Sunday, January 21, 2007

Press release

For immediate distribution

The Real ?LOST?: Office Workers Waste $5 Billion Looking for Lost Information

Results of WHITE COLLAR PRODUCTIVITY INDEX (WPI) confirm information management skills affect time management capability of US office workers.

San Diego, January 22, 2007 ? Incoming Information is impacting today?s workers as if it were a fire hose spraying full force at them. It is overwhelming to the point where workers are not sure where to put information so that they can find it at a later date when they need this information to do work. It?s simple and completely lost. According to IBT-USA?s White Collar Productivity Index, office workers are spending about 1.7 hours per week looking for information they have lost. When mathematically extended, looking for lost information is costing US corporations over $5 billion dollars per year.

According to Bary Sherman, CEO of IBT-USA, ?This $5 billion dollars, which is a conservative figure, is only the cost of lost direct individual productivity. Not taken into account is the cost of poor customer service, other workers ability to do their job, or stress.?

?This is more about finding than filing, and workers can take several common sense, practical steps to help themselves better manage information and save time. They are:

1.Use the ?rules? tool available in most email

systems to limit the amount of emails in

your ?In? box

2.Throw away (delete) all information when it

loses its ?value? to you whether that is after

one day or one year.

3.Multi-subject straight alphabetic filing

systems are the ?kiss of death? for finding

things. Create a filing system that reflects

the way you think. Create a system as if you

were giving directions to your office to

someone who had never been to your city before.

4.Use well named file folders; both paper and

electronic; and file new documents in

the ?front? of the folder. Front to back is

how we read and this is the method which

supports ?finding? information.

5.Create a culture where you work which

drastically reduces the number of emails being

generated internally.

For helpful tips and proven methods to help improve your finding systems please contact bary.sherman@ibt-pep.com or 760.731.1400.

The Institute for Business Technology IBT, founded in 1984, is a global training and consulting firm specializing in workplace solutions to improve the productivity and effectiveness of executives, managers, staff and professionals. IBT-USA's clients include such prominent organizations as AARP, Capital One, Ernst & Young, HP and Toyota.

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Source: Bary Sherman

IBT USA, Inc.

760.731.1400

bary.sherman@ibt-pep.com