2018 Operational Excellence Report Finds Wide Gaps in Workplace Operations Outlook

Disparities Point to Disconnect Between Managers, Non-Managers on Readiness to Compete

San Jose, Calif. – According to a report released today by Wrike, only 32% of managers would say their team is a “well-oiled machine”  and even fewer workers (21%) would agree. Wrike’s Operational Excellence Report examines the current state of operations within organizations and their readiness to compete in the digital economy. The company defines operational excellence as the ability to plan, manage and complete projects at scale. The Operational Excellence report sheds light on the perceptions of managers versus non-managers of their teams’ capacity to accomplish work and tasks in increasingly challenging, digital environments. It finds varying views on how efficiently organizations operate versus top competitors, how well their teams could handle an increase in workloads and how they would rate their own operational excellence. The report also examines the differing viewpoints on challenges in executing work, collaborating across teams and the unseen costs of poor operations. Key findings include:

• 55% of managers feel confident their teams can handle a 20% increase in workload. Non-managers are less optimistic, with 43% thinking they can handle the increase.
• Half of all respondents believe work is done “across too many systems creating duplication of work and communication.”
• Half of all managers and 33% of non-managers report feeling anxiety over new processes or process change.
• More than 80% of Millenials and 75% of Gen Xers admit to either becoming disengaged with work or searching for a new job out of frustration over the lack of operational efficiency at work.
• Women are less likely than men to feel their suggestions for improvements in the workplace would be considered or implemented by management.
• Freeing workers from low-level repetitive work is the top benefit respondents would like to derive from automation. Reducing employee headcount is last.

“Flawless execution is now a core requirement to compete in the on-demand market, where higher customer expectations and constant change are the new norm,” said Andrew Filev, CEO of Wrike. “This report highlights the hurdles many organizations face in bringing their operations to that next level, where Operational Excellence is not only a status to be achieved, but also something ingrained in a company’s culture. We believe these findings will help business leaders foster excellence throughout their teams.” The Wrike Operational Excellence Report is available for download at https://www.wrike.com/library/ebooks/wrike-operational-excellence-report-2018/ Research for the report was conducted by Atomik Research, which surveyed more than a thousand U.S. workers at companies with over 100 employees.