I’m drowning in paperwork. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

My boss has just introduced a whole raft of new reporting processes which are supposed to increase transparency across the business.

All it has done is increase my workload and instead of servicing customers I am spending hours filling out forms.

How do I get out from under this paper avalanche?

Drowning,

Brisbane

Dear Drowning,

You get out from under the paper avalanche by suggesting some alternatives.

For example, if the boss wants more transparency, could you increase the frequency of your team meetings? If you had a daily stand-up meeting of no more than seven minutes, would this allow the boss to feel like they were right on top of things?

Or could you go through the new reporting system and suggest ways to make them into templates that have check boxes and multiple choice selections, rather than requiring long-winded answers?

Or could you suggest a new dot-point reporting system? I’ve always liked the “three challenges, three opportunities” style of reporting.

Find out what it is your boss really wants to understand and how frequently she needs to understand it. I bet you can get the information she needs in a much more streamlined way.

But come with a solution rather than a whinge.

Be smart,

Your Aunty B

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