Projectplace by Planview
Whitepaper
The cost of collaboration
inefficiencies
– why outdated ways of working hurt your business
projectplace.com
Introduction
What could you accomplish if your business had 20 extra work
days per year? A lot, presumably. In general, businesses waste 2
hours and 45 minutes per week due to inefficient ways of
working. The result is slipped deadlines, overspent budgets
and stressed employees. Management is pressured to do more
with less and improve the bottom line, all while research shows
that employees are disengaged and struggling with work/life
balance. As technology increasingly helps people in their daily
life to become more efficient in communicating and conducting
tasks, this is also possible for the entire organization. This
whitepaper explains how new ways of working can have a direct
positive impact on your business.
Businesses are under huge pressure to do more with less.
Identify opportunities to increase efficiencies while keeping
both employees and customers happy. Boost productivity
without compromising quality. Some companies make the
mistake of underestimating the impact of communication
on the bottom line. Yet, a lack of communication has
a harmful effect on productivity because it leads to
disengaged employees. According to a 142-country study,
only 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work.
In other words, the majority of people worldwide are
disengaged, unmotivated, and uncommitted to doing
their bit to help their organization reach its goals.
As most of us spend around 10 years of our lives at work
or working, the workplace experience largely determines
how enthusiastic and invested we feel in what we do.
And, as demonstrated by research from the University of
Michigan, a happier workforce is more productive. That
is why in order to build a more engaged and productive
workforce, businesses need to take a hard look at ways of
working across the organization.
Businesses waste 20 days a year
In the digital, global workplace people are expected
to be more connected, collaborative and productive –
anywhere, anytime. Projectplace, an online collaboration
technology pioneer whose customers include thousands
of SMEs around Europe as well as global brands such as
BSkyB and Carlsberg, has formulated a ‘chaos theory’.
The changing working habits in the digital economy call
for a rethink of how businesses take ideas from inception
to completion, i.e. manage projects. If businesses fail to
adapt by working smarter, they won’t be able to keep
their employees engaged, reach their goals and their
organization will be taken over by chaos.
To better understand the factors that lead to this chaos
and its impact on productivity and business success,
Projectplace commissioned a pan-European study
amongst over 1,200 people who manage projects on a
regular basis. The Chaos Theory research reveals that
businesses are paying a high price for inefficient ways of
working, which costs organizations up to 2 hours and 45
minutes a week. In an effort to catch up, people work on
their days off. Despite this, deadlines slip and budgets go
out of the window. Worryingly, in the age of cyber-crime,
sensitive data is also put at risk, jeopardizing businesses’
revenue and reputation.
Although people have access to a range of technologies
that are designed to make us more connected and
productive – smartphones, tablets and cloud platforms –
old habits die hard and make people unproductive. The
2 hours and 45 minutes that people waste each week due
to inefficient practices equates to more than 20 working
days a year, costing businesses on average 8% in project
managers’ time and salary.
“The 2 hours and 45 minutes that people waste
each week due to inefficient practices equates
to more than 20 working days a year, costing
businesses on average 8% in project managers’
time and salary.”
Is the reputation of
your business in jeopardy?
Technology has the potential to make people more
engaged and productive, and enable businesses to
crawl back some of the wasted time by enhancing
communications, streamlining processes and empowering
people to work more efficiently. But in the age of cyber-
crime, technology can also create new risks.
To illustrate, two-thirds of people surveyed for the Chaos
Theory research say they can access sensitive data of their
organization, such as customers’ financial details or details
of new products in development. Yet only half can easily see
who has read, changed or downloaded a shared document,
or has a solution enabling version control. Furthermore, a
disengaged workforce is less accountable and likely to feel
less committed to doing everything they can to protect
the organization and its customers. This is a huge threat,
jeopardizing not only the integrity and security of sensitive
data, but also the reputation and revenue of the business.
Missed deadlines and overspent
budgets put revenue at risk
Inefficient ways of working are also putting revenue at risk
due to missed deadlines. People who manage projects
admit that nearly one in five of all projects run late and on
average 14% run over budget. Furthermore, when project
managers have to deal with eight or more projects, projects
can quickly spiral out of control. In this scenario, as many as
one in three projects aren’t completed on time and over a
quarter end up costing more than the agreed budget.
Half of the project managers also say that they are taking
on tasks outside of their main role. This means that they
have less time to spend on making sure that the team is
working together effectively, further increasing the risk of
missed deadlines and overspent budgets. The knock-on
effect is customer dissatisfaction and lost profits.
“People who manage projects admit that nearly
one in five of all projects run late and on average
14% run over budget.”
Stressed out staff cost
businesses a lot too
Wasted time and the pressure that people feel to take
on new tasks also leads to stress – project managers then
feel they have to make up for lost time by working outside
of normal business hours. Under pressure to do more,
around half of people surveyed for the Chaos Theory
research say they struggle with work-related stress.
In the worst case scenario, a person might be signed off
by their doctor for weeks or even months, meaning that
a business needs to pay someone else to do the person’s
job while they recuperate. Getting a new staff member up
to speed and committed to the cause often takes time,
leading to further inefficiencies and delays.
How to get rid of the chaos
and improve your bottom line?
The key is harnessing the latest technologies to boost
employee engagement and pave the way for smarter ways
of working. This will bring businesses tangible profitability
gains. Organizations should eliminate the complexities
of internal processes that waste billable time – such as
communication silos and over-reliance on e-mail – with
more transparent collaboration and effective knowledge
sharing. This will make people more motivated, helping
to improve employee productivity. Minimizing waste and
streamlining communication will also allow businesses to
become more agile and accelerate decision-making.
Improved visibility and agility helps organizations spot
new growth opportunities before others. As market
conditions change rapidly, smarter businesses can roll
out new products and services faster, making them more
competitive and driving revenue growth. On the other
hand, increasing transparency will empower businesses to
avoid unnecessary spending by immediately identifying
the areas that sap resources and potential failings before
they impact on customers.
Smarter ways of working also improve the performance of staff.
Through greater flexibility, and transparency, organizations are
able to create a more engaged and committed workforce,
having a direct positive impact on the business.
The rapid evolution of technology might cause headaches
for businesses, but the latest innovations are proving
invaluable in empowering organizations to tackle chaotic
ways of working head-on. By equipping their always
connected, distributed teams with the right tools, businesses
will be able to get things done on time and within budget,
achieve their goals and improve their bottom line.
“Minimizing waste and streamlining communication
will allow businesses to become more agile and
accelerate decision-making.”
