5 Ways Better Data Insight Can Improve Innovation and Productivity

Most businesses ask their workers to innovate. Employees participate in brainstorms and are encouraged to “get creative” and “think outside the box.” But what many businesses forget is that true innovation requires time.

Just as teams need resources like manpower, software solutions, and technology, they also need time to push the boundaries and move into the realm of innovation.

Workfront’s 2018 State of Work report found that most U.S. workers (64%) are asked to think of how they can do things in a new way, and most (58%) also say they are so swamped with day-to-day work that they just don’t have time to be innovative.

To bridge this gap, managers need to be willing to give their teams more time so they can deliver more innovative ideas. But with most workweeks completely booked, where can they find this time?

While we can’t add more hours to a day, we can free up time by using data to our advantage. Here are five ways that insight into productivity and performance data can improve innovation.

1. Eliminate Unnecessary Meetings

We’ve all sat through a meeting while in the back of our minds thinking about the ever-growing list of tasks we would rather be working on. In the State of Work report, 21% of respondents said having fewer meetings throughout the week would help them do more with less. Just over half (51%) said they aren’t using a work management platform but would like to.

These numbers tell us how employees would prefer to work: relying on an operational system of record (OSR) that allows them to spend less time in meetings and more time doing meaningful work.

With an OSR that gives managers insight into data like project status, percent of tasks complete, and current workloads, time that was previously spent in meetings is now free for more innovative work.

If you take a minute to estimate how many hours you spend in meetings each week, you’ll be surprised at how much time you can regain just by eliminating the unnecessary ones.

2. Use Teams to their Fullest Potential

Alex Shootman, Workfront CEO, believes that much of the future of work will rely on teams and their ability to succeed as a group. “The future of performance management in organizations is going to be more and more about the performance of the network of people you’re working with, as opposed to the performance of you as an individual,” he said.

Unfortunately, transparency is lacking in many teams. Consider the percentage of the State of Work report respondents that strongly and somewhat agree with the following statements:

• “I don’t have a clear idea of what my colleagues are working on.” (86%)
• “I am clear on my own work and priorities, but other people’s work is a mystery.” (61%)
• “I don’t have a clear idea of what my colleagues are working on.” (42%)

When workers don’t have a clear picture of who is doing what, time is wasted redoing work, communicating about tasks, and piecing information together. Insight into productivity data can solve this problem and save workers time that is much better spent on creative strategizing.

3. Gain Clear Insight into Project Scope

The top two responses the State of Work report respondents gave as the primary reasons projects are delayed were that the full scope of the project isn’t understood (36%) and that the work isn’t prioritized correctly (35%). Both of these issues can significantly inhibit innovation.

When the scope of a project is fully understood by all workers and stakeholders, and tasks are clearly prioritized, teams can tackle a project effectively the first time and have the freedom and time to approach the project creatively.

Managers can use productivity and project data to determine how long routine tasks take, and use similar projects as a gauge to set accurate timelines. Data can provide insight into how many workers — and even which ones have the required time and skills — to assign to a project.

Good data also helps prevent scope creep because managers can see early warning signs that a project is crossing boundaries and can change course before the project is affected.

4. Make Good Decisions the First Time

Nimal Manuel, McKinsey senior partner, says that more and more leaders are recognizing that decisions need to be based on solid data. “There’s an increasing awareness that to compete and be sustainable, they’ve got to go beyond gut instinct for doing business. It’s got to be data-driven, it’s got to be analytics-oriented, and that’s how business decisions have got to be made, on the commercial side as well as the operations side,” he said.

Results from the State of Work report confirm this — two in five (40%) workers say they have good data but still struggle to make the right decisions with it. In other words, they recognize the importance of data-driven decisions, but in many cases, they struggle to follow through with it.

Many managers see data out of context, which makes it more difficult to make decisions. An OSR is the key to putting data into context so that managers can see more than numbers — they can see what those numbers mean in terms of productivity and team performance so they can make the best decisions.

Better decision-making eliminates rework and allows projects to run more efficiently, giving employees more time to innovate.

5. Make Reporting a Snap

Better data insight can automate reporting so managers don’t waste time looking for information and compiling it into reports. When reporting is fast, efficient, and accurate, it can save managers a significant number of hours per week, leaving far more time to innovate. Solid data also gives leaders insight into where processes can be improved to save teams time, so they can get creative and produce innovative results.

While data can’t add more hours to the day, it can give managers greater visibility into their teams and processes, which is a powerful way to free up workers’ time, giving them more time innovate.

Laura Butler is Workfront’s SVP of People and Culture. She has spent the last 20 years shaping global talent management strategies for Fortune 500 corporations, and was named in the San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women list.