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It's a Balancing Act
May 01, 2009
You wanted to help your weary-eyed workforce, but maybe you're actually hurting them. Instead of simplifying work flows, organizations should support a diverse set of employee activities, according to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) global survey of 227 executives in government, education, professional services, life sciences, and financial services. Organizations in the private and public sector believe increasing both centralized control and local autonomy is needed for organizations to run efficiently and for employees to perform their jobs effectively.
The survey, part of the research report, "Disciplined Autonomy: Resolving the Tension Between Flexibility and Control," was produced by EIU on behalf of Laserfiche, and aimed to discover how organizations manage the tension between the autonomy sought by professionals and the centralized control required for efficiency and risk management. "Studies show the more employees feel empowered, the more productive they tend to be," says EIU Senior Editor Dan Armstrong. "As long as there's transparency into employee activities, there's often no need to impose strict processes and control, which can drive away talent."
Indeed, the key is striking the right balance, says Laserfiche Vice President of Marketing Tom Wayman. "The survey revealed a surprising paradox created by modern information technology," says Wayman. "To boost responsiveness, organizations are becoming increasingly decentralized, and yet with the right tools, upper management gains greater control and insight over policy and direction."
Among the survey findings were:
•Over the last five years, 68 percent of organizations say they increased centralization to control risk and increase efficiency, while also giving employees more freedom over how much of the work gets done.
•51 percent of respondents occasionally or frequently "bend the rules" to be more productive, while 32 percent say they did so to make a quick decision to close a sale or retain a customer.
•57 percent of respondents say business pressures over the last five years caused decision-making authority to be given to operating units or other groups outside headquarters.
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