We have been using checklists in our day-to-day life for some mundane activities. Most of the time it is not written but resides in our brain and is recalled whenever we need its services.
For example, whenever I comeout ... of an ATM after withdrawing cash, a checklist immediately pops up and I do three tick
marks – 1. Have I taken the cash? 2. Have I secured the card? 3. Have I removed the transaction slip? But somehow, we fail to understand the importance of checklists in professional work. Of course, those checklists are complex, and one needs to devote some time to study, understand, analyze, and develop the checklist.
Checklists have amazing utility to standardize the services in organizations. The management can clearly communicate the dos and don’ts of a process through checklists. For example, the front desk executive of a hotel may be given a checklist that reminds him of 10 activities he needs to perform with every new guest checking in the hotel. This makes him deliver the services in a uniform manner for all the guests and also, they know what can be expected of the front desk clerk.
