One of the biggest issues for quick lube shop managers that usually arises in a busy location is finding the time to get everything done. We have to check or receive inventory, make schedules, complete training, clean and organize our locations, and make sure that we have everything to operate effectively. We have to do all of this while also taking care of customers and their needs. In many cases, this is how things get skipped and fall through the cracks. This month, we will discuss a way to delegate your time to the priority items and decide when and where the rest fall.
In his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” our favorite author, Stephen Covey, explains a four-quadrant approach to getting things done. Now grab a notepad, and let’s get to work! You will start by making two lines, one vertical and one horizontal through the middle of the page. This is the lube managers’ boxes of things to do. Top left, mark as Urgent and Important (DO). Top right, mark as Not Urgent, But Important (PLAN). Bottom left, mark as Urgent but Not Important (DELEGATE). Bottom right, mark as Not Urgent and Not Important (ELIMINATE). This is your chart of tasks.
Next, list out all the things that you do or are responsible for into these boxes. Think about what you can do and what others can do in your place. The order is important, says Covey. After completing the items in quadrant one, people should spend a majority of their time on quadrant two. In our case, that should be things that drive the business forward. Taking care of customers, ordering, scheduling, and such go in section one, and things that improve the business are filed in section two. However, people spend too much time on quadrants three and four. The calls to delegate and eliminate are reminders of relative priority. How many of you get bogged down on a leaky oil gun or an air leak somewhere? These are things that you should let your upper management know of and allow them to correct these issues for you. If you are an operator, maybe it's as simple as just making a call and allowing a vendor to come in and correct so that you can focus on the priority tasks at hand.
When it comes to eliminating action items, think that through. Is it truly something that needs to go away or be forgotten? If so, it belongs in the quadrant of time wasters. What daily, weekly, or monthly activities are just bursts of time lost? Did you accomplish a goal? Did you take care of a customer? Did it drive your business forward? If you can answer those questions and do not see a reason that you are doing a task, remove it from your time. You will free up more time for things that are important. This is all about managing your time and priorities. By putting things into a box, you can determine things that you can do yourself and likely discover things that you can get assistance from others on.
This allows you the ability to get all of your tasks done in less time. The less time that you are spending on tasks, the more time that you can spend with your teams. You will find that just a little extra time is huge in speeding up service times, training new employees, and making your customer experience in your shops the best that it can be.
Now hang up your piece of notebook paper where it can serve as a reminder, and get to work!
