How can you tell if you need to rethink the delivery of your service?

One good indicator is too much paperwork. Stacks of paperwork indicate problems in the flow of the service and communication problems.

This article is provided by the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

One good indicator is too much paperwork. Like piles of inventory in a factory, stacks of paperwork indicate problems in the flow of the service and communication problems both within and across the service boundary. 

Another indicator is when everyone hates the IT system. IT is often a sticking plaster that patches together poorly envisioned service organisations with ineffective communications.  Digitising doesn’t solve the problem – what is needed is redefinition of how the service is organised and delivered. 

Another indicator is when the hallway chatter is purely social. That usually signals that the wrong people are collocated.  Cooler talk and serendipitous interactions should enhance the communications of formal meetings. 

And finally, dark humour used by employees or customers is a signal of service dysfunction. Until recently, “Bankers hours” conjured up images of inconvenient access.  Ask yourself, what’s not really funny about the “graveyard shift”?