May 3, 2022
It is no secret that technology can undoubtedly help improve the efficiency of any business in many ways, provided it’s done right. Technology has proven to play a critical role in the overall success and performance of businesses. Remember 2022? While just about everything we thought about work changed in the blink of an eye, organizations that were able to quickly restructure themselves to support remote work and improve flexibility and resiliency were the real winners.
While adapting to new technologies may seem daunting, understanding how it can be used to improve your business efficiency is key. Here are a few ways you can start harnessing the true potential of technology for your business growth.
Of course, the biggest change that offices saw is the switch to the remote work environment. In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic hastily made working from home a necessity. IT resources rounded up their best video conferencing platforms, like Microsoft Teams, so teams could meet remotely; employees upgraded home offices with Bluetooth keyboards and wireless mice, along with adopting the best chat and file-sharing tools so that we could collaborate with the rest of our team virtually.
One of the foremost problems reported by remote workers in 2021 was lack of visibility. Accordingly, companies should look to invest in technologies that can connect them with the individual remote work experience. Viable options include apps that report remote employee overtime, work hours, vacation allowance and keep their availability visible.
Many companies discovered how productive mixed-reality environments can be with tools like shared digital whiteboards, online sticky notes, and live co-editing of documents. With the combination of voice, video, chat, and collaboration tools, all team members are able to contribute as opposed to being drowned out by those that have a forceful presence or a loud voice. Speech-recognition software also played a pivotal and transformative role in how employees access and produce information, and that trend will only increase into 2022 and 2023.
As many companies have quickly realized in 2022, remote work requires a very specific tech infrastructure. In one McKinsey survey, a staggering 85% of participants reported that their businesses had accelerated the adoption of virtual technologies to aid remote collaboration and interaction. One trend we anticipate to keep remote working efficient, fruitful and manageable, is organizations prioritizing SaaS applications and technology solutions that support multi-cloud environments.
Technology innovations just in the past year provided remote workforces with the ability to maintain normal operations in less-than-normal conditions. With data backup and disaster recovery services, teams could quickly spring back to their feet after a disaster or outage, minimizing downtime and maximizing employees’ ability to get the job done.
Milner offers services that continue to boost productivity by eliminating time-consuming processes. For example, document management software can eliminate the need for data entry, filing and manual file retrieval while managed IT services lift the burden of routine maintenance and back-up off of your limited internal IT resources. Business process optimization through content management solutions and workflow software allow businesses to restructure repetitive paper-based processes, like work order processing or accounts payable procedures.
According to technology, media, and telecommunications industry leader, Dave Padmos, many companies are now making key decisions about talent strategy focusing on reducing cost and lowering enterprise risk. “Businesses will continue to transition to remote-first models or continue giving employees the option to continue working offsite after offices reopen to save money on maintaining offices. This increased flexibility also will widen the talent pool and improve access to talent.”
To remain attractive to potential employees and retain the workforce they have, companies will need to create and continually update digital amenities and workplaces that better cater to this new workforce. Since workers will have more options of where and how to work, organizations will also need to reassess their operations, company culture, and the future of business.
"Businesses that invest in the right technologies to keep employees connected and working, as well as provide new employee perks—like stipends, unlimited PTO, or opportunities to work from rented homes—can offer rich hiring incentives," said Brian Rutkowski, chief talent officer at Olive.
Giving employees the tools that make them more successful in their job is essential to maintaining top talent and keeping morale high during rough patches. Technology also affords you the ability to offer desirable perks that today’s workforce is seeking. For example, leveraging secure virtual private networks and hosted phones can give employees the flexibility to telework productively.
While no one could have predicted the complete workplace disruption brought on by COVID-19 last year, we did anticipate the way it would impact the world of technology. The debate about remote work is over, and it's time for managers to set new goals for managing their workforce in the new normal in the year ahead.
Make 2022 and 2023 the years you exceed your KPIs, against all odds. Milner has over three decades of experience in helping businesses realize and appreciate the benefits of integrating new technologies into everyday business processes to improve results, encourage growth, and reach their full potential. Contact us today for a technology assessment.
