In the Amazon Prime series "All or Nothing," Lawrence Okoye makes a misstep by breaking a cardinal rule of Coach Arians. The coach must decide whether to keep Okoye or let him go, even though the misstep is nothing more than parking in a taboo spot at the field.
The point of the discussion was that details matter. Small mistakes in work or attitude impact the success of the organization. As David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, said, "Successful management isn't doing 1,000 percent better, but doing 1,000 little things 1 percent better." You can increase the success of your organization by focusing on attention to detail. Attention to detail increases efficiency and improves time management and customer service.
Employees often lose track of this valuable skill when it is not emphasized within a company. Making attention to detail an essential part of your daily work helps you maintain a higher level of effectiveness.
You can create a more effective organization when you consider attention to detail in these five areas:
1. Completion of work
Work completed without a focus on attention to detail causes a lack of effectiveness. When an employee squanders information or timelines within a project, there is a loss of valuable time. This lack of attention creates frustration, since the work must be completed a second time to correct errors.
To help with attention to detail in the completion of work, employees can benefit from understanding how individual work fits into the broader view. A more comprehensive view of the topic and process helps the employee understand how the project fits into the company goals and mission. You can help your employees focus on their attention to detail by providing information about the way individual roles impact the company.
You can also encourage attention to detail by creating an environment that expects employees to take accountability for their roles in the organization. Each employee can have ownership of a set of tasks that encourages and rewards attention to detail. This ownership helps individuals stay task-oriented instead of time-driven. The goal of attention to detail is to help the employee stay accountable for both the work and the way they complete it.
2. Communication of work assignments
Effective communication is the cornerstone of a successful business. Attention to detail in communication reduces errors, which streamlines the workloads and timelines. Employees who effectively communicate with attention to detail are more likely to enhance the success of your organization. Effective communications occur when an employee accurately shares information with other members of the team. You can encourage attention to detail by ensuring that employees communicate who is accountable for specific parts of a project and for keeping timelines updated.
Since most people are visual learners, you can help the process by showing a visual example of employee responsibilities and deadlines for services. This process helps keep projects on time and employees accountable for their role in communicating responsibly in the company.
3. Efforts for customer experience
Companies with customer experiences that offer attention to detail reduce fractures both inside and outside of the organization. Employees improve attention to detail in the customer experience when they look beyond their view and think about what another person might want or need. The goal of customer experience is making others feel like they are a connected part of the company. You can improve the customer experience by improving the employee experience. Customer experience is tied to employee experience in that employees who feel connected to a company will have a better chance of wanting to pass that feeling along to customers. Your business can benefit from creating a culture that integrates customer experience with employee experience in a way that supports the company mission and brand. This type of culture fosters attention to detail for how employees interact with each other and customers.
4. Environment of the workplace
Customers are drawn to companies that make them feel at ease and connected. Attention to detail for the little things in your workplace offers a stronger definition of who you are as a company. When you have a strong brand that matches the way you present your business, people feel more connected. They do not feel a fracture between the words for your brand and the actions of your employees.
This attention to detail for your work environment should also extend to remote work. Customers want to feel connected and at ease within a virtual relationship. The environment of your workplace can set an experience that helps people feel connected when interacting with your organization.
Some examples of attention to detail for the environment of your organization are the color of the walls or the displayed artwork. In his guest blog for Ridiculously Efficient, "Why Companies Should Have Fine Art in the Workplace," Andre Smith said that art leaves a lasting impression. You may also consider whether to have drinks available for employees or customers. For remote situations, you may want to consider the quality of your technology, the web experience or even the background of your virtual rooms. What do you want the environment of your work to say about your company? Are the brand and the environment cohesive? Take time to consider how different components of your workplace are impacted by the small choices you make.
5. Technology in the workplace
Technology plays a greater role in business today than it has at any other time in history. Your knowledge of how technology assists your organization can offer you a way to stay better connected in business. Today, people and machines work in close cooperation. Having suitable devices to support employee work contributes to the efficiency and aesthetics within your organization. Attention to detail with regards to technology and employee integration helps create a more cohesive and efficient company. When you utilize technology that best serves your organization, you offer your business a more efficient way for technology and your employees to work together with greater attention to detail.
In business, like in football, details matter. Small mistakes do make a difference. When you integrate attention to detail into these five areas of the work experience, you create a more effective organization. Attention to detail helps you generate an environment of efficiency and accountability that builds the framework of your organization. With attention to detail, work becomes more streamlined in a way that supports your employees, your customers and the success of your organization.