When did you last change your tools?

If we want a lesson in how to effect a step change in productivity we only need to look at the evolution of crop cutting.  As early as 500 BC, humans were using a scythe to cut crops, and its use prevailed; by 700 AD it was common across Europe and by the 1500s it had become the preferred tool for reaping crops, replacing the sickle.  A scythe is ergonomically comfortable and very effective as a tool for reaping crops.  It does however require a significant quantity of manual labour to bring in a harvest in this way.

In the last two hundred years, by comparison, we’ve seen the tools involved in the harvest develop from the early versions of the combine harvester, requiring 20 horses, through the first motorised vehicles, and today we see a lone farmer cutting acres of fields in a single machine, spitting out tightly bound bales in its wake.

Farmers have been able to achieve a step change in productivity by changing their tools. There are only so many ways you can train somebody with a scythe to become more productive.

Many of the organisations with which I work are using the modern equivalent of the scythe.  Whether it be outdated spreadsheets, customer service agents taking orders from existing customers or administration staff managing workflows that are ripe for automation.  Frequently organisations are succeeding ‘despite themselves’.

In a world where the pace of change is so fast, it no longer takes centuries for new tools to emerge that drive better productivity.

I volunteer at a local charity, and one of the key processes involves ensuring that all the volunteers working with children are DBS checked and undertake safeguarding training.  With a volunteer workforce of over 150 people, this is a significant undertaking.  We have recently moved this process into a tool that partially automates many of the repetitive processes, reducing administration time.  That’s time that either we no longer pay for, or that our volunteers can spend on more value-creating activities.

It's not easy making these transitions, particularly in organisations where the people involved have been there a long time.  After all, there is comfort in the tools we use. They can become like a trusty scythe with its hand-worn handle that just fits comfortably in the grasp. Unfortunately, a scythe isn’t going to help us become more productive. Sometimes, increasing productivity is the only way we can become more profitable or do more within our fixed finances.

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can increase your organisation’s productivity, take a look at ‘The Secret to Solving the Productivity Puzzle’ here.