Nintex Study Pinpoints Corporate America's Most Broken Processes and the Resulting Impact on Employee Performance and Retention
Study finds inefficient technology troubleshooting, onboarding, and administrative processes dampen productivity levels and are causing U.S. employees to seek new jobs
BELLEVUE, Wash., Jan. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintex, the recognized global leader in workflow and content automation (WCA), today released a new study revealing the top five most broken processes in American workplaces and how they contribute to employee satisfaction and performance.
One of America’s most broken processes begins on day one with employee onboarding. A new Nintex study found that 58 percent of U.S. employees report employee onboarding as a top broken process.
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The study, called the "Definitive Guide to America's Most Broken Processes," found that a third of employees at U.S. companies (with more than 1,000 employees) are currently looking for new jobs, with the vast majority (86 percent) citing their company's broken processes as a driving factor behind this decision. One commonality found in the research is that the top five issues are unspecialized, repetitive tasks that fall in the long tail of business processes, which must be automated to drive efficiency, efficacy and employee satisfaction.
The top five most broken corporate processes cited by survey respondents include:
Technology troubleshooting
Access to tools and documents that enable good job performance
Annual performance reviews
Promotions
Employee onboarding
"Broken processes within American enterprises like trouble contacting IT and inconsistent performance reviews are taking a serious toll on employee morale and increasingly becoming a top concern for C-suite leaders," says Nintex CEO John Burton. "Given the Nintex study findings, it's clear that automating the long tail of business processes can no longer be postponed. By automating processes, business leaders can ensure a strong foundation for positively improving employee retention and productivity."
STUDY HIGHLIGHTS
Inefficient IT Teams Cause Shadow IT and Security Threats Sixty-two percent of employees observe broken IT processes within their organization, making this the most problematic department across today's workplaces. Only 24 percent of employees report very prompt service from in-house IT teams, and that number dropped to a mere 7 percent for remote IT teams.
As a result, employees increasingly threaten enterprise security by engaging in shadow IT (using an unsanctioned app or device at work), with nearly half of millennials (46 percent) doing so in direct response to delayed IT troubleshooting and over-complicated technology that is difficult for the line of business to navigate.
What's more, the biggest culprits of shadow IT are, in fact, IT professionals themselves; 60 percent have used unsanctioned apps or devices because of unresolved IT problems.
Untapped Potential and Unclear Career Paths Drive Employee Turnover With more than two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents believing their company's broken processes prevent them from maximizing their potential, it's no surprise inefficiency is a driving force behind employee turnover.
While digitally-native millennials are particularly likely to cite broken processes as a reason for quitting, 35 percent of Gen X employees are also actively job hunting (revealing a broader, cross-generational issue).
Additionally, 53 percent of employees observe broken administrative processes (like promotions) in their workplace, among which only 13 percent say their career path is "very clearly" defined.
Without a clear path for advancement, employees don't stick around long; 63 percent of employees who say processes for advancement are not clearly defined are looking for new jobs.
Most Employees Don't Know Who to Blame for Broken Processes When it comes to addressing broken processes, most employees don't agree on who's to blame. For IT shortcomings, a quarter of IT employees blame the CEO, but only 13 percent of total respondents do.
When it comes to broken onboarding processes, a much larger percentage (20 percent) hold the CEO accountable, yet 53 percent blame HR.
"In many organizations, broken processes are everywhere. But, due to IT's countless other priorities, most companies have designated them as unsolvable issues," says Nintex SVP Technology Strategy Ryan Duguid. "Fortunately advancements in intelligent process automation solutions are changing all of this. In 2018 and beyond, American workers should feel empowered as the technology is available today to easily automate, orchestrate and optimize their own business processes, eliminating frustration and ensuring everyone is better equipped to reach top potential."
Nintex views intelligent process automation (IPA) as the key to realizing untapped opportunities in the long tail of automation. IPA solutions offer a unique blend of 'simplicity and sophistication' and are designed to be used by information workers to accelerate digital transformation for corporations around the world.
Nintex will be unveiling the new era of IPA during its annual conference, Nintex xchange™, taking place February 26-28, 2018 in San Diego, Calif. To register for Nintex xchange visit www.nintex.com/xchange.
Study Methodology The study by Nintex was conducted by Lucid Research in July 2017 and completed by 1,000 full-time employees at U.S. enterprises with more than 1,000 employees. The individuals surveyed hold roles in key functional areas like HR, sales, finance, and IT.
About Nintex Nintex is the recognized global leader in workflow and content automation (WCA) with more than 7,500 enterprise clients and 1,700 partners in 90 countries who have built and published millions of workflow applications. With its unmatched breadth of capability and platform support delivered by unique architectural capabilities, Nintex empowers the line of business and IT departments to quickly automate hundreds of manual processes to progress on the journey to digital transformation. Nintex Workflow Cloud®, the company's cloud platform, connects with all content repositories, systems of record, and people to consistently fuel successful business outcomes. Visit www.nintex.com to learn more.
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