Study: Workers frustrated in innovation efforts

A report released Monday by Workfront shows an innovation gap exists in most American workplaces. According to the study, workers say they want to innovate, but the pressures of day-to-day work are getting in the way.

The fifth annual Workfront State of Work report found that while a majority of workers say their workplace regularly asks them to innovate, a full 58 percent say they’re so swamped with day-to-day work that they don’t have time to think about the future. Enterprise workers say they spend just 40 percent of their workday on primary tasks. Emails and unnecessary meetings topped the list of things that keep knowledge workers from getting work done.

According to a Workfront press release, the results point to a major opportunity for companies worldwide: unleashing the passion and capacity for innovation that often lies trapped within their workforce. Workers are looking for new solutions, too. Eighty-three percent of workers believe that the rise of automation will help people and teams think of work in new and innovative ways.

“As companies race to digitize across every aspect of their business, from human resources to finance to sales, people and the work they do each day has been left behind in legacy productivity solutions and antiquated tools, trapping innovation,” said Alex Shootman, president and CEO of Workfront. “These results demonstrate how much the modern workforce wants and needs a new approach.”

The full State of Work report can be downloaded at http://workfront.com/stateofwork.

Method Communications taps new general manager

Method Communications, a Utah integrated marketing and public relations agency for companies in technology and the life sciences, announced that co-founder Jacob Moon was named general manager of its Salt Lake City office. In this role, Moon will oversee the company’s Salt Lake office, with a focus on building an outstanding corporate culture, generating revenue, fostering strong relationships and helping drive key strategic initiatives.

Since starting Method, Moon has played a leading role in setting the initial vision and strategic direction for the agency, resulting in it becoming one of the fastest growing agencies in the country, hitting $10 million per year in revenue in just six years. As general manager, Moon will join Method’s management team, reporting to CEO David Parkinson.

“When Jake and I launched Method in 2010, we set out to create a different kind of agency — one that puts delivering meaningful results and true agency-client relationships above everything else,” Parkinson said. “With Jake’s leadership and our unique approach, we have grown to represent more billion-dollar brands than any other agency of our size, and we only expect this growth to continue.”