Epicor Software Corporation, a global business software solutions provider for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organisations, has announced that the pressure to make blind business decisions at work is leaving many UK office workers stressed and worried that they are unable to do what is asked of them, according to new research.
The research conducted by ICM on behalf of Epicor Software Corporation, reveals that over three quarters of UK office workers (76%) have had to make un-informed decisions at some point in their career. Yet, the need to make these decisions could be inadvertently putting employees' health and wellbeing at risk, with 38% of office workers suggesting that making decisions without sufficient information leads to higher than necessary stress levels.
According to the research, this stress is likely to be caused by concerns over the ramifications of un-informed decisions. Workers feel it could damage their personal reputation (32%), or lead to poor personal performance (29%), while one in five even fear that they may lose their job as a result of making wrong decisions (20%).
The impact of un-informed decisions doesn't just affect employees' performance, but the organisations too. Consequences to business include poor organisational performance (24%), loss of revenue (16%) and absenteeism (7%) which is often quoted as a result of stress placed on employees.
Despite these risks, many workers are frequently asked to make un-informed decisions with just under a third (23%) doing so on a weekly basis and 15% on a daily basis. The findings reaffirm the results from the PwC 2014 Big Decisions survey 'Gut & gigabytes' in which less than a third of employees (32%) describe decision making within their organisation as "highly data driven."
A data-driven approach could provide a simple solution to the problem. The majority of employees believe that if organisations could put better systems in place, it will help to combat these issues – with 46% of the respondents suggesting that the solution can be found with technology.
"With the company's reputation, revenue and staff welfare at stake, it's vital that organisations put the technology and systems in place to enable employees to make confident decisions, particularly in high-pressure, fast moving industries such as manufacturing and distribution where there is little room for error," said Keith Deane, EVP and General Manager International for Epicor Software.
"The fact that people get stressed when having to make decisions without the right information at their fingertips, and that they are concerned that it may cost them their job, is something that organisations need to take seriously," added Deane.
John Atherley, IT manager for Epicor ERP customer Maher Limited, and a committee member of the Epicor EMEA User Group adds; "With so much data now available to businesses, piecing it all together to provide actionable insight can be daunting. But in reality, the true value of informed decision making shouldn't be underestimated. Since introducing an ERP system into our business, not only are employees happier and more confident, but we've been able to make better decisions, faster and grow our business significantly."
To help organisations make better decisions Epicor has developed a suite of end-to-end enterprise software solutions that enables companies to pull together data from across the enterprise to provide tactical information and strategic insight. Epicor ERP gives companies a technology platform that can inspire them as they conduct business today and in the future – on any device, anytime, anywhere in the world. It is an enterprise solution that supports growth and expansion into new markets, encouraging companies to connect with their customers, partners, employees and products in new and innovative ways.
The survey was conducted by ICM Unlimited, part of Creston Unlimited, a UK-based marcoms and research group [March 2015]. The online poll was conducted among 500 office workers in the UK and 400 in each of the following markets: Germany, Sweden, UAE, with the total sample of 1,700. All work was carried out in compliance with ISO 27001 & 20252
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