For a little over a two months now, Ripplers have been pairing off each week and brainstorming about ways to improve the efficiency of our processes. In addition, each pairing is assigned a particular client and asked to come up with at least one way to better their IT systems. It could be something as simple as labeling a wiring closet, or as complex as retiring a seldom used in-house server and migrating them to cloud storage to save some cash. But no matter the complexity of the solution, things get done. We know, because we’ve been using LessMeeting to keep track.

Ripplers have been meeting each and every Tuesday since long before I joined the team. And when I first came onboard, it was largely an open discussion that included everything from support processes (always the bulk of the discussion), new business (awesome), marketing campaigns (moi), and more. Which was great. It allowed for every Rippler to get an idea of the observations, opinions, and strategies of their coworkers, as well as give their input. But with the addition of the weekly Ripple Improvement Pairings (or RIPs, if you like acronyms) we’ve been able to identify what we can do to better help people, and make ourselves more efficient in the process. The results are that we’re fixing things faster, heading potential problems off at the pass, and since the pairings change every two weeks, we’re learning to work with our fellow Ripplers in a more collaborative way.

Of course, none of this focussing-in would do much good if we didn’t actively track what we’d discussed in the previous meeting. So, every Tuesday one Rippler volunteers to be the the time keeper (stop watch at the ready), and another acts as the facilitator / recorder using LessMeeting. The difference between most meetings and those we’ve conducted with LessMeeting is that the ability to plan, record, and share meeting goals is about 1000x easier and more efficient than trying to jot down bunch of notes and dialog. Tracking to-be-completed actions is pretty simple too, and alerts can be set up so they don’t slip anyone’s mind. And you can even integrate LessMeeting with your Google calendar. On the following Tuesday, improvements are either completed (checked off) or not (unchecked). Simple and effective.

So far, we have nothing but great things to say about the process. But we’re always looking to improve.. even on the improvement process. Because as everyone who works with technology knows, the next big, amazing, game-changing thing is right around the corner.