PROVYS: Efficiency With A Human Face

Whilst relaxing on the beach, after another hard year in harness, busy broadcast executives would do well to contemplate that successful business empires are not founded on sand.

A cursory glance at Wikipedia would give us an interesting understanding of the importance and value of the word “Efficiency” in modern management, together with a very useful comparison with the word “Effectiveness”. A brief exploration of these definitions will serve as a useful introduction to this article.

Efficiency is the ability to avoid wasting resources: materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in producing a desired result. It is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. In broadcasting terms, it is a measure of the extent to which the station's resources are well used for an intended operation and its results and ultimate success. It often specifically comprises the capability of a specific application to produce a specific outcome with a minimum amount of waste of resources. Efficiency, of course, refers to very different inputs and outputs in different fields and industries, and in this connection, Provys is recognised as the gold standard tool for imposing efficiency in all aspects of broadcasting operations.

Efficiency is not to be confused with effectiveness. Efficiency is a measurable concept, quantitatively determined by the ratio of useful output to total input. Effectiveness is the simpler concept of being able to achieve a desired result. Efficiency can be expressed as a percentage of the result that could ideally be expected, whereas effectiveness is simply the completion of the desired and agreed result.

An interesting way of distinguishing between efficiency and effectiveness is the saying "Efficiency is doing things right, while effectiveness is doing the right things." i.e. the selection of objectives in a broadcast production process is equally as important as the quality of that process. It follows that effectiveness, for example, a full schedule across ten channels of one broadcaster, can be achieved through inefficient processes if, for example, schedulers are willing to work longer hours or put in more effort than competitors. Energy and labour costs must also therefore be viewed in a similar fashion.

Unenlightened readers who might consider the above methodology to be the right one should turn the page now.

Those of you who are still with us clearly accept that both efficiency and effectiveness are essential in all broadcasting operations and you are probably aware that only a few powerful software solutions on the market can ensure both of these objectives. Among these software providers, the human approach is so often absent, leaving clients with a product which meets their professional requirements but leaves them isolated to flounder on the ocean of information. Notable for their different approach, where 24/7 ongoing support, communication and continuous development are the norm, is, you guessed it, the company whose name appears at the top of this article. Provys will not leave you to sink in this ocean of information but will stay with you all the way as you navigate the stormy waters of the entertainment business.

On the subject of entertainment, your raison d'etre is the delivery of first class content to eager viewers who want to stay tuned to your channels and consume more of your scintillating output. This is obviously any broadcaster's No. 1 consideration, but, the real professionals believe that the broadcast back office teams responsible for this output also deserve to work in a motivating and satisfying environment with the finest level of support and more than just a modicum of humanity. Although slaves to entertainment for the masses, they are not however robots and are indisputably entitled to their own share of enjoyment at work. As an example of this, the graphic user interface allows, even encourages creativity from the user who is able to personalise his/her own computer screen to reflect the human aspect of changing moods, seasons or events. Another example is the workflow process modeller permitting the advanced user to design or modify broadcast processes which is a sheer joy to operate. And as we all know, improvements in broadcast processes lead to higher efficiency. We have therefore closed the circle. At Provys, they call it: Efficiency with a Human Face.

Author: Martin Junek

www.provys.com