Business operations / Working checklist

Where is work getting stuck?

Use these questions with the colleagues who do the work. Tick each one when you have discussed it, including where the answer is uncertain. The completion count records progress through the questions; it is not a score for your business.

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01Understand the workCan we describe the main steps in one important client process, from the initial request to completion?Where do cases wait, return for missing information or require the same information to be entered again?Have we checked recent examples and heard from the people doing the work, including those handling exceptions?

02Clarify ownership and capacityDoes each handover have a clear owner and an agreed description of what needs to be complete?Which tasks or decisions depend on one person, and what happens when they are unavailable?Can we distinguish a shortage of capacity from problems with instructions, information, training or tools?

03Choose a practical improvementWhich single bottleneck will we address first, and why does it matter to clients or colleagues?Who will coordinate the change, and how will the people affected help shape and test it?What will we observe to judge the result, including quality and client experience, and when will we review it?

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Agree one improvement, one owner and a review date. Record unresolved questions for further investigation. This checklist supports discussion and planning; completing it does not establish that a process is effective or that every risk has been addressed.

Where is work getting stuck?

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