Why Is Technology Important for Productivity?

In order to compete effectively with the fast-pacing world, everyone needs to be more innovative, efficient, and above all, highly productive. If you are an entrepreneur, the rising trend of remote workers makes it almost mandatory for you to invest in the best technology that optimally leverages the power of a remote workforce.

When productivity and technology combine, great things happen. Here is how you can become more productive by leveraging technology.

1. Enhancing the organization

Proper organization minimizes the time wasted in searching for documents within an office. Think of the minutes and hours wasted by secretaries when browsing through endless spreadsheets in search of important customer data; that time could be used more productively if a time-sensitive database management system was utilized instead of the outdated spreadsheets.

Thanks to technological advancement, there now are many time tracking software like Outlook that is based in the cloud, making it easy for on-the-road employees to record relevant data in real-time. When such data is synced and stored in one place, it becomes easily accessible, enabling a seamless flow of important data.

2. Increased employee availability

Technology has made it possible for people to work from home or any other secure place, provided there is an internet connection. That increases productivity in the sense that most people are more comfortable working away from the watchful and sometimes threatening eyes of the boss. As a matter of fact, almost half of the American-based employees say that they are motivated to work more when they work at home or when using their own devices (BYOD).

In the same vein, technology increases productivity by reducing the amount of time wasted on the road, mostly for business meetings. You now can hold high-level meetings through video conferencing, so you remain in the office and continue working once the meeting is over.

3. Technology motivates you to work

Sometimes you will struggle with a lack of productivity without necessarily understanding the underlying contributors to that unfortunate problem. Well, if that’s the case, a life coach can help you get clarity regarding what is bothering you and come up with the right solutions.

But even as you engage a coach, have you upgraded your technology? It could be that slow or obsolete technology is slowing you down. On the flipside, fast internet connections and modern technology can motivate even the laziest workers to pull up their socks. Make a point of upgrading your computers’ hardware and software as regular as you can in order to get the motivation to work harder.

4. Automated customer service

Of course, customer service plays a big role in the success of any business. It is the glue that holds a company and its customers for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

But for what it is worth, customer care can be a pain in the neck, especially for startup businesses. If you are a startup entrepreneur, then you probably double up as the CEO and customer care agent. That means having to deal with lengthy and frustrating phone calls on a constant basis.

And because you are badly overwhelmed, sometimes you aren’t able to give the customers the best experience. Also, having to waste too much time answering calls eats up too much of the time you could have used to address the production or distribution concerns that customers raise.

But there is hope in the growing integration of artificial intelligence in business. Chatbots, for example, are now able to answer as many FAQs as you program them to, with ease, grace, and unmatched accuracy. Also, you can use bots to order products, provide clients with tech support, and make hotel reservations, among many other responsibilities. All you need to do is invest in a good chatbot and you will be offloaded most of your customer care burden, freeing enough time for you to do more meaningful work.

5. Effortless focused marketing

For a long time, entrepreneurs have struggled with marketing strategies that are not only generic and shallow but also expensive and time-consuming. If you have to book and compete for billboards, newspaper ad spaces, and TV commercials for your products to sell, then you end up wasting most of your productive hours on not-so-productive ventures.

It gets sadder when you realize that even after sacrificing all that time, your campaign is still not focused or specialized enough to reach or appeal to the right audience.

With technology, you are able to place adverts in the right place, for the right people. Social media ads, for example, are focused and specialized, yet very effortless. Did I mention that these ads are way too cheap compared to the old-school, unfocused TV and newspaper ads?

Well, technology allows you to reach more customers and prospective customers without breaking the bank, so you can repurpose the saved time and money to more productive functions.

The Effect Of Technology On Productivity In Numbers

Undoubtedly, the impact of technology on productivity is immense. For obvious reasons, technology has positively affected employee productivity and it is becoming a normal trend for most business owners to follow this path, because after all who wouldn’t want a healthy and productive work environment. Of course, in any company, there are factors that somehow hinder or per cent workplace productivity, but on the other hand, we have a lot of technological tools and activities, that substantially boost the level of workplace productivity. To illustrate what was discussed above, we have gathered some real-life examples of how technology has impacted productivity.

As globalization is gaining momentum, and technology-driven tools now enable teams to work remotely and with flexible hours, according to statistics 64% of global business leaders said flexible working had a positive impact on productivity.

Technology has simplified our lives. Warble devices and mobile apps, which are available on our smartphones, are an easy way for people to keep in their pockets and be able to access in real-time all their work. According to a Microsoft Report, around 46% of the employees have responded and categorized social tools as important factors that have contributed to their improved productivity at work.

Furthermore, studies conclude that 23% of employees say mobile apps increase productivity. In fact, in 2017, there were 269 billion apps downloaded, which equates to 33 apps for every man, woman, and child on the planet!

The good thing is that business owners have started recognizing the benefits and impact of technology. Around 87% of CIOs believe digitally empowering their employees can drive at least 5% additional revenue growth over three years.

That is because, digitally empowered employees, who are more engaged and satisfied can produce a better and higher quality of work which ultimately leads to higher revenues. For organizations that strive to remain competitive and get recognized, this is incredibly valuable.

Another valuable addition that most companies are introducing and has resulted beneficial is the encouragement of workplace collaboration. Around 63% of companies are adding small meeting rooms with collaboration technology, 56% are adding large conference rooms with collaboration technology, and 51% are adding huddle spaces with collaboration technology to their workplaces.

This has become a huge need for companies because, with evolving business culture, most employees work either remotely or partly, and the need for spaces where they can collaborate, and the network is important.

As you have probably seen up until now, there are several ways how technology can improve productivity. Again, this list is just a short introduction to the vast number of ways how you can experiment and use the power of technology for your company’s benefits. So feel free to start adapting the tools and benefits now, and revolutionize your company.