From early childhood we sit in school, learn all kinds of competences, develop in our professions and collect diplomas and certificates from further training, so that we can then do proper work. Yet one of the basic expectations managers and HR people have of a candidate or employee is that they “know how to work”.
Because we learn all sorts of competences – except HOW to work: what working itself means, and what I do when I am working.
This competence would be key for everyone, yet we do not have it. We do not know the steps of working: what we do when we work, whatever the work process, in whatever sector and whatever position.
As simple as the question may seem, the answer can stump even the most seasoned managers when we ask how they teach their employees to work. It is most noticeable with people starting their careers, because later everyone picks up “some kind of” working style or method with which they get by at work with more or less success.
As organisational developers, it matters to us that our employees work with a deliberate technique – that is, competently – not only professionally (what they do): the way and the method of their work should not be left to chance either (how they work).
The Simple Seven (Egyszerű hetes) is a brilliant DFT concept (a DFTikum) for teaching employees how to work: the steps and methods which, once known, lift the way the whole organisation works.
Let’s learn how to work!
Every employee and manager, in any position, carries out the processes below; these are the competences they need to know to work effectively.
The steps of the Simple Seven
- 1Makes an agreement.
- 2Plans the process.
- 3Carries out the process as planned.
- 4Activates thinking processes, makes proposals and decisions.
- 5Provides control for thinking processes: dashboard, report, analysis, checkpoint.
- 6Communicates, verbally and in writing (documentation).
- 7Standardises.
Step 1: Makes an agreement.
Making an agreement is a thinking technique in which we clarify with the client the expected level of quality. We could call it “assigning a task”, but it does not run one way, from the manager: the employee is an active party too, since they take responsibility for the work process in question. This deliberate technique ensures that the employee doing the task (process) knows exactly what is expected of them and what result they must achieve for their client to be satisfied.
Step 2: Plans the process.
All work is a process. A quality result presupposes a quality work process: if I know the expected result (see the output of the agreement above), I can plan the work. In planning I take stock of the inputs needed, the suppliers, the schedule, the workflow and the expectations for the output. The work itself is built from these.
Step 3: Carries out the process as planned.
Execution is the “doing”, the delivery, which we carry out according to the plan (previous point) rather than ad hoc – this is how we secure a quality result. For a quality result it is also important that the person running the process has the (specialist) competences the work requires.
Step 4: Activates thinking processes, makes proposals and decisions.
In the course of work many situations arise for which there is no rule: forks in the process, decision points where it is essential that the employee is active and the process does not stall – that they think, then make a proposal or, if they have the authority, decide. By building a culture of making proposals we can make this natural in the organisation, so that employees feel it is their responsibility to have a product at the end of the process as soon as possible.
Step 5: Provides control for thinking processes: dashboard, report, analysis, checkpoint.
Thinking processes are worth documenting in writing – and often must be – which makes the process transparent for everyone involved. This can take the form of a report or an analysis that is clear to both the manager and the client, marks the decision points and shows whether the process is heading towards the agreement (the expected result). Employees also need to be taught how to prepare these documents, so that they are consistent across the organisation.
Step 6: Communicates, verbally and in writing (documentation).
More than half of all errors stem from communication. Processes, milestones and expectations are not documented, or not precisely, which leads to misunderstandings: steps and details of the expectations are left out, and the result slips because of missing information. With recurring processes the risk is even higher. It is key to teach employees the documentation rules used in the organisation, and the precise documentation itself that management expects.
Step 7: Standardises.
In many places making rules is a management competence: the manager, who is at least one step removed from the process anyway, wants to regulate what should be done and how. This deprives employees of the chance to improve the process they work in themselves – even though it is they who see the risks and the room for improvement most clearly while doing the work. Making rule-making an employee competence reduces errors and increases ownership in the organisation.
These seven steps add up to several competences. By mastering them we truly learn to work, so that we can work deliberately in any field. These are the seven steps of the Simple Seven concept for deliberate and effective work.
