68 Percent of U.S. Workers Say They Regularly Spend Time on Low Value, Inefficient Tasks, New Eagle Hill Consulting Research Finds

Employees Have Ideas on Operational Efficiencies That Most Organizations Aren't Tapping

ARLINGTON, Va., March 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Improving organizational efficiency is a continuous focus of organizations, yet a new nationwide survey of U.S employees from Eagle Hill Consulting finds there is much room for improvement. More than two-thirds of employees (68 percent) indicate much of their time is spent on low-value inefficient tasks. The research also finds this inefficiency appears to be top of mind for workers. Seventy-eight percent of employees indicate that they regularly exchange ideas with colleagues on how to do their work more efficiently, but organizations often aren't leveraging employee ideas.

These findings are detailed in new research from Eagle Hill Consulting, "Are Employee Ideas the Hidden key to operational efficiency?" Read the research.

"Efficiency is the backbone of a high-performing organization, yet many workers report inefficiency in their day-to-day work," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. "Efficiency in organizations is crucial because it maximizes productivity, reduces costs, and creates a better customer and employee experience. Ultimately, efficiency is a competitive advantage because organizations that operate efficiently can adapt quickly, offer better prices, and outperform."

"A first step in improving efficiency is to engage employees on ways to improve efficiency as they are steeped in the day-to-day work and often are frustrated by inefficiency. Our research finds employees already are talking about how to streamline their work, so tapping into their ideas is a must. Other steps that can make a real impact are leveraging technology to automate and streamline processes, finding ways to improve communication and collaboration, and training workers on productivity skills and decision making," Jezior said.

Key findings of the research are as follows:

    --  Most employees want to improve efficiency. More than three-fourths of
        employees (78 percent) indicate they regularly exchange ideas with
        colleagues on how to work more efficiently, while 66 percent have shared
        their ideas with their organization.
    --  Employees often know how to support business optimization, but their
        organizations aren't tapping into their ideas. More than half of workers
        (56 percent) say their organization doesn't incentivize them to find
        ways to be more efficient. Forty-one percent say that their organization
        rarely or never seeks their ideas to make improvements, while 44 percent
        report that their organization doesn't support employee initiatives to
        improve efficiency.
    --  Many organizations lack a clear process for submitting ideas to improve
        operational performance. Sixty-three percent of employees report their
        organizational lacks a clear process to submit ideas for improvement,
        with nearly a quarter (23 percent) reporting their organization has no
        process at all. Employees at organizations with a clearly defined
        process for sharing ideas are about two times more likely to also report
        that their organization is effective at improving productivity.
    --  Organizations often fall short in implementing employees' ideas to
        improve efficiency. Thirty-eight percent of employees say it's unlikely
        their efficiency will be implemented, while 42 percent don't feel
        empowered to implement changes based on their ideas. The vast majority
        of workers (83 percent) say their organization struggles to generate
        ideas for change. Nearly half of employees (48 percent) find it
        difficult to put ideas into practice, and 39 percent say it is difficult
        getting changes approved.

The research also offers practical solutions for employers to break old paradigms and tap into a goldmine of employee ideas on improving efficiency. Read the five actions.

The findings are based upon the 2025 Eagle Hill Consulting Workplace Efficiency Survey conducted by Ipsos from January16 - 22, 2025. The survey included 1,375 respondents from a random sample of employees across the U.S.

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Strategy, Performance, Talent, and Change. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. A leading authority on employee sentiment, Eagle Hill is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with employees across the U.S. and offices in Boston and Seattle. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

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SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting LLC