Business Efficiency Gains In Information Technology November 11, 2009, by Peter Mirus in Coaching
Four years ago, an IT consulting firm (that I worked for) collected research from diverse sources about improving user performance through Information Technology. Specifically, we were looking for low-cost solutions that did not require implementation of sophisticated process automation.
What we found, based on the available statistics, is that one could theoretically increase worker efficiency by more than 200% per person by spending less than $2,000 per person. (Among employees that were heavily reliant on a computer on a business network in order to perform their jobs.) When we reviewed the claims through testing, we learned that many of the claimed IT efficiencies represented best-case scenarios or were created from bogus statistics. Even assuming that 20 different IT-backed solutions produced an efficiency increase of 10% per solution: due to may considerations, it is impractical to assume that a single person already operating at an average efficiency level could realize a 200% gain in efficiency by implementing every one of the available solutions.
As you can imagine, the firm I worked for did not immediately sally forth with a marketing campaign based on improving workplace efficiency by more than 200% overnight. We knew from experience that would be a ludicrous proposition.
What we did do was test solutions that could be implemented in our own office, and checked the results. Then, for our market approach, we focused only on solutions backed by reasonable claims. We could clearly go to market with the potential of increasing user performance by at least 20% in many environments. In many cases, we could make cost-offset arguments in favor of the necessary expenditure.
An example from our work:
About two years prior to our review, a study emerged indicating that the average user could experience efficiencies in work performance of up to 10% by adding an additional display (monitor). If I recall correctly, this study was funded by a display manufacturer (or group of manufacturers), so we decided to test this theory for ourselves. A couple of our staff were already using two displays, but most weren't. We deployed this in our work environment over a period of time, starting with our "power users" and extending the policy through to our administrative staff, interns, etc.
After 15 days, 30 days, and 60 days we interviewed staff to learn the result of our experiment. It was very difficult, and impractical, to perform process studies to precisely calculate the efficiencies gained after adding the additional display. However, the qualitative evidence was clear. After a very brief period of initial orientation in which efficiency decreased slightly, efficiency increased noticeably for all users. The impact was that many tasks were made easier, and none more difficult, by adding the additional display.
I was confident that the application of a second display for all computer users results in a productivity gain of at least 5% per user. Therefore, we felt very confident recommending this expense to our clients. If the client was reluctant to incur the expense, we gave company decision-makers a free 30-day trial. (Once you have two widescreen displays on your desk, you don't go back—the benefits are palpable.)
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.