Traffic Light Analysis

Contents

• STEP 1
• STEP 2
• GREEN - GO
• AMBER - ASSESS
• RED - STOP
• STEP 3

One of the hardest parts of setting up your own business is bringing others in and sharing the load and responsibilities with them. The Traffic Light Analysis tool is a smart, simple and most importantly effective way to do this. It allows you to sort what functions of your role can be delegated from those that require your expertise to complete.

STEP 1

The first step, though often forgotten about, is to have a position description for your role. A position description is critical for each employee as well as yourself to understand what you are responsible for. It must detail reporting lines, responsibilities and tasks the role is in charge of.

STEP 2

The next is step is reading through each task and assigning them as GREEN - GO, AMBER - ASSESS or RED - STOP

GREEN - GO

These are tasks that you and only you can complete. They are critical to the business’s success and only the best will do. These are strategic tasks and those that require a high level of skill and expertise.

AMBER – ASSESS

These are the same as RED tasks (see below) in that they do not require your level of expertise however they are tasks you enjoy. It’s important for us to remember to do the things we enjoy but this must be weighed up against the benefits to the business of letting them go.

RED - STOP

These are tasks that you need to stop doing. Any task that could be completed with either no, junior or intermediate level of experience must be marked as RED. When considering these tasks to help put them into perspective think of your hourly rate versus that of a junior to complete these tasks.

STEP 3

The last step is to take all the RED tasks and move them out of your description and into a new position description. This will form the basis for a new role reporting to yourself. This is also where you must assess the AMBER tasks. Move as many as you feel comfortable into the new document, remembering that offloading these is best for your business. Job complete!