The performance of knowledge workers EB Decision Making

Knowledge workers Whether nurses, physicians, managers, or staff members, nowadays most workers in healthcare organizations are highly dependent on information and communication technology and are involved in work that involves a high level of cognitive activity.

Discuss with your neighbour (1 min) “Which factors have the highest impact on the performance of knowledge workers?”

I Don’t Know (but I know how to find out) The 3 hardest words in management

A happy employee is a productive employee Most managers think …

GREAT! NOW WHAT? Outcome

Lets have a look at the evidence Professional experience and judgment Organizational data, facts and figures Stakeholders’ values and concerns Scientific research outcomes Ask Acquire Appraise Apply Assess

Step 1: ASK Translate a practical issue into an answerable question

Question “Which of the factors that are related to the performance of knowledge workers are most widely studied and what is known of their effect?”

Step 2: ACQUIRE Search for the best available scientific evidence

 ABI, BSP, PsycINFO  Scholarly journals, peer reviewed  1980 – 2013  English  performance, productivity, knowledge work* ACQUIRE

step 3: APPRAISE & AGGREGATE

Most widely studied 1. Task Cohesion Relationship conflicts Transactive memory Social cohesion Support for innovation 30+

Effect size?

Largest effect (r) 1. Social cohesion.5 /.7 2. Perceived supervisory support.5 3. Information sharing / TM.5 4. Vision / goal clarity.5 5. Trust.3 /.6

Step 4: APPLY

Step 6: APPLY Evidence-based findings: 5 factors What is it & how can you measure it? How can you ‘enhance’ it?

Three examples social cohesion supervisory support information sharing

Social cohesion

… a shared liking or team attraction that includes bonds of friendship, caring, closeness, and enjoyment of each other’s company.

Social cohesion

Measuring social cohesion

Perceived supervisory support

…how employees feel the supervisor helps them in times of need, praises them for a job well done or recognizes them for extra effort. Perceived supervisory support

Measuring perc. sup. support

Information sharing

Information sharing? …refers to how teams pool and access their knowledge and expertise – which positively affects decision making and team processes. This has led to the idea of a team ‘Transactive Memory System’ (TMS), which can be thought of as a collective memory in a collective mind - enabling a team to think and act together

Information sharing

Measuring information sharing

In the next weeks, before you make a decision, ask yourself:  What exactly is the problem?  What is the evidence available?  Was any attempt made to explicitly evaluate its trustworthiness?