Ah, so the lady I am remembering you being unhappy with was the-now-6-week-in staffer's predecessor. That makes sense.
I remember doing grass-roots employee "fix the organisation" sessions back when I first started work out of uni. The company flew every single employee down to Sydney (in rotations) and asked them to speak to a panel of senior staff about what they saw in their day-to-day work routine that they thought could be improved for the benefit of the company eg old procedures that staff were still required to follow but which were realistically no longer best practice. We certainly saw benefits after the sessions were conducted, and it enabled staff to have a forum for suggestions they had never been offered before (and which even the local managers could not offer, in its scope for prompting change).
While I realise your business is different to a large multinational corporation, you should not underestimate the value of enabling your staff and ensuring they feel part of the business, not just fodder for your profits. By that I guess I am supporting the previous advice to engage your staff - when and how you are comfortable - and to genuinely listen to their comments/criticisms about the work flow. You never know, they might surprise you with some good ideas.
Best of luck.
I remember doing grass-roots employee "fix the organisation" sessions back when I first started work out of uni. The company flew every single employee down to Sydney (in rotations) and asked them to speak to a panel of senior staff about what they saw in their day-to-day work routine that they thought could be improved for the benefit of the company eg old procedures that staff were still required to follow but which were realistically no longer best practice. We certainly saw benefits after the sessions were conducted, and it enabled staff to have a forum for suggestions they had never been offered before (and which even the local managers could not offer, in its scope for prompting change).
While I realise your business is different to a large multinational corporation, you should not underestimate the value of enabling your staff and ensuring they feel part of the business, not just fodder for your profits. By that I guess I am supporting the previous advice to engage your staff - when and how you are comfortable - and to genuinely listen to their comments/criticisms about the work flow. You never know, they might surprise you with some good ideas.
Best of luck.