4 Red Flags to Reveal Untapped Opportunities for Improvement in Your Teams

Red flags are handy. They can give you a sense that something is off and may not be in your best interest. Spotting red flags early allows us to adjust course and avoid unwelcome outcomes if we know what to look for.

Business operations offer a less simple scenario to apply red flags, with warning signs hiding within the daily hustle and bustle. The leadership vantage often misses signs that some workflows their personnel work in, are actually working against them.

You may promote a workplace of continuous improvement to clear away hindrances and help your people perform at their best, but does it feel like enough? Do you feel the effort improves your people and their performance? Do you look back at how far you've come and sense a difference? Do the workdays feel any lighter or smoother?

Problems often find a way of keeping pace with improvements, as many opportunities to truly boost your people remain hidden in plain sight.

By asking focused questions, we can begin to raise red flags and reveal great opportunities. These red flags can appear as unnecessary friction, resource drains, turbulent workflows, soured morale, or retention issues. These questions may not pinpoint the opportunity itself but can expose hot spots in dire need of attention.

Questioning the status quo each day is key to moving forward. Your workflow may yield results, but at what cost? What inactions are eating away at resources, performance, and people? Are your teams tirelessly propping up processes? How long until they simply say "Sayonara"?

Here's a list of questions to ask your people to flag potential improvements in the jobs and workflows you provide. If your people answer “yes” or you suspect they might, raise a red flag, and start digging. 

RED FLAG #1: TIME SPILLOVER

Time spillover can appear as unrealistic or inefficient task delegation, planning/scheduling, or workloads. Time pressures, especially when frequent, create high-stress levels and workload pressures. Your people can only work within the “job,” time, and space they’re given.

• Do team members often stay late or work outside of regular hours to meet deadlines?

• Are you often required to rush to complete tasks?

• Is multitasking a common practice among teams?

• Do employees often work through lunch or take short breaks to keep up on work? 
  

RED FLAG #2: FRAYED COMMUNICATION LINES

One thing that ensures everyone's best intentions become ideal results is information. Information of any kind is vital for groups of people to effectively combine their energy, expertise, and experience to reach collective goals. If frayed, communication lines can create gaps, errors, and unwanted results. These questions could reveal blocked or ineffective communication channels. Lack of clear direction, delegation, or guidelines is often the cause. Issues with training, skill development, and changing procedures could also be the culprit.

• Do team members frequently hold 'unofficial' meetings to discuss work?

• Are the goals, objectives or plans of your tasks often unclear or changing?

• Do team members often seek clarification on tasks and responsibilities?

• Are you often required to perform tasks for which you have received minimal training?

• Are there miscommunications or misunderstandings frequent among team members?

• Have there been instances where tasks were completed but not up to the expected standard? 
  

RED FLAG #3: INADEQUATE RESOURCES & TOOLS

As capable and effective as your people are, they still have limitations; they're still human. As humans, we work best when augmented by tools and collaboration. When approaching our limitations, results begin to suffer. Your people may lack what they need to reach higher performance. These could be signs of burnout or systemic issues with resource allocation, support gaps, or system drag causing strain on personnel. Technological inefficiencies or lack of suitable tools could be making work harder. Ineffective feedback mechanisms or managerial engagement issues could leave people drifting.

• Do you lack the necessary tools or equipment to perform your tasks efficiently?

• Do you find it difficult to access necessary resources or support for your tasks?

• Do you feel the technology you use hinders rather than helps your work?

• Is feedback on your work frequently delayed or non-specific?

• Have you noticed an increase in absenteeism or personal days?

• Do you notice frequent rework or corrections in projects? 
  

RED FLAG #4: CULTURE DECLINE

One aspect of the workplace that often gets overlooked is culture. It's not bound by time or place but more a behaviour for the well-being and performance of all. It can create friction, drag and turbulence in the workplace stealing great results from hard-working people. Your culture may have some rough surfaces to smooth out. Inefficient work environments or poor prioritization could be eating away at precious time, resources, and people. A lack of employee empowerment could lead to disengagement, dissatisfaction, or departure. A disregard for company protocols/processes can create costly inefficiencies and unnecessary risk.

• Are you frequently interrupted during work hours with non-urgent matters?

• Do employees hesitate to contribute ideas or feedback in meetings?

• Do employees bypass formal procedures or steps to expedite tasks?

• Are safety or compliance shortcuts observed in the workplace?

Keep an eye out for these red flags in your workplace and discover hidden opportunities to empower your people to tap into their higher potential.