I'm a big proponent of smart thinking that increases efficiency and eliminates wasteful practices.
That's why I don't just write and edit for businesses and organization. I think of efficient solutions for their processes. I then use the tools at my disposal to implement them at no or very low cost.
Managing checks more efficiently with Trello style project management in real life
Pictured above is an example of project management and design thinking that saves both time and money. A nonprofit requires two signatures on checks that must be scanned before they are dispatched. Checks with only one signature or no signature and fully signed one had all been put in one basket. That caused some checks of one type to be hidden by those of another and not get signed or scanned as quickly as they should.
One afternoon, using nothing beyond the basic supplies that the office already had on hand, I devised a system of using two baskets and signs designed with ChatGPT to make it absolutely clear what goes in which basket, so that the person who needs to sign and the person who needs to scan knows where to look to do their part.
ROI: Cost: $0. Return: 50% better efficiency ever after
It's not the basket but the design thinking that improves efficiency
After I introduced the two baskets for checks, the director at the nonprofit thought that was such a great idea that he bought a set of desk boxes. He intended them to house the folders holding individual papers for each person who sent in a reservation for for a key revenue-raising event in one of four categories.
 |
| Actual photo of the folders in the set of boxes |
The thing is that the idea behind what I did with the checks was not about containing the papers but about understanding the process and streamlining it. Encasing the folders holding a ream of paper in matching boxes doesn't help anyone when they are still stuck in the last century.
For years, they've been printing out individual emails for each person's request and then manually sorting them into four folders that each had to be arranged alphabetically. That had been the practice of the nonprofit -- to not just waste a ream of paper in printing out each individual person's reservation but to then photocopy it to keep one copy in the office while the other was taken off the premises and typically returned with the painstaking alphabetization all messed up.
I solved that on a Monday morning.
I went into the list of submissions on the SaaS and whittled the biggest group down by category.
Then I directed it to arrange the submissions in alphabetical order by last name instead of in order of submissions.
Next, I eliminated some of the unnecessary columns that were the result of the poor design of the form. All that extraneous data creates clutter and diffuses focus.
Finally, I employed free generative AI tools to label the essential columns to make the key information clear. I found that ChatGPT failed to deliver because it misapplied the labels, though Google Gemini did just what I wanted it to do.
I also directed Google Gemini to transform the spreadsheet from Excel into an easily shared Google sheet. The that can also be printed out on just a few sheets of paper if they still wish to work off paper copies, though they are not necessary for anyone who understands the purpose of the data and how to put the labels on the digital spreadsheet.
ROI: Cost: $0 in material or specialized tools
Return: Embracing digital transformation allows the nonprofit to get more value out of the SaaS it already pays for. Plus it saves the cost of printing out 2 reams of paper and a couple of hours of manual labor for sorting through and alphabetizing hundreds of individual sheets of paper. It also eliminates the need for people to come in to the office to pick up physical folders and return them. Reducing use of paper and travel is not just economical but helpful for the environment.
Posts
