The advancement of technology continues to impact the daily lives of almost every single person on Earth. Progress is an inexorable march, as they say, and it continues to be pushed forward by the continually evolving tech industry. The effect on the workplace should be apparent when you look at how far certain industries and practices have come. Technology has truly been transformative for a lot of businesses; let’s dive in.
A Background on Tech in the Workplace
Technology has and continues to play an important part in the creation of the workplace. There are so many pieces of tech and software that are integral to the way businesses operate. This is nothing new, the industrial revolution changed the face of Britain back in the late 1700s, and things have continued to progress. While there is certainly a lot to be said for tradition, technology has always helped to increase efficiency and productivity.
The transition hasn’t always been easy, and some businesses do still struggle. Embracing technology doesn’t please everyone, and there are a few businesses that have reported issues with adopting new technology, automating processes and digitising business practices. Truthfully, there adopting tech into a business isn’t always as straightforward as you might think because there isn’t really a ‘one size fits all’ approach. It is up to the individual business to come up with their own solution.
The Benefits of Tech
There are, of course, issues associated with the integration of new technology and adapting the workplace. However, it is well worth doing because there are a number of benefits to embracing technology. It helps you to keep up and even get ahead of the competition. It also makes the business much more agile, allowing it to better keep up and support the needs of the employees and the consumers. Implementing the right technology also provides more consistency and reliability across business practices, which helps to strengthen brand recognition. All in all, the right technology can help to dramatically improve the customer experience.
The Productivity Problem
Every business is likely to have run into problems with productivity at one point or another. The key lies in identifying the root of the issue. There are a number of new technologies that are designed to aid in the transition of a business and transform it into a modern business. These technologies are meant to streamline business processes and make workflows more consistent, therefore boosting productivity. The issue with adopting new technologies for businesses tends to lie in a lack of support for employees during the transition; they aren’t given the right training on the new processes, which can then lead to a dip in productivity as opposed to helping to boost it.
As the old adage goes: failing to prepare means preparing to fail. You might have spent hours looking over your options and choosing the right technologies to implement, but if you do not put the same energy into preparing and training your staff, then it could all be for nought. Change can be difficult, and your employees will need some time to adjust. With the right support, your employees are also likely to embrace the changes, and productivity will indeed be bolstered.
Communicating & Collaborating
Advancements in technology have also made it a lot easier for businesses to mobilise their staff and offer more flexible working styles because staff no longer need to occupy the same physical space in order to fulfil their job roles. This is because technology has enabled businesses to communicate and collaborate remotely. There are so many tools that a business can adopt, from messaging services to video calls to different pieces of software that allows multiple people to gain access to and work on the same databases.
Almost every business, regardless of its industry or purposes, has the opportunity to adopt these pieces of tech. For example, in the past, if a team were to work on a project together, they would need to do so in the same space in order to access the documentation needed; now, they can share this documentation to each other online through secure networks – even if the files are large because you can use Smallpdf to compress files making them easier to share.
Data Security
Remote working has truly been transformative for a lot of businesses that are able to hire the best person for the job without imposing limitations based on proximity. They can also save money because they don’t necessarily need an office space or a central hub, or, if they adopt a hybrid working approach, then while they will still be paying for an office, they won’t be paying as much in utilities. However, with remote working, there is always the question of how secure the network and the data it houses are.
Data breaches can have a significant impact on your business’s bottom line. Luckily, modern technology allows businesses to secure their networks and make them more protected against cyber-attacks. Businesses can implement primary and secondary authentication measures, firewalls and guidelines for digital working, which is likely to include things like not logging into public networks or using personal devices to access sensitive data. Technology has helped to make things a lot more secure when working online.
Alternative Working Styles
The modern office has changed; all but gone are days of workers heading into the office eight hours a day, five days a week. Instead, a lot of businesses today have embraced alternative working styles like remote or hybrid working. This goes hand-in-hand with the advancement of technology because it would not be possible otherwise. Business owners and managers have found that these jobs can be done remotely, workers do not need to occupy the same physical space, and alternative working styles benefit both the employer and the employee.
Technology has made it possible for workers to be productive, collaborate and communicate from wherever they are. However, remote working does mean that employees miss out on some of the interaction and social elements of the job that they would get to experience if they were working from a shared office. Luckily, digital communication tools can still allow workers to bond and develop that sense of camaraderie in addition to helping them fulfil their job roles. These tools have also made it easier for businesses to broaden their search and open up their recruitment processes, meaning that they can find the best candidate regardless of where that candidate is actually based.
The Bottom Line
The modern workplace arguably has more advantages for workers than ever before. It is more inclusive, offers workers more flexibility and is, overall, more geared towards the experience of the employees as a whole. That being said, it also holds a lot of benefits for employers too. They are far more likely to get the best out of their workers and optimise efficiency and productivity. This has been, in a large part, due to advancements in technology and the professional landscape’s willingness to embrace that tech. Technology has simply made it easier than ever before for people to fulfil their job roles. However, the idea of a modern workplace is not rigid, it continues to evolve as the world does, and it isn’t always easy to predict where it is going to be headed next.
