So what do we mean when we say something is In Place & In Use? Imagine you have a written procedure that clearly details how to perform a task. It has been approved and authorised and trained out to people so everyone knows it exists and is there to be followed. The procedure is In Place.
Now if you were to audit people against the procedure and you found they were following it to the letter and it had become a natural part of their normal working routine then the procedure is In Use.
However, what we often find is that people find work-arounds or don't follow the procedure to the letter, instead finding subtle ways to do things differently. Often this is for a good reason; the procedure may not truly reflect what they do; they may have found a better way to do something. But equally it may just be because they prefer the old ways, drifting back to their comfort zones as no-one checks up on them or police's the new ways of working.
Imagine 2 security personnel at the entrance to a metro station. One is there to ensure you put your rucksack or luggage onto the conveyor belt through the x-ray machine, the second watches the monitor to ensure the luggage does not contain anything illegal. Here we have a process In Place.
You then notice that the majority of people completely ignore this process and walk past without having their luggage x-rayed. Neither security person acts to prevent this. Our process is clearly NOT In Use. (This might sound a ridiculous example but I actually observed this on my travels!)
So if we have procedures, rules & regulations but fail to follow them or comply with them (for whatever reason) then we have In Place but NOT In Use.
So why is this important?
If no-one is following rules or processes then why have them. It requires time and resource to create them, approve them, train them etc and to what gain!
If people are doing things their own way we immediately introduce variation and non-robust processes. Errors are far more likely to occur. Standard Work is a key foundation for efficient, high performing Organisations.
By allowing people to ignore processes and rules you are sending out a message that these are not important things. Thus people may start by ignoring the 'little' things but can eventually end up deviating from the important things. (Think back to our April newsletter on the Shadow of the Leader!)
Many issues we encounter with Organisations can often include this In Place & In Use model. It often links directly to the culture of an Organisation and is at the root of a myriad of other issues they face.
So the $64m question - how do we get things In Place & In Use?
There are a number of things you can do to help including:
- Involve the right people in defining processes and ways of working. Get those involved who actually use it, they often know best.
- Don't be afraid to update / amend things once you've got them In Place. Review what you've done to check it is working. If people aren't following procedures ask why; is there a better way, have you made things more difficult; is it a training issue.
- As a Leader get out and check people are doing what you think they should be, do it often, be visible and take action when you see deviations. What you do & say send out very powerful messages.
- Be pragmatic - you don't need rules for everything! Focus on the critical aspects and get them standardised and agreed
So when you are out and about take note of things around you, you'll be surprised by how many things you spot that are clearly In Place but so obviously being ignored and therefore NOT In Use.
If you want to find out more about this or Culture Change in general then please feel free to contact us. We'd love to help your Organisation stand out from the rest.
