McKinsey: What Matters: Using technology to improve workforce collaboration

Bertrand Duperrin's personal annotations on this page

Bertrandduperrin bookmarked on 2009-11-02 knowledgeworkers collaboration innovation productivity workflow problemsolving measurement interactions

"Knowledge workers fuel innovation and growth, yet the nature of knowledge work remains poorly understood—as do the ways to improve its effectiveness. The heart of what knowledge workers do on the job is collaborate, which in the broadest terms means they interact to solve problems, serve customers, engage with partners, and nurture new ideas. Technology and workflow processes support knowledge worker success and are increasingly sources of comparative differentiation. Those able to use new technologies to reshape how they work are finding significant productivity gains. This article shares our research on how technology can improve the quality and output of knowledge workers. "

The nature of collaborative work ranges from high levels of abstract thinking on the part of scientists to building and maintaining professional contacts and information networks to more ground-level problem solving.
But for knowledge workers, what might be thought of as collaboration productivity depends on the quality and quantity of interactions occurring
Our research suggests that improvements depend upon getting a better fix on who actually is doing the collaborating within companies, as well as understanding the details of how that interactive work is done
The plan was straightforward: reach more customers and business partners by shifting a large portion of in-person meetings to virtual interactions. Policy and governance changes ensured that technology use became part of daily workflows and not an added task.
Over an 18-month period, the initiative saved Cisco more than $100 million in travel and business expenses and reduced the company’s carbon emissions by 24 million metric tons
Similarly, P&G has also adopted Web-based technologies to forge better links with partners and customers and to improve the flow of ideas across corporate and regional boundaries. It also set up ideas markets to gather and filter offerings from across the company and signed on with crowd-sourcing network InnoCentive to tap external experts to solve specific problems
Besides the savings P&G realized from nearly a thousand fewer business trips each month, the company met its goals of shorter product cycle times and greater product innovation from external sources.²
As a first step, companies should take a fresh look at their workers, classifying them by how they collaborate.
. They are identified by job titles that, in many cases, obscure the kind of work they actually do
Thus, improving collaboration should start with understanding employee workflows to get a more refined view how their work gets done.
Companies can best do this by 1) understanding the specific requirements of interactive tasks; 2) identifying which tasks create disproportionate value for the organization; and 3) determining the types of inefficiencies and wasted efforts that bog down many interactions
We have documented 10 types of collaboration waste (Exhibit 2). In the case of managers, for example, effective collaboration demands that the manager not only agrees on specific objectives but also that he /she can communicate how to achieve them. T
Business managers should allow time and provide forums for collaboration workers to brainstorm solutions to productivity problems. Corporate technology providers will need to provide tools that are flexible enough to enable experimentation, so that usage and adoption are widespread

This link has been bookmarked by 23 people and liked by 2 people. It was first bookmarked on 28 Oct 2009, by someone privately.

25 Nov 09

Lisa Spiro
collaboration productivity
18 Nov 09

Mark Blake
Matthew McMahon
Quite an interesting read - with some possible practical ideas ...

diigo
17 Nov 09

David Ing
Our research shows that the performance gap between top and bottom companies in collaboration-intense sectors is nine times that of production- or transaction-intense sectors. [....]
For production workers, productivity is readily measured in terms of units of output; for transaction workers, in operations per hour. But for knowledge workers, what might be thought of as collaboration productivity depends on the quality and quantity of interactions occurring. [....]
... improving collaboration is based on the following steps:
1) classify workers by their workflow profile – the daily activities they do to perform their job
2) match new technologies to the workflows to extend collaboration efforts, improve effectiveness, and reduce inefficiencies [....]

We have identified 12 types of collaboration work (see the interactive exhibit, “Collaboration types and tools”).

collaboration work manyika
12 Nov 09

Andy Green
- a technology that plots work relationships among individuals, reducing search time by providing insights into the pools of knowledge within the company,
  - Andy Green on 2009-11-12
    
    find the travelled paths and then connect directly. (the where to build the walkways on a lawn principle)
10 Nov 09

Driessen Samuel
productivity roi knowledgeworker measuring collaboration
- Unfortunately, the productivity measures for collaboration workers are fuzzy at best. For production workers, productivity is readily measured in terms of units of output; for transaction workers, in operations per hour. But for knowledge workers, what might be thought of as collaboration productivity depends on the quality and quantity of interactions occurring.
- The interactive graphic that accompanies this article provides a synthesis of our view on how organizations can improve collaboration.
- 1 more annotations...
- - As a first step, companies should take a fresh look at their workers, classifying them by how they collaborate. We have identified 12 types of collaboration work (see the interactive exhibit, “Collaboration types and tools”). Each of these is broken down into the day-to-day interactive activities (or workflows) that comprise these work classes. Today most organizations segment their employees by their positions within the corporate hierarchy. They are identified by job titles that, in many cases, obscure the kind of work they actually do.
06 Nov 09

