It seems as though there is a piece of technology or software for everything these days, and that’s not a negative thing at all – just think of all the ways that tech can help you in your day-to-day life, whether it’s shopping online, automatically cleaning your house, giving you the option of having an electric car instead of a gas-powered one, and so much more. No matter what you need, there’s a piece of equipment, a computer program, or an app for it, and we’re able to enjoy life in a totally different way from ever before.
When you consider all of that, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to find that technology can also help you if you run a business. You can find tools and programs that will give you more control over everything you do, and although not all of it will be relevant (that’s why you need to do plenty of research), there will certainly be some ideas that are really going to help build your business and make things better.
One way that technology can improve things is by making the workplace a better one for your employees. As a business owner or manager, you have a duty of care to your employees, and that means you need to ensure their working conditions are safe and comfortable. If technology can help make this happen, then it makes sense that this is the right route to take. With that in mind, here are some of the ways that technology can improve the workplace for your employees.
Better Collaboration
In the past, everyone worked in one office (or, if your business was large, in different offices around the area, country, or perhaps around the world), making it easy to collaborate and work together. Even if people worked in different departments, it would just be a matter of leaving one area and walking to another to speak to whoever you needed to speak to. Or, if that wasn’t possible, a quick phone call would work. The point is that everyone was together in one place, so teamwork was an easy thing to get right.
Today, although it’s not mandatory, it could well be that you operate a remote or at least a hybrid remote working model. That means people aren’t in the same place and could be in entirely different states or countries. It’s no longer as easy as going to find them in the same building, and when it comes to projects that require teamwork, a remote team could find it very hard indeed to get anything done.
That’s where technology will help. Technology makes collaboration a lot easier because it connects everyone with just one platform in many cases. These project management platforms will have all the tools your team needs to be able to work together even if they’re not physically in the same room; you can even get specific ones for your sector, such as refrigeration contractor software. Plus, when you add things like video calling, cloud-based platforms for storage, and a variety of other collaboration tools, there shouldn’t be any reason why your remote team can’t work together in the same way as a team physically located in the same room or building could.
As an added bonus, technology also makes remote working possible in the first place, and since that contributes to a better work-life balance and, in many cases, a more productive workforce, it’s certainly an option that can work for a lot of businesses.
More Training Options
Training is something all business owners need to invest in – your team will appreciate it, and it will make them feel valued and taken care of, plus the training means that your employees will have all the knowledge and skills they need to do a good job. On top of that, a good training routine (which wouldn’t just be for new starters, but would be ongoing so that everyone got ‘top up’ training) would give your business a good reputation – no one wants to knowingly buy something from a company that treats its employees badly (or just doesn’t pay them the attention and respect they deserve).
The problem is that training takes a long time, and it often means that someone (you or an experienced employee) has to take the new starter under their wing and teach them everything – that’s not just time-consuming, it’s also potentially expensive if the trainer isn’t able to do their work properly. When it comes to the top-up training we mentioned, that means a whole day, in most cases, out of the workplace, which is clearly disruptive and costly.
Well, this no longer has to be an issue because there is technology you can use to make training easier. Of course, there will still be occasions when hands-on training and days out of the office for team-building days are important and need to happen, but if you can reduce them as much as possible, firstly they become more special, so your team is more likely to pay attention and be excited about them, and secondly, they won’t cost you so much.
Technology can give you a lot of options when it comes to training, including online classes, interactive tests, or videos that your employees can watch in their own time and digest at their own pace. There is even a place for artificial intelligence (AI) or perhaps virtual reality (VR) or automation here, and it’s often a good idea to speak to your team to find out what would suit them best – the happier they are with their training delivery system, the more they’ll learn.
Good Security
No one wants to work in an office (or a remote office) with the worry of security hanging over them. In a physical office, that worry could be about strangers entering the building, for example, and theft (that’s especially worrying if you run a store or restaurant, for example, where it’s likely to happen). With remote teams or, indeed, anyone who uses computers and the internet in their business (which is most businesses these days), the worry could be about cybersecurity rather than any physical threat.
No matter what your team is concerned about, technology can make things easier to manage. Tech can ensure that your computer systems are carefully protected through a combination of firewalls, anti-virus software, and cloud-based storage, which means that every document and piece of sensitive information isn’t just stored away from the office, but it’s encrypted as well – if anyone did get through the robust security measures you’ve put in place, the information they found would essentially be useless.
When it comes to physical security, technology like infrared cameras, smart alarms, video doorbells, and more can all contribute to the safety of your team – and you can track vehicles if you need to, ensuring you always know the location of any employees who do deliveries or have to visit customers in their homes. When your employees feel safe and secure in the building and in their jobs, they’ll be able to focus more on what they’re doing and be more productive and efficient, which is always a good thing. As well as that, they’ll know you’re taking care of them, so they’ll be more loyal and work harder. That’s fantastic in general, but since hiring new team members is time-consuming and expensive, it’s definitely a positive thing.
There will also be some things that humans can do better than technology, so it’s unlikely you’ll ever be in a position where tech runs the entire business, but there are absolutely things that software and technology can make easier and better, and that’s where it works best.