“Just because a process works doesn’t mean it’s worth what it costs.”
I’ve always been fascinated by the relationship between operational efficiency and financial performance, particularly how easily small inefficiencies become accepted simply because they’ve become routine.
Consider a task that takes just ten minutes a day. It probably wouldn’t even make the agenda at your next budget meeting. But multiply those ten minutes by 50 employees, across 220 working days, at an estimated labor cost of $30 per hour.
That’s 1,833 hours and $55,000 in annual labor capacity. For one task.
The cost of doing things the way we’ve always done them
Organizations routinely evaluate staffing levels, departmental budgets, and productivity targets. Yet the processes consuming those resources don’t always receive the same scrutiny.
An approval that serves no meaningful purpose. Information entered into multiple systems. A report nobody reads. A workflow designed around a problem that no longer exists.
Individually, these may seem insignificant. Collectively, they can become expensive. The opportunity cost matters too: what else could employees accomplish with that time?
Before automating, challenge the assumption
When reviewing a workflow, I start with three questions:
- Necessity: Does this process still serve a meaningful business purpose?
- Efficiency: Could we achieve the same outcome with fewer steps?
- Value: Is the benefit worth the time and resources required?
Sometimes automation is the answer. Sometimes redesign is. And sometimes the most valuable improvement is eliminating a task entirely, provided it is not essential for safety, compliance, or service.
Calculate your hidden workflow costs
Use the calculator below to estimate how much labor capacity a recurring task consumes annually. Adjust the assumptions to reflect your organization.
Workplace Friction Calculator
A quick estimate of annual labor capacity tied up in a recurring task.
This is an estimate of labor capacity consumed, not guaranteed cash savings. For financial planning, use fully loaded labor costs where available. Actual benefits depend on whether capacity is redeployed, spending is reduced, and implementation costs.
The question worth asking
The next time someone says, “But the process works,” consider asking a different question: Is it worth what it costs?
Operational excellence isn’t only about maximizing what people accomplish. It’s also about questioning what we’re asking them to do in the first place.