Graham Perrin
2009 2009-11 2009-11-06 unread
- unproductive travel time
  - Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06
    
    On the other hand: it's nice to simply travel without feeling the urge to be productive. Simply read a book, or listen to some music, or have a doze. But that's not what this article's about …
- ideas across corporate and regional boundaries
  - Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06
    
    Knowledge leakage?
- 54 more annotations...
- - ideas markets
    Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06
    
    ?
  - InnoCentive
    Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06
    
    http://www.innocentive.com/
  - Click the image above to launch the interactive
    Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06
    
    Flash media
  - Defining knowledge workers
  - and how they work
  - fresh look
  - 12 types of collaboration work
  - titles that, in many cases, obscure
  - classifications don’t reflect
  - Applying technologies
  - 1
    ) understanding the specific requirements of interactive tasks
  - 2) identifying which tasks create disproportionate value
  - 3) determining the types of inefficiencies and wasted efforts
  - diminish the wasted efforts
  - plots work relationships among individuals
  - insights into the pools
  - forms of waste multiply
  - Fact checking, annotations, and edits lead to handoffs and serial revisions that we term “interpretation” waste
  - inefficiencies arise from “translation.”
    Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06
    
    … and simple multiplication without translation.
  - benchmarks for the most effective way of performing a task. With that knowledge we can
  - select technologies
  - MOVING FORWARD
  - using the methodology outlined here, companies can improve
  - Comments may be edited.
  - Nice interactive
  - how do all of these tools work together
  - how do people know when to use which tool, and under what conditions?
  - silence or a blank stare. Or perhaps: “This is what Microsoft (or IBM or…) offers.”
  - huge need for better knowledge worker collaboration
  - understanding each groups’ manner of collaboration and area of knowledge (or domain expertise) is the key
  - Is collaboration really a technological issue?
  - seminal work that Dr. Harold Leavitt did in the late 1940s
  - the way that people communicate profoundly impacts their task efficiency
  - one to one electronic communication, as in email, actually inhibits community building
  - MIT where you discover a little known study
  - many-to-many, as in chat groups, groupware, etc., actually enables community-building
  - natural outgrowth of the way that people worked internally, and therefore, was highly successful
  - wealth of information about collaboration amongst the social scientist community
  - first understanding why collaboration works, or does not work
  - cultural and social perspective
  - Knowledge workers perform non-repetitive, non-routine work that entails substantial levels of cognitive activity
  - must be led
  - Information cultures require new types of executives
  - people issues
  - collaboration and way of communication of people in Asia, Europe and South and North America is totally different
  - inspiring the collaboration
  - international virtual teams
  - most challenging
  - nor does it help to improve the communication
  - a tool doesn’t help to eliminate these differences
  - motivate the team members to communicate open and frank by using a collaboration tool
  - break down the barrieres of communication
  - a
    good leader of the team can
  - human factor is much more important than the tool
04 Nov 09

Sonja T
collaboration web2.0
02 Nov 09

Bertrand Duperrin
"Knowledge workers fuel innovation and growth, yet the nature of knowledge work remains poorly understood—as do the ways to improve its effectiveness. The heart of what knowledge workers do on the job is collaborate, which in the broadest terms means they interact to solve problems, serve customers, engage with partners, and nurture new ideas. Technology and workflow processes support knowledge worker success and are increasingly sources of comparative differentiation. Those able to use new technologies to reshape how they work are finding significant productivity gains. This article shares our research on how technology can improve the quality and output of knowledge workers. "

knowledgeworkers collaboration innovation productivity workflow problemsolving measurement interactions
- The nature of collaborative work ranges from high levels of abstract thinking on the part of scientists to building and maintaining professional contacts and information networks to more ground-level problem solving.
- But for knowledge workers, what might be thought of as collaboration productivity depends on the quality and quantity of interactions occurring
- 12 more annotations...
- - Our research suggests that improvements depend upon getting a better fix on who actually is doing the collaborating within companies, as well as understanding the details of how that interactive work is done
  - The plan was straightforward: reach more customers and business partners by shifting a large portion of in-person meetings to virtual interactions. Policy and governance changes ensured that technology use became part of daily workflows and not an added task.
  - Over an 18-month period, the initiative saved Cisco more than $100 million in travel and business expenses and reduced the company’s carbon emissions by 24 million metric tons
  - Similarly, P&G has also adopted Web-based technologies to forge better links with partners and customers and to improve the flow of ideas across corporate and regional boundaries. It also set up ideas markets to gather and filter offerings from across the company and signed on with crowd-sourcing network InnoCentive to tap external experts to solve specific problems
  - Besides the savings P&G realized from nearly a thousand fewer business trips each month, the company met its goals of shorter product cycle times and greater product innovation from external sources.²
  - As a first step, companies should take a fresh look at their workers, classifying them by how they collaborate.
  - . They are identified by job titles that, in many cases, obscure the kind of work they actually do
  - Thus, improving collaboration should start with understanding employee workflows to get a more refined view how their work gets done.
  - Companies can best do this by 1) understanding the specific requirements of interactive tasks; 2) identifying which tasks create disproportionate value for the organization; and 3) determining the types of inefficiencies and wasted efforts that bog down many interactions
  - We have documented 10 types of collaboration waste (Exhibit 2). In the case of managers, for example, effective collaboration demands that the manager not only agrees on specific objectives but also that he /she can communicate how to achieve them. T
  - Business managers should allow time and provide forums for collaboration workers to brainstorm solutions to productivity problems. Corporate technology providers will need to provide tools that are flexible enough to enable experimentation, so that usage and adoption are widespread
01 Nov 09

