rather the document review process between a Customer and Supplier.

The Advantages of Review Process Best-Practice
There are numerous advantages to adhering to a best-practice document review process:

  • Quality: The quality of documents is enhanced through clear guidelines and defined roles and responsibilities.
  • Costs: For the Supplier, documentation costs will be reduced through reduced rework and less documented ambiguity.
  • Ongoing relationships: As documentation is often one of the first times operational people from the Supplier and Customer engage, being professional from the start sets a positive ‘tone’ for ongoing business relationships.
  • Customer care: The Supplier, through review process best-practice shows that they are serious about meeting the Customers’ needs. This results in enhanced Customer care for the Customer.

Context
Most major contracts between organizations involve some form of documentation creation and delivery (i.e. a contract deliverable). For example, suppose that an I.T. service provider has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to provide networking services to a government department. The government department (the Customer) will typically specify during contract negotiation what documentation they expect to attain from the I.T. service provider (the Supplier).

The documentation required will usually include some form of operational documentation which describes how the contract deliverables will be provided to the Customer by the Supplier. The responsibility for authoring the documents will be with the Supplier and the Customer will be responsible for reviewing the documents.

It is assumed for this article that the documentation to be delivered by the Supplier to the Customer is of an operational nature i.e. how the contract is to be delivered from an operational perspective.

Key Supplier Considerations
The documentation requirements are usually legally binding upon the Supplier. This obviously means that great care needs to be taken to ensure that ambiguous detail is avoided and that only items in the contract are included in the subsequent documentation.  Often Suppliers and/or Customers will purposefully attempt to create ambiguity in the documentation in order to gain an advantage over the other party.

Creating documents is very costly and therefore the Supplier must attempt to manage the document process as effectively and efficiently as possible with both quality and costs being key considerations.

Key Customer Considerations
As with the Supplier, the Customer also needs to ensure that they understand exactly what is in the documentation and that it corresponds to what is in the agreed contract/s. Again, unclear detail must be avoided. The Customer must be able to clearly understand how the contract is going to be delivered per the text in the document/s and that the operational delivery will compliment and support the Customers business.

So, from the Suppliers perspective, what is best practice in a document review process?

The Document Review Process
The following Ten Step document review process works well.  Organizations should customize this process as they see fit:

  1. Documentation Review Plan. This documented plan is created to define, document, agree and communicate the process; the scope, format, limitations, process, responsibilities, timings, people involved and so on should all be agreed before any document writing commences. Templates should also be created at this step and agreement with all stakeholders attained. Communicating the documentation plan is vital to the success of the documentation process.
  2. The ‘first draft’ document is created and given to the Customer for review.
  3. The first review by the Customer will typically involve a conceptual and high-level review i.e. is the concept of the document correct, the content relevant, the scope correct ...?
  4. The feedback is considered and entered in the reviewed document by the Supplier. Any debated feedback is communicated and agreed with the Customer.
  5. The second review by the Customer is a more detailed/low-level review by the Customer e.g. is the detail in fact correct, is the terminology correct etc. No high-level feedback or scope changes should be accepted from the Customer as this should have been given in the first Customer review.
  6. The feedback is considered and entered in the reviewed document by the Supplier. Any debated feedback is communicated and agreed with the Customer.
  7. The third review by the Customer: there should be very little feedback by the Customer as they have had two previous reviews to air their concerns.
  8. The final feedback is incorporated by the Supplier.
  9. Supplier Document Owner sign-off: the owner of the document must agree to, and sign-off on, the document.
  10. The final step is the Customer sign-off.

Of course reviewing the process is necessary so that it may be improved for the next document review needed.

Process Management
It’s all good and well to have a clearly defined and successful process however there is a missing ingredient. Adherence to the process through management by a single process manager is vital. Because Customer and Supplier management is required, an experienced and disciplined approach to process management is needed.

As an example, if there isn’t good management, it is more than likely that review comments by the Customer will be returned to the Supplier in an unordered and haphazard way. It takes a good manager to ‘push-back’ on the Customer to insist that all review comments be returned to the Supplier in a single review document (even although the means of communicating feedback should be defined in the first step of the process).

Summary
Suppliers often produce inadequate documentation for Customers. This is usually as a result of the Supplier not being professional in their approach to documentation delivery. Following the ten step documentation review process is sure to greatly enhance the quality of documentation produced, will reduce costs and will give the perception of the Supplier being professional.

