From my experience in the industry, this is a common problem in many departments. I’ve seen departments over loaded with work and the quality of the work that they are able to accomplish decreases. Sometimes people feel rushed and make mistakes. Sometimes people may try to cut corners.
Additionally when teams are over loaded with work and require more resources, employees begin to just go through the motions to get things done instead of continuously looking for ways to improve the process or product. I think the first thing that employees must do in this situation is to ask for help. Many employees are afraid to raise additional resource concerns because they fear that they will be labeled as unproductive. I also think that the most effective way to ask for additional resources is to approach the situation objectively. Instead of just saying you are overworked, I suggest presenting the benefits of additionally resources and potential consequences if the situation does not change.
Some suggestions include:
• lay out your priorities and identify what has been put on the backburner
• outline activities completed in a typical day/week.
• quantify the time required for each of your projects
• be honest and upfront if you have fears that something will fall through the cracks