ORGANISATIONAL EFFICIENCY - WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE?

Efficiency. What does it mean to you?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as: "The quality of achieving the largest amount of useful work using as little energy, fuel, effort, etc., as possible."

In an organisational context, efficiency is about achieving goals and sustaining high performance with minimal waste—whether of time, effort, or resources.

In almost every organisational design project we have been involved in, improving efficiency is a core objective. But what does it truly mean to build an efficient organisation? What key factors need to be considered?

• Lean, tech-enabled processes

• Optimal managerial spans of control

• Minimal organisational layers

• Clearly defined accountabilities and governance structures

If these aspects came to mind, you wouldn’t be wrong—they are all important. And they are not enough.

We’ve all been in situations where well-designed processes fail in practice, or where clearly defined accountabilities don’t reflect reality. Why? Because efficiency isn’t just about an organisation’s tangible ‘hardware’.

True organisational efficiency also depends on its ‘software’—how people collaborate, the underlying power dynamics, the unspoken rules of ‘how we do things around here', and the quality of relationships and conversations. Yet too often I hear these aspects of organisational design described as the ‘soft’ or ‘fluffy’ work, implying they are less important or easier to address than that which can be easily documented or reduced to numbers and charts. And yet the opposite is true.  It is these less-tangible elements of organisational life that have the greatest impact on organisational outcomes. Creating a climate where these dynamics can be surfaced and talked about in a way that leads to genuine shifts in service of greater efficiency requires courage, skill and care.  The ‘soft’ work is actually the ‘hard’ work of organisation design, and it is where change succeeds or fails.

Organisational efficiency isn’t just about streamlining structures or refining processes—it’s about shaping the culture, relationships, and ways of working that bring those systems to life. The most successful organisations recognise that efficiency is both a technical and human challenge, requiring not only operational clarity but also an environment where collaboration, trust, and open dialogue can thrive. When we embrace both the ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ of an organisation, we move beyond superficial fixes and create the conditions for sustained, meaningful efficiency.

 If you're thinking about how to create greater efficiency in your organisation and are keen to explore an approach that attends to both the ‘hardware’ and ‘software’, do get in touch.