Combating information overload in the digital age

A digital-first approach is now essential for any organisation with growth aspirations. As a consequence — and while the number of data sources and information sharing channels expands — businesses and their employees are creators and recipients of vast amounts of data each day. Unsurprisingly, many struggle with information overload thanks to the volume, velocity and variety of data that must be managed, stored and protected. Without the right technology and processes to manage, people and infrastructure easily become overwhelmed. This is an issue that many organisations are trying to solve, particularly given how it limits digital transformation progress and hampers operational efficiency.

With a hybrid model pronounced the new way of working, information overload has worsened. Employees have high expectations of digital resources, looking to maintain the same efficiency levels, whether at home or in the office. For many organisations this is not the outcome and without the appropriate technology in place, productivity suffers.

Recent OpenText research revealed that just two in five Aussie workers (42%) feel they have the right digital tools to work at home, compared to 66% at the beginning of the pandemic. To make matters worse, whether working from home or the company office, 41% of Australian employees say that they normally spend, on average, one or more hours per day searching on company networks or shared systems for specific work files or pieces of information just to do their job.

The pandemic has exacerbated information overload

The global pandemic has not only driven new ways of working and accelerated digital transformation but has effectively squeezed 10 years of change into two. and that accelerated rate of change has compounded information overload. Our research found 80% of Australian workers feel overwhelmed by information, compared with just two in five (40%) who felt this way in 2020.

Adopting a fully digitalised working model is never easy for employees, as they need to manage various information sources across multiple devices. The research highlighted that 47% of Australian employees believe their performance at work is negatively impacted by the amount of information they process each day. Nearly half (48%) say this is adding to their stress levels and 37% say it is having a detrimental effect on job satisfaction.

This also creates risks for organisations, as half of all workers are resorting to using personal file-sharing tools to get their jobs done. Those same workers also think they’re doing the right thing, believing their organisations don’t have any policies preventing them from using non-official tools. The reason they’re using these workarounds is because they feel they can’t easily collaborate with colleagues while working from home, nor can they easily access shared resources. Over one-third of workers also struggle with not having the same setup at home as they do in the office.

Alleviating information overload

To help organisations tackle information overload, there are simple tactics companies can implement to reduce the impact of information overload and secure an information advantage.

1. Create a single source of truth: Using an enterprise content management system, businesses can eliminate data silos and create a central platform that will streamline information access.
2. Deploy integrated applications: Employees can simply access data from originating systems, for example, Microsoft Office 365 and Salesforce, avoiding the need to continually switch between multiple applications to access the information they need to do their job.
3. Select a credible cloud-based platform: Cloud platforms offer the same access regardless of where workers are located, make collaboration simple and have the bonus of being administered by a cloud service provider (CSP), minimising the burden of having to manage IT systems internally.

To ensure employees can work effectively under the hybrid working model, organisations must put in place tools to efficiently and sustainably manage their data and combat information overload. By using cloud systems, as well as providing a single source of truth, businesses can alleviate information overload, streamline their digital operations and achieve business goals while staff work from anywhere.

There’s no doubt the rise of the digital age creates positive opportunities for businesses and also underscores the importance for businesses to unlock the value of data through full automation. Managing information is no longer just a problem for individuals in managing their daily lives, both at work and outside work, but it is also an organisational issue that employers need to address.

Image credit: iStock.com/carloscastilla