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Streamlining Data Excess in Your Business

Daily data deluge within organizations persists, despite attempts to optimize flow via new digital channels. Overwhelmed employees grapple with information overabundance, resulting in constant meeting attendance that drains their energy for actual work. They often express feelings of exhaustion.

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Information flood within organizations escalates daily, disregarding endeavors to simplify flow...
Information flood within organizations escalates daily, disregarding endeavors to simplify flow using digital means. Overwhelmed employees struggle under the burden of information surplus. Nowadays, employees participate in continuous meetings, draining their energy for actual tasks. They typically feel exhausted...

Drowning in Emails, Meetings, and Chaos? Here's How to Tame the Information Beast

Streamlining Data Excess in Your Business

Who doesn't love that feeling of inbox zero or a clutter-free desk? Yet, in the modern workplace, this elusive dream seems further away than ever. As information swirls around us, we find ourselves drowning in a sea of emails, meetings, and endless communication threads. And it's not just our productivity that suffers; employee burnout, mistrust, and discord can result too. So, what's a time-strapped employee to do? Let's dive into some strategies to navigate this stormy ocean of data.

The Overflowing Inbox is Only the Tip of the Iceberg

What starts your day on a disorganized note? If it's an overflowing inbox with threaded conversations, meeting invitations, and external solicitations, you're not alone. But the deluge doesn't end there. Concentrated work periods are interrupted constantly by messages that ping up on internal messaging systems, and searching across multiple programs or platforms for the needed information only compounds the chaos.

It's not just the sheer volume of information that's at fault. The information itself can be the real culprit. Duplicated communication from team members and leaders on the same subject at the same time, messages deemed irrelevant to our work, the effort required to understand and filter out what's relevant—all contribute to the information burden. Moreover, inconsistent or conflicting messages can further muddle our minds.

Managers, Be Prepared to Navigate Rough Waters

Managers and those in supervisory roles are, unfortunately, the ones who face the heaviest impact of information overload. Misguided decisions, avoidance behaviors, and negative responses to change can be a common consequence. Managers often struggle to control or manage the information that flows through them to their team members, which can lead to misaligned strategies, aversion to critical changes, and even poor decision-making.

Brace Yourself for Stormy Seas: The Solution Lies Ahead

But fear not! Organizational leadership has a crucial role to play in reducing this overwhelming tide of information. Here are two key strategies to tackle the issue.

Sail in a Calm Sea with a Low-Burden Culture

Implicit communication norms, left unaddressed, can leave employees unsure of what is expected. Establishing clear expectations of information flow is vital to create a shared understanding, enhancing psychological safety among teams and enabling them to address instances of communication violations swiftly. This sets the stage for smoother access and flow of information, particularly for new team members and those moving across teams.

Be Accountable, Be Successful

Disparate information sources create confusion over what's critical and what can be ignored. It's essential to establish shared governance over information, ensuring that everyone responsible for generating it understands the importance of their contributions. This shared effort can help address the challenges posed by excessive information.

Set Sail Towards a Shared Vision

Establishing shared governance requires getting everyone on the same page, understanding the current experience and deciding on an ideal one. A shared understanding of the situation helps teams agree on a standard set of rules of engagement. The starting point for this journey could be the company intranet, which, if improved, can save employees valuable time.

Organizations should bring together teams responsible for managing communication channels like IT, HR, and Communications. Also, functions that face a high volume of information, such as support and sales, have a significant role to play in the reform.

By navigating these turbulent waters, organizations can help employees sail through the information deluge, achieve better performance, and foster a more collaborative, efficient, and engaging workplace.

Taming the Information Deluge: A Guide for Your Organizationby LK Klein, Emily Earl, and Dorian Cundick, Harvard Business Review, 2023/05

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