Nobody likes going through bureaucratic processes, whether filling out your taxes or simply sending a request to another department in your company. It’s long, complicated, and slows down one’s productivity. Reducing red tape then is essential in maintaining employee morale and momentum.
But first things first, what is the meaning of red tape? Red tape are routines and/or procedures that are unnecessarily complex, which causes delays and inaction.
So how do you do that? With so many bureaucratic processes within a company, how do you know which ones to remove? Don’t worry; here’s an article to help you in reducing red tape while doing online work at home.
Conduct a Sludge Audit.
A great way to know which processes and paperwork you can do away with is knowing how effective they are in their purpose. The best way to do this is through a sludge audit.
A sludge audit analyzes employee experience regarding company paperwork and procedures to detect sludge and improve the employee experience. Sludge is a term used to describe the high levels of friction preventing someone from achieving what they want or being deliberately misled.
By conducting a sludge audit, you can optimize your company or department’s procedures and paperwork for the employees’ benefit. It will also help you know the ones to retain and which ones to drop.
Simplicity is Key.
When in doubt, keep it simple. Simplifying processes allows you and your employees to get on with your tasks without too much hassle and delays. If an assignment could be approved by just 1 supervisor, or even without it in some cases, why add further complications?
Another way to simplify processes within your department or company is by making most processes online. Doing this makes filing forms, submitting leaves, or updating employee information more accessible and convenient. Having your files stored online makes it easier to hold, edit, and find all your essential information.
Keep All Your Data Updated and Available.
Another way to reduce red tape is regularly updating your company’s database and making them easily accessible. One typical example of red tape experienced by employees is submitting requirements either to HR or to government agencies.
Having all your necessary documents easily accessible significantly reduces the hassle of accomplishing these submissions. It also makes editing, finding, and collecting them more effortless.
However, not all employees are active in updating their information. Because of this, companies should try to remind them regularly, so the company’s HR will have an easier time filing government documents.
Empower Your Team Members.
Too much red tape in your company or department can mean your supervisors don’t trust you. They establish all these rules and processes to ensure they know everything happening within the company or department.
So if you want to reduce red tape, why not put more trust in your employees? Empowering your employees shows you trust them to accomplish their tasks without too much supervision.
This is especially important in a remote setting, where supervisors can’t monitor their subordinates as much. Empowering your employees also allows them to make decisions and act quickly without the need to file a request or wait for a response.
Train Your Co-workers Well.
To ensure your co-workers can perform their work with minimum supervision, you must train them well for their tasks. Familiarizing them with their work’s limits and involving them in decision-making helps improve the company’s internal processes.
This helps in reducing red tape, as employees are now more familiar with their work and which parts require someone else’s approval or assistance. However, they may still need some help, so be sure you remain approachable when they require clarification or help with their work.
Escape From Red Tape With These Tips!
Establishing proper procedures in itself is beneficial to your department or company. Doing so provides structure and a sense of hierarchy and prevents employees from overstepping their boundaries. Additionally, it also helps in record-keeping and tracking of employee tasks as well.
However, if you get too hung up on following proper procedure; or you start developing so many unnecessary ones, it becomes problematic. Hopefully, this guide helps reduce red tape at work and saves you from unnecessary stress and delays.
