Recently while browsing through job postings I was intrigued by the frequency with which the word “multitasking” appeared. I found myself remembering some well intentioned advice from a former employer who said I should never multitask, as it affects the quality of the work being produced. Sound advice. His words reminded me of a conversation my brother relayed to me a long time ago. My oldest brother, call him Brother One, called Brother Two to tell him about the new video game he purchased over the weekend. He was so excited about the game, he called while he was in the middle of playing it.
“So what else did you do this weekend?” Brother Two asked Brother One.
Insert a pause here.
“Uh-huh,” Brother One responded. You get the picture.
However, as much as companies and managers pay lip service to the evils of
multitasking, they sure still seem to expect it. For example, I used to work as an English tutor for an overseas company who liked to conduct their sessions online via Skype. It was the best of both worlds, the client got a one on one session with a native English speaker, and as the tutor I got to work from the comfort of my own home. I distinctly recall during one session, I posted my notes onto a previous client’s profile. Shortly thereafter the administrator messaged me asking me not to post notes during another client’s session as they were concerned that my full attention may not be on the current client. Makes sense. However, their administrators were in the habit of frequently messaging us during live sessions with the expectation of an immediate response. But apparently that was ok.
In fact the former employer that discouraged me from multitasking was also the same one who told us to get our teams to learn the skill of talk and type so as to boost productivity. Less time after the call finishing up notes and work, more time available to take calls. Staff are expected to build a personal connection with their customers, however they are also expected to be carrying out multiple tasks at once and with great accuracy. But we shouldn’t multitask, says the same employer, it negatively impacts the quality of our work.
Taking it one step further, I have witnessed workplaces morph from offices staffed with multiple departments. One would specialize in Task A, whereas another department would specialize in Task B, and so on. But with the advent of “cross training” now we have employees who can do it all! Sounds great, right? Well, not so much. Let’s just say you learn to carry out Task A very well. Good for you, you will now be cross trained in Task B. You then become so adept at Task B, that all of a sudden you find yourself being asked to handle a situation firmly in the realm of Task A, something that you used to be able to do with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back, only to realize you can’t remember how to do it, and so you have to stop what you’re doing, and spend time, which we all know costs the company money, to ask for help.
It seems to me that companies wind up sabotaging themselves, as a great deal of work that is carried out in this type of environment often has to be repeated, either due to the task not being completed in its entirety the first time around, or being carried out incorrectly. As customers, we all know what it’s like to have to call back repeatedly or make several trips to a merchant to fix an error that could have been easily avoided in the first place. It’s frustrating for the customer, costly for the company, and demotivating for the worker who only wants the tools to do their job well. No one ever got up in the morning and headed out the door to work saying, “I think I’ll do a crap job today.” Over time this kind of environment leads to employee burnout, and that winds up costing everyone, including the taxpayer, money.
Isn’t there a better way of running a business? How about giving staff the opportunity and tools to utilize their own natural strengths to become as successful as they can be specializing in their own specific role? What would the end result be? Instead of wasting time and energy trying to create a well rounded employee, i.e., a jack of all trades and master of none, you could have a well rounded and diverse team. Wouldn’t that be much more effective? Personally I think you would have greater productivity, even if department A does have to refer to department B from time to time, at least the job would be done right the first time. Job satisfaction would increase dramatically, which would lead to higher levels of productivity, which produces happy customers, more revenue for the business, and far fewer employees on long term stress leave. Seems like a win win situation to me.
What are your thoughts?
There I Go Rambling Again... 