New research finds link between faster decision-making and a greater share of profit
Large businesses with access to the right data make faster organizational decisions and are more likely to see 16% higher profits*, according to analysis
Tuesday December 15th, 2020: A new report has found that big businesses in the US and UK are taking too long to make important organizational decisions. Yet, a study by Orgvue found that those with access to the right data make faster decisions, resulting in an average 16% higher profit growth opportunity.
Access to the right data helps speed the decision making processes. This was especially important in 2020 when respondents said that the number of decisions made increased significantly. For example, in 2020, US organizations made 82% more customer-oriented decisions; 75% more workforce deployment decisions; and 73% more organizational efficiency decisions. Businesses that are 30% faster at addressing inefficiency and ineffectiveness in their organizations said they always have access to the data they need to make a decision.
Time to make a decision also plays an important role. Yet, just over a third said they have the right amount of time to make a decision, with 61% calling out for more time to get it right. Likely because a large majority (89%) of the senior business leaders surveyed felt that organizations risked being left behind by the competition if they take too long to make important decisions.
The research conducted by specialist technology research company, Vanson Bourne, and organizational planning software firm, Orgvue, polled 750 senior business leaders in the US and UK to find out whether there was a correlation between faster organizational decision making and greater business performance. And if so, what it takes to make better decisions faster.
While it was evident data-driven decisions improved speed, 79% of respondents said they’ve made important decisions in the last year based on instinct. Over half (55%) said they’ve hesitated to make an organizational decision in the past year, although the US is less likely to be cautious (49%) when compared to the UK (67%).
The problem is the stakes are higher as 89% say the impacts of their decisions are lasting longer than ever. And almost two thirds (60%) said their confidence was knocked due to the uncertainty brought by COVID with more factors to consider than ever before. With a new administration on the horizon and a prevailing sense of uncertainty, making faster decisions with confidence will be important.
Rupert Morrison, CEO at Orgvue, said: “Too many businesses still find themselves hesitating in the hope that a silver bullet solution presents itself for the organizational challenges they’re currently facing. They’re asking themselves ‘what now?’ when the real question they should be asking is ‘what if?’. While COVID has caused unprecedented disruption for businesses globally in 2020, it’s not the first time a crisis has thrown us into uncharted territory, and it won’t be the last.
Our research is clear, leadership by instinct under these circumstances is a one way ticket to slow decision making and could mean leaving cash on the table. Instead, invest in getting the right data to the right people and continuously model different scenarios. By doing so, you can make swift decisions fearlessly and we’ve seen how those organizations prepared to commit quickly and confidently to a course of action are seeing a greater chunk of revenue turn to profit.”
Overall, 71% said they’ve regretted making a business decision too slowly, with a third (35%) saying that their hesitation caused a negative impact on operational efficiency and productivity, a further 34% said it caused employees to lose engagement and 29% said it caused further customer dissatisfaction.
*profit as a proportion of total revenue
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Notes to editors
Time to Decision research study
Time To Decision research methodology:
Don’t Cry Wolf and Orgvue commissioned independent technology market research specialist Vanson Bourne in order to delve into the different factors that go into any decision making process, how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected this, and how time-to-decision should be a key success metric for driving ahead with the future of work.
750 senior business decision makers were interviewed in October and November 2020, from a range of departments across an organisation; from IT and Operations, through to Finance and HR. The respondents were from a variety of private and public sectors, across the US and the UK, and were from organizations with more than 1,000 employees.
Interviews were conducted online using a rigorous multi-level screening process to ensure that only suitable candidates were given the opportunity to participate.
U.S. Media contact:
Lisa Langsdorf, [email protected].
About Orgvue
Orgvue, the leading organizational planning and design software platform, harnesses the power of data visualisation and modeling to build more adaptable, better performing organizations in an era of constantly changing market dynamics. HR, Finance and business leaders use the platform to take control of their organizations and, with data evidence, make faster, more confident decisions that get the right people doing the right work, in the right places, at the right costs. Founded in 2008 and funded by £41M in growth equity investment (May 2018), Orgvue has been implemented by the world’s largest enterprises and leading management consulting firms to fearlessly build the organizations they want tomorrow, today. For more information, visit www.orgvue.com.
About Vanson Bourne
Vanson Bourne is an independent specialist in market research for the technology sector. Their reputation for robust and credible research-based analysis is founded upon rigorous research principles and their ability to seek the opinions of senior decision makers across technical and business functions, in all business sectors and all major markets.