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January 21, 2019

How Investing in Technology Can Boost Productivity



The right technology adaption can have huge benefits to how your team operates. Your team could become more productive and happier simply by having the technology tools at their disposal. It wouldn’t be wise for any team to operate in the world without it.



The trick comes in knowing what technology to use. New technology enters the market almost daily, which can be tricky. Parts of this technology can be expensive, making acquisition cost unattainable for SMEs. But parts of it are also inefficient and unhelpful – especially to your organisation and team. Finding the right technology and implementing it properly can, therefore, come with its own growing pains. However, the payoff at the end of it could be an enormous kick in productivity for the team.

But why is technology so important to productivity? And more importantly, how can you find the right technology to help, not hinder?

Focuses and prioritises tasks

With the help of technology, team members will find it easier to prioritise task. They are able to focus on the things and tasks that matter the most and which require their full attention. The truth is that there are many things your team members might have to do during the day that aren’t important in the most critical sense of the word.

Technology can change this with automation. If you pick technology that automates, it will free up time and direct your team’s focus on the things that matter. Consider, for example, the HR department. The team will have to do a lot of mundane tasks which are often just inputting and allocating data. Payroll or holiday requests could, however, be dealt with small business HR software. The right software could automate these tasks and allowing the HR personnel to focus on the more strategic tasks – such as interviewing new candidates or helping with training.

Keeps your team in the game

New technology is constantly popping up and competition in any industry is tough. The simple truth is that no team is going to survive without some technology adaption – and, in general, you have to keep updating to the latest innovation to survive. If your team wants to stay relevant and motivated, you have to be adopting new strategies.

When you opt for the latest small business software and update your hardware, you aren’t just helping your team members perform. You are also making the customers happier. This, in turn, will generate increasing satisfaction in your team. They will find it easier and more pleasant to deal with customers, turning up productivity as they go.

Improves employee satisfaction

Indeed, improved employee satisfaction can have a huge impact on the team’s productivity. When your team is happy and able to perform their tasks without a problem, they will be working harder. For employees, having bad and insufficient technology can be the worst. If your team members are spending half the day just trying to get the small business HR software to work, they will be frustrated and unmotivated. But when things work and when technology makes the work easier, not harder, your team will flourish. Tasks are a breeze and frustration doesn’t settle in.

Technology also has the power to boost satisfaction and, in turn, ramps up the productivity by introducing new ways to work. Teams have more access because much of modern software, for instance, allows you to work from wherever through the cloud. You can introduce more flexibility – allowing team members to work from home, for example. Studies have consistently shown that this can have a huge impact on productivity.

In addition, satisfaction and productivity can improve due to the better feedback structures technology enables. Small business software and even hardware can monitor employees and provide them a better analysis of the work they do. This helps your team to improve and this improvement will boost productivity in turn.

Taking the time to find the right technology

But the above benefits are not given. Teams won’t enjoy them simply by adopting technology. It’s important to pay attention and find the right tool for your team, whether its small business HR software or hardware.

The key questions to ask before looking for technology are:

  • What does my team need? What task or problem would the technology solve?
  • How much is the initial cost? What are the savings?
  • How hard is the implementation? How to train the team?
  • What kind of support is available in terms of use and problem-solving?

Furthermore, when you are comparing technology, especially software, you have to pay attention to the key elements of a good technology product. It has to offer:

  • Automation
  • Scalability
  • Cloud computing
  • Support

With the right technology, you will notice your productivity will improve and increase. The key is to make sure you don’t go into it blindly but find the technology that best helps your team to thrive.



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