Daniel Jones
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The right platform for the right job

In a recent CIO Dive article Lindsey Wilkinson writes about how inefficient tools lead to lower job satisfaction. There are so many good points in the article, but we are just going to pick out a few which stood out to us as areas we can help.

8 in 10 IT managers struggle to collect and use relevant IT data, according to the survey.

Perhaps you know about the DIKW model or pyramid, a framework for knowledge management. The foundation of the pyramid (D) is Data, without which the higher levels – Information, Knowledge and Wisdom – cannot be built.

Without key data, there’s no chance for teams and executives to make decisions and plans for the future. When a plan is built on assumptions it’s likely to fail.

Over 60% of respondents agreed that leaders need to enable lower-skilled staff to fix issues. 

Sometimes we see teams that are worried about giving free reign to new starters, or those who are just learning. Some teams, especially those with high demands on their time and high expectations, don’t always have the time to go through thorough onboarding and training. People are expected to hit the ground running. This can lead to some members being nervous to take action, because they don’t feel fully comfortable. They’re always checking in, getting their ideas double and triple checked because they’re not sure. If you add 6 or 7 different tools to this scenario, you end up with staff who can feel paralysed.

This is supported by other research too, the Enterprise Strategy Group recently sent out this graphic.

Dan Pink, in his book Drive, puts forward the idea that intrinsic motivation is built on three things: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. When one is missing, people can start to lose intrinsic motivation and require more extrinsic motivation. In this case, when autonomy is missing people start to feel micromanaged and watched, unable to take even minor decisions leading to disenfranchised workers who can’t wait until the day is over. In the article, Lindsey says that ‘Unsatisfied employees might search for opportunities… at other organizations.’ 

Oftentimes people who are given autonomy, within reasonable limits of course, move towards mastery. While these can be two separate motivators, mastery comes when people have the opportunity to succeed and fail. Dan Pink talks about ‘Goldilocks’ tasks, which are ‘just right’ in their ability to challenge and stretch team members. These tasks can be developed with team members, helping them to reach just beyond where they are comfortable to learn new skills and uncover new capabilities. 

Many analysts have called for a more unified approach in tech departments to mitigate risks and improve operational efficiency.

Everyone knows the pain of copying from one window to another, from one tool to another and the countless hours lost to duplicating information needed by one tool but collected by another. We’re sure you’ve heard the stories, as we have, of people automating data transfer between two or three or even more tools and saving days of work hours, but automating information transfer between tools is only winning half the battle. Finding a quicker and simpler way to share information between multiple tools can feel like a big win, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problem. 

Another quote from the article says:

Companies that buy lots of tools but don’t use them efficiently and effectively create even more confusion for IT teams.

We wrote about this recently in our blog about how Runecast can benefit Procurement teams, that even keeping track of multiple tools and pieces of technology can be an arduous task, without even moving on to using them all effectively. 

Runecast is a platform which will help you win the battle against information overload. Clarity and efficiency is baked into the fabric of Runecast, giving your teams access to what they need before they’ve even thought of it. Together with Runecast, your teams can move from reactive to proactive, from drowning in useless information to cutting out the noise and moving forwards in total confidence.

In her article, Lindsey talks about customisable dashboards, showing the valuable information, removing siloed workflows and presenting a ‘more unified approach… to mitigate risks and improve operational efficiency.’ What an excellent description of Runecast. 

Runecast enables even your newest starters to get up to speed incredibly quickly, and helps them on the journey of mastery and autonomy. When you have confidence that you have the right data, in the right hands, you can have confidence in your teams to make the right decisions and leave your technology in a better situation than when they found it.

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