At a Glance
- DILO observations is a powerful tool that maps a typical day for frontline employees, enabling organisations to address real performance issues instead of wasting time on perceived problems.
- DILO observations identifies the behavioural changes needed at the frontline to improve performance, increase overall productivity, and achieve operational excellence.
- Renoir’s operational excellence expertise, demonstrated by a 75% increase in productive time for supervisors in the field for a listed company engaged in oil palm plantations, highlights the effectiveness of DILO in driving positive change.
Frontline employees play an important role in an organisation’s success, interacting directly with customers and driving day-to-day operations. Their performance is linked to the overall success of the organisation, making them indispensable to achieving organisational goals. Â
To build a culture of continuous improvement and achieve operational excellence, understanding how frontline workers perform their daily tasks is not only a priority, but a strategic move for organisations that want to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. Â
Enter the Day in the Life of (DILO) observation, a powerful tool that maps a typical day for frontline employees. DILO sheds light on time allocation, work processes, and potential areas for improvement. Â
DILO observation can be effective in performance management, but why should organisations consider it? Â
Uncover hidden productivity potential with DILO studiesÂ
Assumptions about how employees spend their time and actual behaviour in the workplace are far apart. Studies show that employees spend a large proportion of their workday on non-productive tasks, with one survey showing that the majority spend less than three hours on high-impact activities. Â
Another study shows that 58% of an employee’s day is spent on activities outside of their core job responsibilities. Addressing this inefficiency requires identifying root causes and implementing behavioural change initiatives that improve process efficiency. Â
The DILO observation offers a solution, allowing you to tap into an individual’s work routine and get a realistic view of their typical day in the organisation. It identifies the time spent on value-adding tasks, exposes unproductive activities and uncovers the reasons for poor organisational performance. Â
The primary aim of DILO is to enable organisations to address real performance issues instead of wasting time on perceived problems. It also identifies the behavioural changes needed at the frontline to improve performance, increase overall productivity, and achieve operational excellence.Â
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Understanding DILO studies and their use
There are three main types of DILO observations that are commonly used:
- Workers: Frontline workers are observed for one day to understand how they allocate their time between different activities, including direct and indirect work, training, administration, movement/travel, and available time (idle time).
- Supervisors: For this DILO observation, a supervisor or manager is the subject; and the primary focus is to understand how the subject divides his or her between active and passive supervision, and administration.
- Salesperson: Assesses how salespeople divide their time between active selling (hunting and farming), passive selling (taking orders), and account management tasks.
To conduct DILO observations effectively, organisations should use time codes, that document activities at specific intervals to provide a comprehensive picture of an employee’s workday. Each DILO type uses unique time codes tailored to its focus.
1. Worker DILO
- Direct work: On-the-job tasks, wrench time, data entry
- Indirect work: Safety preparation, job preparation, mobilisation
- Training: Receiving instruction or coaching
- Administration and meetings: Dealing with paperwork, checking messages, and attending meetings
- Movement/travel: Moving between locations/jobs
- Available (not engaged in any type of task): Delays, no work, rework, extended breaks, social chatting
2. Supervisor DILO
- Active supervision: Proactive management, such as directing employees, planning, checking progress
- Passive supervision: Reactive management, such as responding to and resolving problems, passively monitoring people or equipment
- Training: Instructing or coaching employees
- Administration and meetings: Handling paperwork, checking messages, attending meetings
- Manual work: Helping employees with their tasks (excessive time may indicate inadequate supervision)
3. Salesperson DILO 
- Active selling (hunting): Meeting with potential clients, making sales calls
- Active selling (farming): Structured conversations with existing clients, closing sales
- Passive selling (taking orders): Accepting orders without proactive sales efforts
- Account management: Moderate social engagement, merchandising, use of CRM system, meetings with non-customers
Renoir’s expertise: A case study of productivity improvement using DILO Â
It should be noted that DILO observations are not intended to be personal assessments of employees. Instead, they aim to identify and understand the day-to-day challenges and problems faced by employees and how they respond to them. The primary focus is not to assess an individual’s capabilities but to determine whether the organisation has created a supportive environment that enables employees to perform effectively. Â
In DILO observations, it is important to understand the subject by asking:Â Â
- How did you perceive your day-to-day activities? Â
- How would you ideally structure your workday? Â
The responses to these questions can reveal whether employees are aware of their current behaviour and whether they recognise the potential for improvement. Â
DILO observation, particularly when conducted by internal personnel, can be susceptible to bias and other concerns due to the inherent familiarity between the evaluator and the subject. Engaging a third-party consultancy such as Renoir can mitigate these risks and provide unbiased insights to drive productivity improvements and process efficiencies. DILO is an integral part of Renoir’s comprehensive analysis to identify areas for change. Â
Our expertise in operational excellence using DILO is evident in our work with a listed company in Asia, involved in oil palm plantations and other businesses. During the 23-week ‘Excellent Productivity 2.0’ project, we conducted over 200 full DILO observations of supervisors and field workers, to identify the causes of productivity loss on a daily basis. We implemented a number of measures that resulted in a 75% increase in productive time for supervisors in the field. Â
Renoir’s operational excellence services are committed to improving the performance of individuals, teams, and organisations. With over 25 years of experience of implementing operational excellence for our clients, we have a proven track record of delivering improved business outcomes using behavioural and cultural change methodologies.Â
Accelerate excellence in your operations today.
