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TV Blog: Productivity Through Transparency

In the last blog post, we discussed the importance of clear job descriptions that provide an effective road map for your sales force. Now that the sales department has clear responsibilities, we must now turn our attention to the company as a whole.  A company functions like a watch, in which numerous parts must be perfectly in place to run smoothly.

Each person in your business should understand his or her own responsibility, in addition to the roles of every other department. By taking the time to thoroughly develop responsibility allocation and job descriptions for each team member, your staff can enjoy better productivity and accountability. For instance, if other departments lean on your sales force for menial tasks, then they inadvertently divert energy away from more important work (i.e. generating new business) that is crucial to your business. Clearly defining job descriptions for every department optimizes your business by eliminating inefficiencies and miscommunications.

Internal transparency is achieved by creating a detailed job matrix. This document should contain the specific responsibilities of each team member along with key performance indicators and time allocation. This matrix should also define the inter-relationships between departments and divisions. By defining the structure of your business and the flow of authority, your staff members can understand how they fit into the organization.

Although it will take considerable time and energy to create these documents, the resulting transparency and efficiency will more than pay off.