Akixi has issued top tips in overcoming an increasingly problematic remote and hybrid working trend called ‘analysis paralysis’.
The term first emerged when psychologist Barry Schwartz introduced the concept of the ‘Paradox of Choice’, which essentially means more options often lead to more confusion, indecision, and anxiety among consumers.
Akixi says in their report on the matter: “For years, the concept of analysis paralysis has been applied to consumer decision making, and the importance of being able to simplify the path to purchase. However, analysis paralysis isn’t just a problem facing modern consumers – it can also impact the workforce too.
“Just like your customers, employees in the modern workplace can often feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data they have access to, and the multitude of tools they have to leverage that information.”
There are an array of reasons why analysis paralysis is an issue, but particularly for remote and hybrid workers. It can result in lost productivity by stopping agents from performing well by forcing them to spend too much time over-thinking each step of their strategy. It can also create reduced creativity, with agents struggling to access the right information in a consumable manner meaning employees have a harder time thinking outside of the box. Finally, it also results in total lack of engagement as the more stressed employees are by issues of analysis paralysis, the more likely they are to lose interest in working.
Akixi adds: “The hybrid working model is considered by many to be the ultimate solution for the ‘return to work’. It provides companies with access to the perfect combination of in-office and remote working benefits. On the one hand, you have remote work, where employees can achieve better levels of productivity and improved work/life balance, while companies benefit from smaller overheads.
“On the other hand, hybrid work also allows for the maintenance of the ‘traditional’ office space, where teams can come together to collaborate in-person, maintain strong workplace connections, and drive improved company culture.
“Unfortunately, there are downsides to hybrid work too, particularly during these early stages of evolution. As companies attempt to build the perfect hybrid working landscape, many are dealing with multiple overlapping tools, disjointed communication, and imperfect strategies for collaboration.
“Dozens of crucial tools, collaboration systems, analytics services, and sources of information working together at once creates confusion, inconsistency, and ultimately, analysis paralysis. Even before the pandemic, the average knowledge worker spent around 30% of their workday searching for information.”
Thankfully, they’ve issued some top tips to help battle the problem of analysis paralysis. These include:
- Provide agents with relevant information: Avoid information overload by building specific informational dashboards for your agents, supervisors, and other members of your team. For any information your agents don’t need instantly, create a knowledge base that’s easy to search through. You could even use virtual agents to help agents surface crucial data
- Use data for decision making: Use the long-term data your company collects to predict potential trends in customer demand, service patterns, and more. This will help you to prepare for any potential issues that might affect your team’s productivity
- Provide training: Ensure employees in all environments (remote and in the office) have access to the right training, guidance, and support to help them make decisions at speed. Create policies and procedures for team members to follow when dealing with complicated issues, so they spend less time wondering ‘what next?’.
- Encourage agility: Encourage team members to make agile decisions by training them on team best practices and using gamification. Competitions based around crucial customer service KPIs can motivate and engage employees, while simultaneously preventing them from moving too slowly when making decisions
- Respond quickly to problems: As you continue to develop your hybrid workplace, keep an eye on areas where your employees seem to struggle with information overload, analysis paralysis, or even just limited access to information. Gathering feedback from team members will help you to optimise as you go
