Is going home on time just a pipe dream? There are still so many ways to improve operations!

I can recall when Sound House was in the midst of its growth period about 15 years ago. The company was on a growth trajectory and I remember that we were interviewing new employees every day in sales, logistics, and other core departments because we needed to bring in new employees. In order to grow a company, human resources are vital. Therefore, the president of Sound House himself took the lead in conducting all the interviews and made quick decisions and gave immediate results. In those days, there were no Human Resources departments to begin with, so the reality was that if you did not make a decision quickly, you could not do your job properly.

It was during these days that I was dragging my feet when the logistics group’s problems came to light. Until then, it had become the norm for the logistics group to work on shipments until late every night. It wasn’t uncommon for the work not to be completed until after 9:00 p.m. Moreover, staff members from other departments were helping the logistics team and everyone in the sales team was helping with preparing packages for shipping for 1-2 hours a day, day after day. I would always hear from the logistics leader, ”We don’t have enough people!”

As the president of the company, I was also in charge of human resources and interviewed a considerable number of applicants in person in order to fill the logistics staff. But, no matter how many people were brought in, the end of the workday never seemed to end any earlier. The workday for the logistics team never ended any earlier than 8:00 p.m. and sometimes even went past 9:00 p.m. I began to feel a sense of crisis about this situation so one day, I started to actively look into why the logistics team was still finishing up at 9:00 p.m., even though the number of shipments was more than 100 less than usual. Something felt off. Why were they still going home at the same time even though I had brought in new staff, sent workers to help from other departments, and the number of shipments decreased? Just as I was having these doubts, the leader of the logistics group again made a comment to me, “We can’t finish on time because we are short on staff.”

It was already too late when I noticed that the way we were doing things was just not right. I thought something was wrong, so I took a long, hard look at what the logistics group was doing. Sure enough, I came to realize that the number of staff members was not the problem. I also found pitfalls here and there that led me to discover an unorganized and inefficient flow of logistics operations. It was no surprise that this would not change the end of the workday, no matter how many logistics staff were brought in. It was also no wonder why some staff members quit the company because they became fed up with the long working hours.

However, when I spoke to the logistics leaders with a solution, they did not take the suggestion at all. Their opinion was consistently the same: “We don’t have enough people.” They assumed that this was the only reason that we were staying at work so late at night. That just wasn’t true! I knew that this was obviously wrong, but what was I supposed to do now? I had to make a decision so the next day I immediately decided to intervene and work with the logistics department for a day.

At that time, something was definitely wrong in that everyone was doing all the same tasks. Everyone, including new hires and leaders alike, searched for, picked out, and brought items to the shipping area, and finished packing them all by themselves. This repetitive process was carried out by everyone. No matter how you look at it, the inefficiency was obvious. There was no way everyone was fast at finding every item. In a large warehouse, a person who is accustomed to finding the items can find a product in one minute, but someone without experience cannot find it even within 10 minutes. Nevertheless, everyone was doing the same work and finishing on their own time, no matter how late or how early they finished. This is no way to get work done quickly.

What needed to be done was immediately apparent. I was convinced that the best way to improve the efficiency of logistics operations was to divide the tasks and manage them separately to speed up the process. On that early morning when I intervened, I assured everyone in a loud voice that I would be in charge of the entire operation. Then, I told everyone that I was going to make some drastic changes so everyone needs to carefully follow my instructions. Regardless of whether everyone thought that I was bluffing or serious, I believed it was important to keep in mind that I had given the order for everyone to work together to finish the job at the earliest time possible.

Then, as soon as the day of logistics operations began, I immediately divided the work into separate tasks. Not only did I separate the staff into picking out and packing goods, but I also instructed the logistics staff on how to do the new picking procedures by first checking the info slips so they could then focus on products in the same categories. Whenever an employee asked me a question, I answered immediately and kept telling them not to hesitate to ask me any questions. In any case, I stuck to the warehouse and spoke to everyone, and I made sure to thoroughly carry out my leadership.

The division of tasks, immediate question-and-answer sessions, and quick instructions had a profound effect on everyone. As a result, no one moved around unnecessarily and everyone knew what they were supposed to do. Each task was completed in a calm and solemn manner. Of course, if something wasn’t clear, they could ask for help right away. I encouraged everyone’s work by telling them, “If you don’t understand something, ask me right away!”

What do you think happened next? I was only there for a one day intervention, but the effects were more immediate than I had expected. I am not boasting, but this is what actually happened. The day before the intervention, the office closed at around 9:00 p.m. The day after I intervened, the workday ended promptly at 6:15 p.m. even though the number of shipments was about 100 more than the day before. I still remember the sense of accomplishment I felt at that moment. Then, I greeted everyone with a “Thanks for your hard work!” and I was so impressed that I had accomplished the feat of being able to go home at almost the regular time. Anyone can accomplish anything if they only try. Anything.

Any task can be accomplished in a shorter time depending on how it is performed. With that being said, there is no such thing as a job that can’t be done in a faster, more efficient manner. By approaching your job with this caveat in mind, you will unexpectedly produce good results, and not only will your work become easier, but you will be able to return home at a good time. One day in the future after the introduction of AI, it will only be a matter of time before half of the work we do today will be easily handled by robots. Until then, it’s important that we continue to devise and propose improvements to our jobs every day through repeated trial and error.

Only when a company is able to do everything in a fast and reliable manner and everyone is able to think of ways to achieve good results is when a company can truly be great. Sound House may still look like it hasn’t reached that level yet, however, when one person gets up and starts running, everyone else gets up and starts walking, and then they learn to run. I am convinced that now is the time to step up to an even higher level.