Stop answering the same question twice

Picture a lead tech, say Mike. He's halfway through rebuilding a pump when someone walks up: "Got a minute? Where do we keep the spare belts for the compressor?" It's the fourth time this month. He answers, goes back to the pump and tries to remember which bolt he was on.

An hour later his phone buzzes. A tech is at a customer site and can't get through the gate. What's the code again? Mike knows it. Mike always knows it. That's the problem.

Each answer takes a minute. But the minutes add up, and the same answers get given over and over. This post is about a simple habit that fixes that: answer once, save the answer, and point people to it after that.

What "got a minute?" really costs

Quick questions feel cheap. They aren't, and the cost lands mostly on your most experienced people, because they're the ones everyone asks.

• The expert loses their place. The minute of answering is the small part. Getting back into the job takes longer: finding where you were and rechecking the last step.
• The same answer is given again and again. Where the belts are doesn't change. The gate code doesn't change much. Yet the answer gets explained again to each new person, out loud, every time.
• The person asking waits. If Mike is on a roof or on another call, the tech at the gate waits too. A question that takes a minute to answer can leave a truck and a tech parked for an hour.
• The answers leave when the expert leaves. Every answer that lives only in Mike's head is out of reach when he takes two weeks off, and gone for good when he changes jobs or retires.

None of this is anyone's fault. People ask because asking works. The fix is to make the saved answer work better than asking.

Notice which questions come up twice

You can't save every answer, and you don't need to. Start by finding the questions that keep coming back.

Start a tally. A notepad in your shirt pocket or a note on your phone is enough. Every time someone asks you something, write down the question in a few words.

The first time a question comes up, just answer it. Plenty of questions are one-offs, and that's fine. The second time the same question comes up, that's the signal. A question asked twice will be asked again, by the next new hire, the next temp or the next tech covering a route they don't usually run.

Record the answer the second time

When a repeat question comes in, answer it the way you always would. Then take another minute or two and record the answer as a voice note, right there.

Do it at the machine or on the site if you can. Standing in front of the compressor, you'll naturally say "the belts are on the second shelf of the gray cabinet behind it, and the size is written on the guard." Sitting at a desk a week later, you'd forget half of that.

For most people, talking is faster than typing on a phone, and it keeps the details people actually need. You don't have to sound polished. You just have to be clear enough that someone who wasn't there can follow along.

Point people to the saved answer

The next time the question comes up, don't answer it from memory. Send the saved answer instead: "I recorded that last week. Here it is."

This feels awkward at first, especially for people who like being helpful. Stick with it. Pointing to the saved answer is still helping. It's just helping in a way that works when you're not there.

And that's the real win. A saved answer is there at night, on weekends, when you're on vacation and when you're up a ladder with your hands full. The tech at the gate gets the code without waiting for a call back. Over time, people learn to check the saved answers first and bring you only the questions that are actually new.

Send new questions to the person who knows

You won't know every answer, and you shouldn't be the only one people ask. When a question comes in that someone else knows better, send it to them. The electrician knows the panel layout. The tech who services a customer every quarter knows their site. The person at the parts counter knows which supplier still stocks the old seals.

Then close the loop. Ask that person to record their answer, so it's saved for everyone. The goal is that each question gets asked of a person only once. After that, the answer sits with all the others, and the person who knew it gets the credit.

What makes an answer reusable

Some saved answers get used for years. Others get played once and forgotten. The difference is usually a few small things:

1. Name the equipment or the place. Say "the north air compressor" or "the Elm Street site," not "the compressor" or "that site." The name is how people will find it.
2. Say what you checked. If the answer is a fix, say what you looked at first, including the things that turned out fine. That saves the next person from checking them again.
3. Say why. "Close this one first because..." is the part people remember, and the part that helps when the next situation isn't quite the same.
4. Say what to do if it doesn't work. Say who to call and when to stop. For anything with power, pressure or moving parts, say where lockout/tagout comes in, and to stop and ask rather than guess.
5. Keep it to a minute or two. One question, one answer. If there's more to say, record a second note.

Start with one crew this week

You don't need a big rollout. Pick one crew, or just yourself, and try it for a week:

• Monday: start the tally. Write down every question you're asked, in a few words.
• Tuesday to Thursday: when a question comes up for the second time, answer it, then record the answer at the machine or the site. Tell the person who asked where to find it next time.
• Friday: look back at the week. Which saved answers got used? Which questions came up most? Pick two or three for next week, and ask the people who know them best to record them.

After a few weeks, the questions you get should start to change. Fewer "where is it" and "what's the code," more questions that actually need you. That's the point. Your best people should spend their time on the problems only they can solve, not on the same answer for the fifth time.