Work 4.0 stands for work that is independent of time and place. Numerous companies are currently trying to establish this type of work, as the advantages, especially in recruiting and the high level of employee satisfaction, help companies to be more successful.
I have been giving lectures lately and companies often see such work as impossible or difficult to implement, since agile teams have to sit together on site and direct virtual communication is often not effective. That may be correct in the first step. I notice that there are some prerequisites for the implementation of Work 4.0 and I would like to list them in this article and thus minimize the concerns.
In short, you need to cut work into small packages in a meaningful way and make them workable and measurable by every location and employee.
Reading tip: What is work 4.0
Technology as a prerequisite
In order to network different employees, the work processes must be mapped in ticket systems or software such as Jira or OTRS. You can no longer monitor your employees personally and therefore have to control the completion of tasks remotely.
I solve it, for example, so that my employees have different tasks in a ticket system (and Jira). These are tipped in by me or by the customers there via email or directly. The employee must always ensure that the queue, i.e. all tickets, are being processed or even resolved. There he documents the work steps that have already been completed. The advantage is that another employee could also take over the ticket after a short reading time.
With the help of software for task and process management, you can give employees the opportunity to work remotely and tickets can also be handed over to someone else, if the employee is no longer aware, who can also continue working very quickly.
Cutting tasks as a prerequisite
Another important prerequisite for using the tools is that you are able to cut work properly at all. This is where I notice that many managers see most of the problems. In the case of complex issues, it is often not immediately clear what actually needs to be done or employees cannot abstract their own work because it is carried out subconsciously.
Now it’s time to stay tuned and take the work apart in workshops. I would like to give an example of how to organize a company party. You can map the following packages as tasks in Jira, for example. I have to do this by a website for inspiration.
- Choose occasion
- Set the date and time
- Choose a location and book
- Choose motto
- set goals
- Determine funding and budget
- Create a guest list and invite guests
- Choose and book an artist
- Choose and book party service or catering
- Organize decoration and styling
- Organize construction and cleaning
- Create and send out invitations
- Compile the framework program / sequence program
- Organize technical planning (sound, light, stage, video)
- Select and organize company party marketing (give-aways)
- Prepare space regulations
I notice that even the organization of the company party is rather subconscious and it is very difficult to put together this checklist at all. Try it on a project of your choice.
Conclusion: Potential through work 4.0
I think that the effort to map tasks in the tool is worthwhile, as you can easily hand over certain tasks to a service provider, for example, and you can also start new employees directly with small tickets without much training. You can also reduce knowledge monopolies and keep know-how in the event of layoffs in the company. I think that it is certainly not possible in all areas, but it is worth the effort to try out Work 4.0.
Image source: Business photo created by ijeab – www.freepik.com
[werbung][fotolia]
