Dropbox research shows UK construction wasting time on valueless tasks
On average, business and IT decision makers from UK construction organisations waste over a quarter (29%) of their time at work on tasks that do not add critical value. This is according to Vanson Bourne research commissioned by Dropbox “The State of Collaboration”, which revealed that monotonous admin is starving UK businesses of innovation.
The findings revealed that decision makers in the construction sector are spending too much time on administrative tasks, which is preventing them from focusing their time on creative activities and being productive. To overcome this, nine-in-10 (93%) believe collaboration is critical at every stage of the construction process if they are to avoid unnecessary costs and setbacks. A similar number (88%) agree they would deliver more projects on time if everyone involved – the on-site team, management, architects, suppliers and contractors – had access to live documents and plans in real-time.
“The pace of technological change has us racing around from morning until night, working every minute and attempting to squeeze as much as we can out of a day. With concerns about a burnout epidemic on the rise, the way we work needs to change,” said Adrienne Gormley, Head of EMEA, Dropbox. “With decision makers being time poor, it is of paramount importance that organisations can reduce this waste and maximise the amount of time that their employees are allocating towards creative and business critical activities.”
Recognising the problem is a good start for the construction industry, with the majority (55%) believing that significant or large improvements are needed when it comes to collaborative working across teams. 84% of the decision makers surveyed in the construction industry agreed that their organisation’s ability to finish projects on time is dependent on collaboration tools, with nearly all (91%) agreeing that streamlining their use of tools and apps will help them save time searching for content and files, and so become more productive.
Although moving towards a more collaborative working culture will not be simple, the research found that a connected workspace, which brings together people, tools, content and the conversations around them, can lay the groundwork for a collaborative culture, whilst driving the organisation forward in the process. 86% say that a connected workspace that does all of these things would improve business results and the way that their teams work.
Collaboration tools are among the biggest investment priorities for over a third (37%) of construction organisations over the next 12-24 months. And it’s money well prioritised – 86% believe that if their organisation is to successfully innovate then they must first increase their investment in a work environment that unifies their content, tools and teams.
“There are so many upsides to implementing a collaborative working culture, and the organisations who recognise this and take timely action to encourage it, will find themselves ahead of those who fail to recognise the importance,” said Adrienne Gormley, Head of EMEA, Dropbox. “But as much as the prospect of a streamlined, focused future is appealing, it is clear that businesses first need to stop, hit re-start, and work with solutions that reduce the noise, not add to it.”