Ten Tips On Assertiveness

May 7, 2011 by Brenda Leave a Comment

  1. Know the difference between assertiveness and aggression
    • Assertiveness focuses on the problem.
    • Aggression focuses on the person frustrating your needs.
  2. So what is – or isn’t - assertiveness?
    • Assertiveness is truthful, open, non-judgemental communication that expresses your needs.
    • Assertive people feel good about themselves, act appropriately and take responsibility.
    • Assertiveness does not mean always saying what is on your mind regardless of whom you hurt.
    • Assertiveness does not mean that you’ll always get your own way.
  3. Your message
    • Know what you want and be specific. 
    • Structure your message using the PREP formula if possible (ask Brenda!).
    • Make your point without becoming involved in side issues.
    • Avoid going into lengthy explanations or giving long lists of excuses.
    • Where appropriate describe the benefits of your suggestion and plan of action and what the consequences will be if the goal is not achieved.
  4. How you deliver your message: 
    • Where people have different viewpoints and emotions are likely to be high, try to communicate ‘in person’ where possible.  Second choice would be a phonecall.  Try to avoid electronic means in situations like this.
    • State what you want clearly and without hesitancy.
    • Speak in the first person.  ‘I would prefer you to……….           ’
    • Maintain an erect posture whether sitting or standing and yet try to appear relaxed. 
    • Use eye contact, where appropriate, without staring
  5. Your feelings and behaviour: 
    • Don’t bottle up feelings. Express your feelings candidly and clearly – so the other person knows where you stand.
    • Don’t lose control. Stay calm and relaxed – don’t get hooked into an emotional response.
    • Give and take fair criticism.
    • Don’t be afraid of taking reasonable risks.
  6. The other person:
    • Try not to be upset by the other person’s expression of emotion (aggression, anger, sadness, fear etc.).  If possible and appropriate, help them to deal with their feelings.
  7. The process:
    • Don’t look for new ways of arguing.
    • Use the ‘broken record technique’. Simply repeat what you believe, decide or intend doing (and keep repeating it).  This way you avoid being manipulated and side-tracked.
  8. Give and take
    • Express your case with conviction, but do not neglect the position of the other person. 
    • Be prepared to listen and be objectively influenced by the other person’s needs or views. 
    • Concede any reasonable points but express your disagreement with issues you find unacceptable.
    • Learn to say ‘no’ without feeling guilty.
    • Do not begin a refusal with an apology.  Say ‘no’ firmly and keep your explanation short and clear.
  9. Example
    • Describe the situation, what is happening now.  For example, ‘This letter has three typing errors.’
    • Express your true feelings, your likes and dislikes using ‘I’ statements.  For example, ‘I am really upset that the letter was sent out with three mistakes.’  It makes your wishes and expectations clear without putting the other person on the defensive.
  10. Practise so you enhance your assertiveness skills
    A helpful formula provided by a workshop presented by Candy Tymson in Sydney is as follows:
    When you……………………………………..
    I feel ……………………….
    because………………..
    I would prefer you to…………………………

Ten Steps To Effective Delegation

May 7, 2011 by Brenda Leave a Comment

There are many people who hesitate to delegate for a number of reasons. For example, they may have had bad experiences in the past when they have tried to delegate.  However, by following the simple ‘Ten steps to effective delegation’ which I have built up and refined over the years and cover in my workshops, and practising these steps diligently, many participants in the workshops have had outstanding results.  Their ability to delegate effectively has improved greatly.

By delegating effectively you create time for activities which are of higher importance to you at that specific time.  For example, you may need to devote more time to strategic issues. Or the requirements of the task you are delegating may help the other person to accept more responsibility and grow in different ways.

  1. Choose the right person
    Match the requirement of the assignment with the person’s needs, potential, skills, interests and motivation. (You want success!)
  2. Explain why you are asking
    Tell the person why you feel that he or she is the right person for the job and why you believe they will be successful.  In other words, articulate the points you have considered in 1. above.
  3. Define the required results
    Focus on the outcome which the delegated task will require (rather than on the tasks to be performed to achieve the results). Introduce a measure of success.  You want the best.
  4. Emphasise the benefits
    Mention the benefits to the organisation (of achieving the required results) and to the individual. (What’s in it for me?)
  5. Explain the resources
    Ensure that there are adequate resources and explain these to the person.
    (Remember to mention all resources – human, financial, supplies, time, transport, information etc.)
  6. Provide parameters
    Explain that he or she needs to develop a ‘plan of action’ for your approval and that this should include time limits.
  7. Introduce control systems
    Develop and discuss control systems and show how progress will be monitored and deviations dealt with.  Allow for different work styles and minor mistakes.
  8. Ensure that the person understands…….
    the rules, regulations, limitations and policies with which they will function.
  9. Empower with sufficient responsibility and authority..
    to achieve the best results.  (Don’t abdicate.)
  10. Conclusion
    Invite questions, summarise, make sure the person has accepted the assignment, indicate your availability to support and say ‘thank you’.

