Business technology gets better every day. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a new innovation makes you want to rethink the concept of technology.
Businesses everywhere have more technology at their disposal than ever before. But it’s not enough to sign up for the latest tech. With every technology you adopt in your business, you should see tangible improvements in operations and productivity. Else, there would be no point in using the technology in the first place if it doesn’t boost your business.
If you are lagging behind, here are some practical ways to leverage technology to improve your workplace productivity.
Make use of online project management tools
Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of everything that needs to be done. Add frequent travel and you may end up with projects that stay dormant for far too long.
Given that every minute counts when it comes to productivity, you don’t want to be wasting time working on something and then wait weeks before you can proceed to the next stage because there are a lot of other things going on. The project just had to be put on hold. Your employees won’t like it either.
Ensure no project ever stalls again by using online project management tools. With these tools, you can track what’s happening with the project from wherever your travels take you. Moreover, everyone in the office can access the project online and see any changes that have been made.
This way, everyone who is involved with the project can do their bit at their own convenience, and you can push it to a conclusion without looking like you’re trying too hard.
Get a Customer Relationship Management Tool
As your business grows, it’s crucial to have a record of updated information about your clients. A good Customer Relations Management (CRM) system takes care of this. It integrates all aspects of customer management so that even when new members join your team, they can bring themselves up to speed with your clients’ needs by just looking at the CRM tool.
A CRM tool avails all the important client information in one place. Your account managers have an easier time tracking specific activity and can quickly go into the system to verify something if needed.
If you still rely on individual customer file, upgrade to a single CRM inventory and save time on tasks while improving efficiency.
Plan meetings whenever it’s appropriate
The transition from physical office meetings to online conferencing and video calls with any of the numerous conferencing tools available. Zoom and Go To Meeting have proved invaluable in bringing together colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.
People don’t have to travel to attend a meeting. If everyone can join in from wherever they are, you accomplish two things at once:
You communicate the gist of the meeting and release everyone to go back to their business.
Rather than holding people for hours as they wait for the meeting to starts, wait again for those who are late, and spend long minutes discussing non-essential agendas, a web conferencing tool allows you to get straight to the point and go back to work.
Plus, employees can join in from different locations.
Move your services to the cloud
The future of the workplace is in the cloud. Move your operations to the cloud and coordinate your activities and interactions from there. Cloud operations tend to streamline all business processes so that no aspect of the business is lagging behind.
A major advantage of running cloud operations is that employees can check into the ‘office’ even when they’re traveling. Then they can catch up on what needs to be done at their own convenience.
When all the critical components of the business are running on the cloud, you don’t have pressure to find the perfect business location in town. You also save on infrastructure costs and overhead.
Track Employee Performance and Give Feedback
When you have a central system, where you can track employee performance, managing your group becomes easier. Choose a system that can track employee goals and allow interactivity. You can see when employees reach their goals and can congratulate them on the platform.
It has been proven that workplace productivity increases when employees feel appreciated. Use the system to let your employees know just how valuable they are. It may be all they need to cultivate the motivation needed to scale the business to greater levels.
Use Online Workflow Models
Online workflow tools not only make employees more engaged, they enhance collaboration and transparency. Workers who have to go through the monotony of a traditional office routine tend to lose interest, focus, and motivation quickly. By switching it up with a web-supported workflow, you provide them with something new by which to keep track of each other and gauge their performance.
How to make technology work for your business
It would seem that the more technology a business uses, the better their prospects become. It may be a little impractical to adopt multiple technologies at once, but there are sure ways to implement technology in your company step by step. Try these:
– Start with one solution. This gives everyone in the office time to familiarize themselves with the technology and get used to it. As they become more comfortable, add another one.
Keep doing this until you have all the tools you require.
– Get insight from the employees about the tools they would like to see implemented within the company. You may be surprised by how insightful some of their suggestions are.
Letting them come up with the list of solutions they’d like to see also gives them a sense of ownership, belonging and loyalty in the company. They’re bound to do better as a result.
Finally, in modern businesses, productivity is often tied to technology. Adopting technologies that are suitable for your business is one of the best ways to increase productivity in the workplace. Choose tools that can be integrated with each other for a streamlined operation that saves time and resources.
