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In his research on the connection between information technology, business strategy and performance, Abhijith Anand worked with healthcare systems and noticed that nurses often needed to switch between multiple, unconnected computer systems to do their work.
“For instance, a nurse might use specific systems to input patient details and switch to a different system to retrieve diagnostic results regarding the patient, and then switch to another system to update their treatment plans and so on,” said Anand, an assistant professor of information systems at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business.
This phenomenon is known as the “swivel chair effect,” and it’s common across industries, said Lisa Highfield, principal director of human resources technology and artificial intelligence at McLean & Company.
While common, it has significant downsides for organizations.
The Impact of the Swivel Chair Effect
When employees must enter data into multiple disconnected systems or consult disparate systems to get information, it can interfere with productivity and eventually lead to worker burnout.
Workers are forced to “duplicate effort again and again,” said Craig Froehle, professor of operations, business analytics and information systems at the University of Cincinnati, and the process of manually copying and pasting or aggregating information increases the likelihood of errors.
“[It] causes a disturbance in the workflow and creates a lot of stress for the people using those systems,” added Liwei Chen, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati.
Working this way prevents employees from making effective decisions since they may overlook certain pieces of information necessary to fully complete a task, said Froehle, who, himself, once needed to regularly interact with 11 different systems to make decisions while working as a university department head.
“I realized on day one that I was going to be experiencing the swivel chair effect to a degree I'd never even imagined,” he said.
Diminished productivity, increased burnout and an increase in the occurence of errors can put companies at a higher risk for security breaches, said Ajit Sancheti, general manager of NG-SIEM at CrowdStrike.
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How Automation Can Help Solve the Problem
A 2024 survey of 450 chief financial officers found about 60% of companies have implemented software, equipment or other technology, including artificial intelligence, to automate tasks to increase quality and output and reduce labor costs. Using technology to connect systems or automate processes can streamline workflows and help companies solve their swivel chair challenges.
But technology alone can’t solve the problem. Organizations also need to take a holistic approach that involves employees' and other stakeholders’ perspectives.
“All factors need to be considered, including short- and long-term strategy, data integrity, the effort to integrate data and comparative cost analysis of different approaches,” Highfield said.
Here are four tips for increasing automation to counteract the swivel chair effect:
1. Assess the Problem
Organizations must first have a full understanding of their swivel chair problem, Froehle said. Consider which employees are affected and what their workflow looks like, including what software and systems are involved and how they make decisions.
Highfield calls this a “current state analysis” that takes into account the challenges, pain points, inefficiencies and other problems that exist, “then building out that strategy to try and look for optimization or improvement opportunities,” she said.
Companies must think through whether processes and workflows could be fully automated or if augmenting them with a combo of technology and human expertise would be the most effective approach, Anand said.
2. Define Automation Goals
Why do you want to automate, and does it make sense for your organization? Froehle says those are essential questions to ask before making any decisions. For instance, automation might not make sense if the swivel-chair tasks are only performed once a year.
He cites two reasons for a company to implement new technology: to reinforce its capabilities to make it better and stronger or to add new capabilities that workers haven’t been able to do.
Highfield says organizations need to “outline their future vision” and think about what they want to accomplish, whether it’s improved productivity, increased revenue, cost savings or better decision-making.
Consider, also, how automation and new technology will affect the employees using it, such as if it will change their job functions, Chen added.
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Build a strategy first before purchasing any new technology or executing a new process, Sancheti said. “If you build a strategy well, you can start to make incremental changes, and every day, you’ll see a difference.”
3. Ask the Right Questions of Your Automation Vendor
Having the most effective technology for your organization is crucial for minimizing the swivel chair effect. While the specific tech will depend on the organization, Sancheti says there are a few standard questions to ask before purchasing a new tool or signing on with a vendor.
“Which one can address the majority of my problems, and how open is it to allowing other data sources to come in?” he said. And, he added, will the technology work with a company’s other existing programs and data?
Compatibility with existing systems is vital, Chen emphasized. “You have to make sure you’re not creating new problems by introducing automation.”
Any new technology should enable companies to meet their goals and should be cost-effective, Anand said. It should also be secure and protect the organization’s valuable data.
The bottom line, Froehle said, is to “not get caught up in the hype of sales pitches and consultants” and make sure any new technology that’s adopted truly meets an organization’s needs.
In other words, Sancheti said, “Which is going to give you the biggest bang for your buck?”
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4. Involve Employees in Rollout and Optimization
Overcoming the swivel chair effect also involves a mindset shift, Chen said. Froehle agrees: As organizations roll out new technology, leaders must keep the lines of communication open with the individuals whose jobs will be affected by these decisions.
Communicating along the way enhances transparency and ensures buy-in from the employees who will be using the new systems and processes, Anand said. “Once they bring in that system, they have to engage in appropriate training processes for the employees so that the transition to the newer system is seamless.”
After adopting automation, continue to check in with employees and assess the new systems to ensure everything is serving the business as intended. “One of the biggest mind shifts that I would encourage organizations to make is a continuous optimization approach, where we're continuously looking at current state vision and looking for improvement opportunities,” Highfield said.
