Nobody owns cross-functional issues
Make ownership clear when a problem crosses departments.
01 · What is usually happening?
A late delivery involves purchasing, stores, production and dispatch. Each says their part was fine, and the issue sits between them with no one assigned to solve it.
It comes back every month, in a slightly different form, and is raised again each time.
The question people usually ask“Whose problem is this?”
The more useful question“Who owns an issue that crosses departments, and how do we make sure it is closed?”
02 · Common causes
- 01Departments own tasks, not outcomes
- 02No named owner for issues that cross boundaries
- 03Issues are raised in meetings and not tracked
- 04The owner is the only person with the whole view
- 05Blame is easier than a fix
- 06No review of repeat issues
03 · What to check now0 of 6 checked
04 · What good looks like
- 01Every cross-department issue has one named owner.
- 02The owner may ask others for changes.
- 03Issues are tracked with dates and next steps.
- 04Repeat issues are reviewed monthly.
- 05Closing an issue means the cause is fixed, not only the case.
05 · Where this connects
This rarely stays in one department
What it can lead to: The same problem returns every month and the owner ends up solving it.
Start from a problem
Work flows left to right, top to bottomKEYMost important for manufacturing
These support every part of the business
Problem
Nobody owns cross-functional issues
Usually connected to
How it spreads
- Management
What it can lead to: The same problem returns every month and the owner ends up solving it.
lamplamp could open a tracked issue when a problem touches more than one area.
08 · lamp
lamp could keep this moving
lamp is not available yet. These are things it is being built to do.
- lamp could open a tracked issue when a problem touches more than one area.
- lamp could suggest an owner from who is involved.
- lamp could remind owners of next steps and dates.
- lamp could show the issues that keep coming back.
Does your business handle this differently?Tell us what we have missed: a cause, a check, or a better way of handling it.
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