productivity

[pcpete]

Do you guys have issues with jumping from job to job which hinders productivity? We have always struggled with this to some degree. With this new employee who declared he had adhd as a kid but manages it better as in adult really struggles. We have been working on systems to prevent floating from job to job with some success, but changing human habits is tough

Do you guys have issues like this? Do you do anything to prevent it in a deliberate way?

 

[Mainstay]

what issues does this individual ID as being the roadblock?

I know in our office we get a real energy going and when we work effectively, it is all "settin' 'em up and knockin' 'em down".

I also recommend making sure you have coffee and snacks available to your staff. By no means do we have a Google Break room, but we definitely have water and sugar and caffeine available to all.

 

[nerd2u]

A lot of my work is service work so my day involves jumping around from job to job, some people can cut it some can't.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

 

[nlinecomputers]

Checklists and tickets. Gotta document what you do so that when you come back around to the first task you remember what the heck you were doing. Which means if you are the manager you gotta spot check their work. If they are doing the job correctly you should be able to pull paperwork and know exactly what is being done.

 

[pcpete]

Checklists and tickets. Gotta document what you do so that when you come back around to the first task you remember what the heck you were doing. Which means if you are the manager you gotta spot check their work. If they are doing the job correctly you should be able to pull paperwork and know exactly what is being done.

That is exactly what we try and do. We have lists and try and document everything. We have the system setup where we can easily jump in and see where he left off and what he could be doing better. The problem with one employee is he would do just some of the steps in the list and then jump to another computer, instead of focusing on what he could get done before going to the next one. I believe the loss of productivity is the time lost jumping between computers. We are now making him sigh off with "I am unable to do anything else on this computer" before jumping to the next one. This allows us to go to the computer he just left and see what he did or did not do and guide him to staying more focused and show him other things he can be getting done before bouncing to the next.

 

[Mainstay]

He/she is new, so you are still trying to figure out how they fit with your staff and your work. You haven't shared much on the exact problem or what skills they have come in the door with... so if this person is new to IT, then maybe you need to keep moving them around your work load to find where they shine. If they are server specialists, then maybe they can't deal with the jumping around on tons of little projects and need to be focused on one larger project (server design and deployment).

I am not sure you can just stop being ADHD... You learn coping mechanisms and life skills, but I would suspect that there is more than a little bit of that going on with this individual. Talk with them. What strategies might work best for this individual so that they can be happy contributing to a healthy work environment? Ask them to share what worked for them as a kid and maybe there are some solutions that can fit with your office.

Check lists and ticket management are tools that will help, but addressing the human element should be task number one.

 

[pcpete]

I was more curious if

 

[nlinecomputers]

I was more curious if

??? Speaking of ADHD

 

[pcpete]

I was wondering if we are too stringent and over managing workflow. That was why I was wondering if others had detailed systems like we do to manage productivity. I think I was hoping to hear I was not the only one how had a very specific guide and way we want people to work to get more total steps done in a day. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[pcpete]

??? Speaking of ADHD

typo. using a pad, not sure how it even got sent

 

[nlinecomputers]

I don't think so. You need to document what is being done so that if a step is missed you can see it in the documentation. You also have a record of what is done should a system get returned to you with claims that it wasn't fixed. This also allows someone else to take over should the tech be unavailable or you decide that someone else should look at it.

 

[fencepost]

In a frightening number of ways there's a strong argument that what we all need is an IT version of an Electronic Medical Records system, with tracking of patient complaints, exam determinations and clinical actions taken. Within EMRs, there's also a level of detail and documentation required (sometimes enforced, sometimes not) because that detail is mandated for full reimbursement by insurance/Medicare and those entities have the authority to do chart reviews and claw back money even years later.

On a different note, I actually have contemplated in the past whether it would make sense to take something like OpenEMR and fork it to build a PSA.

 

[pcpete]

In a frightening number of ways there's a strong argument that what we all need is an IT version of an Electronic Medical Records system, with tracking of patient complaints, exam determinations and clinical actions taken. Within EMRs, there's also a level of detail and documentation required (sometimes enforced, sometimes not) because that detail is mandated for full reimbursement by insurance/Medicare and those entities have the authority to do chart reviews and claw back money even years later.

On a different note, I actually have contemplated in the past whether it would make sense to take something like OpenEMR and fork it to build a PSA.

I feel like a doctor when we check clients in. The first thing we do is look up old tickets and look them over, then we get the description of the issue, like everyone. Then we have a standard list of questions we ask everyone, that will help us later to determine the best course of action. So the clients don't get started when we ask them these questions we say, "we have a few questions we ask everyone which help us determine the best way to help you"

 

[Mike McCall]

It sounds like you recognize ADHD as being a reality and not something made up. You're way ahead of the game on that alone. The fact that you're looking for insight on how to help this person fit into your workplace is also a huge plus. Kudos as many wouldn't bother.

Every individual who struggles with ADHD does so differently, though there are often patterns they share. The amount of effort expended in the attempt to remain focused on a task long enough to complete it can be exhausting. Sometimes medications can be helpful. Sometimes a variety of short-term tasks can help. For many ADDer's the Herculean efforts required to complete tasks still result in abysmal failures and make them feel like they have to work twice as hard to be half as good. Unfortunately, that sometimes means they try to add more tasks to an already overwhelming list of things they can't complete. It's not about intellectual capacity as they are often quite intelligent. They may just have a hard time controlling it.

One resource you might find helpful is ADDitude. LOTS of good information there along with forums to ask questions in.