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Why you need to complete a task audit

I do not have enough time to get everything done.

My employees are maxed out on time, so I need to hire another employee…I think…

Are these two common phrases that you find yourself saying every week? If so, you must take the Task Audit and free up time for you and your employees.

What is a Task Audit?

A Task Audit involves spending 30 minutes reviewing all the tasks you complete throughout the work week. It is not focused on how long these tasks take.

The Task audit is focused on IMPACT.

You have heard of a time audit (all our clients complete), but a task audit is where you analyze the tasks completed within a week to determine if those tasks should be part of your routine.

So, how does a Task Audit work?

Step # 1

As a business owner, you must complete the Task Audit first. You need to complete the task audit and review tasks that should either be:

1.      Delegated

2.      Eliminated

3.      Automated

There are two rules you should follow when completing the task audit:

1.      Review EVERYTHING you are working on right now. This includes repetitive tasks and one-time projects.

2.      Any changes that result from completing the Task Audit should not negatively impact the customer experience.

As you review all your work, be ready to ask and answer the following two questions:

1.      What problems are we solving by eliminating, delegating, or automating a specific task?

2.      What problems are we creating by eliminating, delegating, or automating a specific task?

Step # 2

This is where you complete the Task Audit. As you work through each task, you will define it as one of four types of activities:

1.      The Quick Win: These activities significantly impact the business and require minimal effort. For example, you could send a testimonial request to a client or email a happy client to request a referral.

2.      Major Projects: These activities significantly impact the business but require much effort. They could involve implementing a new ERP system, developing a new product or service, or expanding into an additional territory.

3.      Filler Work: These activities have a negligible impact and require little effort. They make us feel good because we are busy, but they do nothing to move the business forward. Being busy and being productive are the same.

4.      Negative ROI: These activities are the worst of the group. They have negligible impact and high energy. These activities move your business backward, drain resources, and chew up working capital. One of the best examples of a Negative ROI task is a social media program that does not drive new leads and business. You spend good monthly money creating content, publishing it, and paying for software tools. Reviewing the results, you find zero data to support any sales growth or bottom-line improvement.

Step # 3

In this last step, you review the four quadrants, identify tasks in the Quick Win, Major Projects, Filler Work, and Negative ROI categories, and decide how to handle each task in the future.

How do you make this decision? You make this decision by knowing what question to ask.

Question # 1: Is this a money-making activity? If the answer is YES, it will remain part of the workflow. I have never seen a money-making activity end up in the Filler Work or Negative ROI category, so please be brutally honest when you answer this question.

Tasks ending up in the Filler Work or Negative ROI category are eliminated or reallocated.

This is where you will start freeing up time. I am confident you will be free for at least five hours weekly.

Question # 2 – Should it be delegated or automated if it is a money-making activity?

The task may drive value, but it is one that one of your employees can oversee. This is the time to develop an SOP for the task and hand it to one of your competent employees.

On the other hand, the task may be best suited for automation. A notable example of automation is using an automation reminder with your accounts receivable workflow. If a client is a certain number of days behind on paying an invoice, they get an automatic courtesy reminder.

So when should you complete the Task Audit?

My recommendation is to set the following schedule and criteria –

1. Once per quarter—It does not take long for us to add filler and negative ROI tasks to the business every quarter. To “clean house,” I suggest completing this exercise every 90 days.

2. Before hiring: A new employee is expensive and requires an investment. Before investing, have the team complete a Task Audit and find those 5 hours. If you can free up 5 hours for a few employees, you may not need to hire a new employee yet. You can just free up the time and assign new tasks to the employees.

How does this benefit your employees?

This provides your employees with additional work that creates more value for the business, continues to develop their skills, and, by not adding another person to the team, may allow you to reward them with an increase in compensation.

This scenario becomes a win-win for you and your employees.

Combine the Task Audit with a regularly scheduled Time Audit, and you will:

1.      Eliminate wasted activities.

2.      Increase the impact of your activities.

3.      Increase the impact of your employees’ activities.

4.      FREE up your time

5.      Improve your P&L.

Let me know if you plan to use this system and how it impacts your business.

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Thank you for reading. I appreciate you!