Richard Fahey
collaboration productivity mckinsey km2.0
- Technology and workflow processes support knowledge worker success and are increasingly sources of comparative differentiation. Those able to use new technologies to reshape how they work are finding significant productivity gains.
- Knowledge workers are growing in numbers. In some sectors of the economy, such as healthcare providers and education , they account for 75 percent of the workforce; in the United States, their wages total 18 percent of GDP.
- 2 more annotations...
- - Our research suggests that improvements depend upon getting a better fix on who actually is doing the collaborating within companies, as well as understanding the details of how that interactive work is done. Just as important is deciding how to support interactions with technology—in particular, Web 2.0 tools such as social networks, wikis, and video. There is potential for sizeable gains from even modest improvements. Our survey research shows that at least 20 percent and as much as 50 percent of collaborative activity results in wasted effort. And the sources of this waste—including poorly planned meetings, unproductive travel time, and the rising tide of redundant e-mail communications, just to name a few—are many and growing in knowledge-intense industries.
  - In the collaboration setting, technology is used differently. It multiplies interactions and extends the reach of knowledge workers. That allows for the speedier product development found at P&G and improved partner and customer intimacy at Cisco. In general, this is new terrain for most managers.
Robert H. Desmarteau
technology_worrforce collobaration
31 Oct 09

DA SILVA Maria
Ceux qui sont capables d'utiliser de nouvelles technologies pour remodeler la façon dont ils travaillent trouvent des gains de productivité significatifs. Améliorer la collaboration

collaboration;Animation de communauté
Richard Collin
30 Oct 09

Dave Duarte
collaboration productivity innovation
29 Oct 09

Andrea Back
workstack collaboration productivity enterprise 2.0
Enrique rubio
kworker workforce collaboration enterprise2.0 eInnova tools productivity productividad colaboracion RRHH perfiles workflow_profiles
- This article shares our research on how technology can improve the quality and output of knowledge workers.
- IMPROVING COLLABORATION
  
  The interactive graphic that accompanies this article provides a synthesis of our view on how organizations can improve collaboration.
- 5 more annotations...
- - The graphic’s multilevel approach to improving collaboration is based on the following steps:
    
    1) classify workers by their workflow profile – the daily activities they do to perform their job
    
    2) match new technologies to the workflows to extend collaboration efforts, improve effectiveness, and reduce inefficiencies
  - Defining knowledge workers and how they work
  - We have identified 12 types of collaboration work (see the interactive exhibit, “Collaboration types and tools”). Each of these is broken down into the day-to-day interactive activities (or workflows) that comprise these work classes.
  - Applying technologies
    
    Improving employee collaboration also depends on selecting the technologies that support their interactions. Companies can best do this by 1) understanding the specific requirements of interactive tasks; 2) identifying which tasks create disproportionate value for the organization; and 3) determining the types of inefficiencies and wasted efforts that bog down many interactions.
  - MOVING FORWARD
    
    Furthering collaboration excellence demands mind-sets and capabilities that are unfamiliar and sometimes even counterintuitive to many business managers. It requires trusting your collaboration workers to arrive at creative solutions rather than enforcing top-down policies. Business managers should allow time and provide forums for collaboration workers to brainstorm solutions to productivity problems. Corporate technology providers will need to provide tools that are flexible enough to enable experimentation, so that usage and adoption are widespread.³
Mike Nall
collaboration productivity perfiles km2.0 collobaration
28 Oct 09

Cary H
workflow collaboration

Public Stiky Notes

Ernesto Kiszkurno on 2009-11-09

Nuevamente se mencionan las herramientas de "social media" como la forma de soportar las interacciones.
Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

On the other hand: it's nice to simply travel without feeling the urge to be productive. Simply read a book, or listen to some music, or have a doze. But that's not what this article's about …
Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

Knowledge leakage?
Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

?
Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

http://www.innocentive.com/
Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

Flash media
Andy Green on 2009-11-12

find the travelled paths and then connect directly. (the where to build the walkways on a lawn principle)
Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

… and simple multiplication without translation.

Page Comments

Graham Perrin on 2009-11-06

referred from http://www.relationship-economy.com/?p=7210 via https://twitter.com/fruchter/status/5404922766

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