The Cost of Chaos

Note: This blog was originally posted on June 16, 2022.?I offer it again for those who may have missed it, and for those who have connected with me over the past year.?Periodically, I will repost other blogs from 2022.

Common wisdom tells us that quality costs more, but according to one of the foremost experts on quality this is not the case.

W. Edwards Deming, statistician, professor, author, consultant, lecturer, a man who made significant contributions to Japan’s reputation for high quality products and its rise to an economic power in the latter half of the 20th Century, wrote extensively about how a focus on quality reduces costs while providing various other benefits.?Convincingly, his ideas and methods were proven true by numerous success stories – most dramatically the rise of Japanese manufacturing to world class status after World War II.

How does a club measure or quantify the cost of confusion, mishandled or incomplete information and orders, time wasted investigating and correcting errors, and member dissatisfaction??The bottom line is that poor quality and disorganization is a major driver of costs in club operations.?Conversely, an improvement in quality not only lowers costs but also improves service.?The combination of lower cost and better service attracts more member patronage which improves the club’s bottom line.

Detailed organizational systems and processes allow the operation to function efficiently.?When things happen consistently and routinely in all areas of the operation, employees have the time and the inclination to focus on quality and service.?When everything is messed up all the time, employees will find it difficult to care.

So, help yourself and your employees by structuring the routine to happen routinely.?This takes both the will and the organizational discipline to make it happen.?When 80% of the details happen routinely, everyone can focus on the 20% – the compelling programming and personalized service that will wow your members.

For example, here are some of the things food service managers can do to better organize their operations.?This short list is pure common sense:

• Prepare written procedures for all routine tasks – opening, closing, and cleaning procedures, conducting inventories, replenishing par stocks, making coffee and iced tea, and on and on.?Since your staff does these things on an ongoing basis, take the time to write them down in detail so they can be used for consistent training and task completion.
• Prepare and use checklists for both training and accountability.
• Prepare room diagrams of all dining and event spaces.?These will save time and avoid misunderstandings when it comes to room set ups.?Prepare and save set up diagrams for all types of events – receptions, carving stations, buffets, wedding receptions, etc.
• Organize a filing system for each of the above so you can find them quickly when you need them.
• Anytime you hold a training session, organize ,and save the material.?You’ll certainly be using the same material again . . . and again!
• Review all activities and events after the fact and record your observations.?You will undoubtedly hold the same or similar events in the future.?Your notes for improvement will help continually improve the quality and execution of all you do.
• Prepare written standards and guidance for such basic matters as background music selections for differing meals, activities, and times of day.?Make the same effort to define appropriate lighting for differing events and time of day.
• Prepare and use an ever-updated list of project work that can be used to assign to staff in slow moments when you’re not prepared to send anyone home early.
• Train yourself in the techniques and disciplines of time management.?Time management is not about managing time, it’s about managing those task that use up your limited time.?When you waste your time, you can’t help but waste your employees’ time as well.

Managers must understand the importance of spelling out expectations for their work teams and organizing their operations.?These efforts when coupled with service-based leadership; well-defined club values and culture of service; written standards, policies, and procedures; unimpeded communications and constant training, will drive out the inherent chaos found in so many fast-paced, detail-intensive, and people-intensive club operations.?What’s left is a smooth functioning organization where the routine happens routinely, and everyone is focused on caring for and engaging your members.

Finally, no one wants to work in a chaotic environment.?If your department or section is well-organized, if everyone knows where things are, if employees are well-trained in opening and closing procedures, if everyone knows their responsibilities and is held accountable, the workplace runs almost effortlessly.?Don’t run off good people by putting them through the hell of a disorganized operation.

Bottom Line:?In private clubs there are many chaos-related costs, but there is none so significant as the loss of conscientious employees and the resulting departure of dissatisfied members.

For more useful ideas and information, check out the wide range of highly integrated and widely acclaimed Professional Development, Operational, and Training Resources at the PCPM Marketplace Store.