QIC
  • Home
  • Services
    • Current Projects
    • Powered by QIC
  • About
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Services
    • Current Projects
    • Powered by QIC
  • About
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact

QIC's Blog

Efficient vs... too Efficient?

3/2/2017

0 Comments

 
I've recently had several ride-sharing experiences that really got me thinking about efficiency (or lack thereof) not only in my day to day personal life, but also in my professional life and how the desire for efficiency impacts our people, products, and services.  In my current position, one of my goals is to ensure that QIC runs efficiently on a daily basis. Therefore, I typically approach my work, with a mindset geared toward efficiency - aiming to achieve desired results with as little wasted time and energy as possible.  When thinking about efficiency in automated or machine-related environments, the goal is to reduce friction to the greatest extent possible.  In collaborative work environments, the goal is much the same however, we're not dealing with machines, but with groups of people, and the friction we're removing are barriers to success.
  
Certainly being able to work efficiently in a professional capacity has its benefits, indicated by the countless articles on the "X Things Efficient People Do." Efficient workers tend to get promoted more frequently, tend to be better communicators, and often have less work stress while having more time to do the things they enjoy.   Individuals who are efficient tend to not multitask (see my multitasking post from last year, here), are good at delegating, use clear and concise communication, schedule their activities, set aside time for rest, and plan their projects among other things.  Sounds good, right? 

From a business perspective, entire methodologies such as Lean / Six Sigma are dedicated to improving business processes to ensure efficiency.  Recently UPS was in the headlines (for revealing that they use computer software to guide their driver's routes, which helps to eliminate unnecessary left-hand turns. The strategy and software helped the company save 20.4 million miles, which obviously translates to significant time, maintenance, and fuel savings across their fleet. Again, all good stuff.

There are however, countless articles on why working efficiently is bad for the individual and even how to go about shaping management's perception of your workload.  Reasons individuals may actually suffer from being too efficient stem from having more work piled on because they finished their assigned work quickly, having fellow employees resent them for setting a higher standard, or being seen as a slacker by management because they may not always have work to do - again, because you finished it quickly. Outside of the workplace, the desire for too much efficiency could actually produce greater anxiety, frustration, and stress.

In terms of business management, while a focus on efficiency may be beneficial from a bottom-line or a work output perspective, there are critical aspects of a business that may actually suffer from too great of a focus on efficiency. In automated and machine-related environments it makes sense to always strive for greater efficiency.  However, in our team-based environment too much efficiency could create a climate in which interactions between colleagues become unnecessarily limited and colleagues don’t get to know each other.  Additionally, if processes are too efficient it may limit individual's ability actively think about situations, problems, and their context and stymie innovation. 

While we strive for efficiency in the work we do - better, faster, less expensive - it's important to always remember who actually makes it possible for us to meet our customer's needs.    When working in a collaborative setting, efficiency is one important part of the equation, but we can't forget the people who must interact with our processes to create our products and services.  Have you experienced collaborative environments that are too efficient?  Have you seen an over-emphasis on efficiency hinder innovation and suppress colleague bonding?  Let me know!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Authors

    These posts are written or shared by QIC team members. We find this stuff interesting, exciting, and totally awesome! We hope you do too!

    Categories

    All
    AI
    Conference Highlights
    Human Behavior
    Leadership
    Measures
    Performance Support
    Presentations
    Project Management
    Team Communication
    Welcome!
    XR

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017

 All Rights Reserved. Quantum Improvements Consulting, 2023