Follow these ten steps and you will delegate effectively.

Use Objectives For Success

May 7, 2011 by gary Leave a Comment

Most of us have personally set or have been provided with objectives. Objectives are commonly used in organizations of all size. However objective setting is often haphazard and objectives are not aligned towards organizational strategy. A framework for effective objective setting is also often lacking.

Peter Drucker, the well known management ‘guru’, introduced and recommended Management by Objectives (MBO). MBO, very simplistically, is about defining and communicating, at all levels of an organization, which objectives need to be realised in order to meet the aims of the organization (strategy, values and so on). Drucker was one of the first proponents of using objectives to meet the goals of an organization, for objectives to be complimentary and for formalising the objective setting process.

Below is a practical and simple guide for implementing the basics of MBO.

Objectives must align with Strategy

 

The Objective Setting Process
Per the diagram above, lower objectives are set for the specific audience and align to the higher objectives and ultimately organizational strategy. All objectives work towards common organizational goals.

Objectives should be set for departments and individuals. For example, a strategic objective may be ‘Improve market share of supermarket soap sales to 10% by March 2011’. Every sales person may then be given an objective of ‘Sell 500 cartons of soap to supermarkets each month’ (which will result in the 10% market share being reached). Each individual sales person will then be set further aligning objectives; Joe the salesman may be great at selling to existing customers however needs training in attaining new customers therefore may be set an objective of ‘Attend BEI training in personal networking techniques by March 2010’)

So, what makes a good objective?

Good Objectives are SMMART Objectives
SMMART objectives are extremely effective in aligning employees and the organization towards common goals. When setting objectives it is important that objectives are SMMART:

  • Specific: The objective must not be too broad and must be clearly defined.
  • Measurable: You must be able to measure success against the objective.
  • Measured: Measurement of performance against the objective as well as feedback to the person/people to whom the objective was set is critical.
  • Achievable: It must be realistic to achieve the objective.
  • Relevant: The objective must compliment higher objectives and strategy and be relevant to the person/department for whom the objective is being set.
  • Time-based: Don’t leave objectives open-ended. Have a specific date as to when the objective must be met.

MBO in Small Organizations
MBO was originally designed for large organizations. MBO is however often more effective in small organizations (and is usually far simpler to implement). Small organizations may benefit greatly from the entire organization having common objectives. Need assistance with aligning your objectives with strategy? Contact Gary at +61 (0)4-1092-3445, gary@eckstein.id.au, http://eckstein.id.au

How To Deal With Dissatisfied Customers

May 7, 2011 by Brenda Leave a Comment

Ten steps for handling dissatisfied customers

When you become aware that there is a problem,

  1. Immediately provide an opportunity to allow the customer to fully express his or her dissatisfaction to you in private.
  2. Listen carefully to what they are really saying.  Ask yourself:  ‘what does this customer really want’?
  3. Remain objective.  Don’t take what they are saying personally.  Don’t get trapped in a negative filter towards the customer. Maintain a positive attitude.
  4. Express empathy as you listen to the customer
    i) Use empathetic phrases.  For example:  ‘The lateness of our delivery must be very frustrating’
    ii) Apologise either for the problem that has occurred, or concentrate on their feelings and say how sorry you are that they are feeling that way.
  5. Double check all the facts
    i) LISTEN
    ii) Use the mirroring technique.  Repeat whatever they have said for clarification (shows you are listening).  Obviously do this in a professional manner and ensure that you are not irritating them.
  6. Begin active problem solving
    i) In a non-threatening manner, question the customer to gather the information you need
    ii) Include bridging techniques
    iii) Ask yourself how you can provide what they want.
  7. Mutually agree on the solution
    i) Be realistic
    ii) Come to mutual agreement on the solution with the customer
  8. Follow up and make sure that you more than ‘go the extra mile’ in resolving the situation in the shortest amount of time possible.
  9. Communicate with the customer regularly throughout the time it takes to completely resolve the ‘problem’.
  10. Check flaws in your procedures to make sure that the same problem doesn’t occur again (either with the same customers or with others). 

Remember that when things go wrong your ‘bounce back’ policy can increase your credibility and win customers and customer loyalty.

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