Every day, managers face numerous challenges that require their immediate attention and action. Making decisions and solving problems in a fast-paced environment is critical to the success of any organization, and one tool that has greatly benefited my leadership style is the triage decision-making process.
The triage decision-making process is used in emergency medical situations to determine the treatment required for patients. In this system, patients are prioritized based on the severity of their condition and the likelihood of recovery, as well as what additional measures will need to be taken for them to recover fully.
“This same approach can be applied to business management,” says Shiela Mie Legaspi, President of Cyberbacker. “Using the triage decision-making process, managers can prioritize issues and allocate resources to address the most pressing problems. More importantly, it sets a process in place, meaning each person knows how they fit into the triage decision-making process and can tap in if needed. Without the triage decision-making process and defined roles, the issue can escalate rapidly.”
Identify the issue
According to Legaspi, the first step in the triage decision-making process is to identify the issue or problem. To determine the problem, one must gather all relevant information and data to understand the scope and impact of the problem.
“In this stage, involving stakeholders — including employees and customers — is important to understand the entire issue,” Legaspi says. “Adopting a big-picture mindset to better understand the issue helps effectively strategize and appropriately allocate people and resources toward the desired outcome.”
Prioritize the urgency of the issue
The next step in the triage decision-making process is prioritizing the issue based on its urgency and importance. In this stage, categorize the problem into three levels: high priority, medium priority, and low priority.
“High-priority level issues are critical and require immediate attention, while medium-priority issues can wait a little longer before taking action,” Legaspi explains. “Lastly, low-priority issues are not time specific and don’t require immediate attention. Some managers like to color-code their problems like nurses do in the ER, meaning each type of problem can be categorized and easily referenced if or when it comes up again.”
After prioritizing the issue, Legaspi says the next step is to allocate resources to address the high-priority problems. “These resources can include assigning personnel, providing funding, or delegating responsibilities,” she says. “By delegating and providing resources to the most critical issues, managers can ensure that their teams focus their efforts where they are most needed.”
Monitor progress
The final step in the triage decision-making process is to monitor progress and adjust the plan as needed. As with any decision-making process, unforeseen obstacles or challenges that may arise will need to be accounted for.
“It is essential to continually monitor progress and adapt the strategy to resolve the issue as effectively and efficiently as possible,” says Legaspi. “It’s also important to record the entire process to help create a system to better tackle other problems that arise in the future.”
Benefits of the triage decision-making process
The above process is a general triage process that Legaspi has emulated herself from emergency nurses. She says that, so long as a 3-point decision-making process is set up for each department in the company, it can work just as efficiently for their organization.
“For example, if there are issues with our Cyberbackers and clients, we first determine if the Cyberbacker set the right expectations and if the client understood these, or vis versa,” Legaspi explains. “During the business evaluation call between the sales team and the client, we verify that the priorities, tasks, and job descriptions were clear. If it was, then we identify if we hired the right person for the client or need to provide more training. Depending on the answer, we find a better fit or provide the proper training.”
Using the triage decision-making process allows for quick and efficient problem-solving, helps reduce stress, increases productivity, and significantly improves team communication and collaboration. As a manager herself, Legaspi has found the process to be an invaluable component of her leadership toolkit, and highly recommends it to other managers looking to improve their decision-making and problem-solving skills.
“I have failed many times, but as the old saying goes: ‘hard times create strong people’.” Legaspi remarks. “Failure, while disappointing, can lead to further learning opportunities, and I have learned that implementing clear processes helps minimize the severity of the problem.”
