Many of you know my background...I covered that in my first post here. Briefly, we have an expanding appraisal practice, with six experienced appraisers and one trainee. Three administrative support staff. The Boss, me, is in the sixth year of training the next generation to run our firm. I've been basically just training appraisers, managing the company's growth, and teaching business management.
Each of the last few years I've consciously moved further from the day to day operation, and now visit the office generally once a week to deliver payroll. As we prepare for next year, I'll be even further divorced from the operation. Just part of the teaching and training process.
Quality, meeting deadlines, and productivity are our main focus points, an integral part of our "Organizational DNA" if you will.
In the early years it was easy for me to keep a close eye on those elements since I was on site all the time. A business is a living organism. At least it is to me. I develop a feel for how things are running just by observing. Similar to listening to an engine running....you can learn a lot just by listening and observing.
"As I've moved away from the physical presence, a necessary step to allow the new leadership to blossom, keeping that overview of the key elements has become harder."
Quality, meeting deadlines, and productivity are forever interrelated. If we meet high standards in each of those areas our business will make a profit and continued business from good clients is virtually assured.
Lessen quality, miss deadlines, and in a competitive market clients will soon find other suppliers. Productivity is reduced durning the decline as reports are rejected and must be corrected, more calls from irate clients must be handled, and time and effort devoted fixing the problems created at the expense of working on the next assignment. A self feeding perpetual motion machine is created and the business is in jeparody.
In the early years I taught, reviewed, taught and reviewed again these basic principals. As an absentee overseer, how to continue to monitor these vital signs?
Several months ago I worked out a little arrangement with our Administrative Manager. As each report was delivered I asked her to create a simple worksheet at her desk. Put a tick mark beside that appraiser's name. If the report was delivered after the deadline, no matter the reason, put a tick in another column next to that appraiser's name. When a report was sent back by the Cleint for a question or correction...didn't matter which, and didn't matter if the suggestion was valid or not...put a tick in another column next to that appraisers name.
At the end of each week, I asked the Admin Mgr to transfer that week's results onto a white broad in our 'board room'...appraiser name, reports delivered, deadlines missed, returned for correction, and the totals for the group for the week.
The first week the appraisers noticed the board, asked Admin Mgr about it. After a couple of weeks I began going to that board on my weekly payroll visit, writing down the weeks data onto a piece of paper, without making a comment. In the second month I started complimenting the appraiser who had the best stats over the previous weeks.
After three months, the overall 'exception percentage' (missed deadines + reports returned) divided by total reports delivered has declined by 40 percent, and it wasn't that bad to begin with. SBH (senior bright horse) recently commented that my idea was the best one I've had this year. The guys talk about the results, kid each other, and get on each other when the numbers start getting out of line.
The benefits to office productivity are considerable. I've always taught that when the phone rings and it's not a new order, we lose money. Missed deadlines and review questions create a series of phone calls that take productive people from productive tasks. An endless cycle of damage control.
Now, fewer such calls and less damage control. Everyone feels better, both Clients and staff, and the world is a better place. All for the cost of about 10-15 minutes a week of tick marking.
www.acornappraisal.net is a 20 year old firm offering a wide range of quality appraisal services to the Financial and Business Communities. Our market includes the greater Houston SMSA, including Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Waller Counties
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