Most bosses agree a company is only as good as its employees and would consider their staff as their firm’s greatest resource. However, no business stands still and, if you’re to get the best from your staff, you should be looking to support their career and skills advancement in any way you can. In recent years, technology has had a marked influence in the workplace – everything from the dominance of computers, IT and the internet at work to the increasing opportunities for employers to improve their workers’ productivity through the use of technology.
Below are just a few ways tech can be used to augment the existing skills of your employees, make their jobs easier and bring greater productivity to your firm.
Move your digital services to the cloud to enhance collaboration
The recent coronavirus pandemic brought many changes to our lives but one of the most pronounced was the practice of home-working, enforced by the distancing and isolation measures imposed by governments around the world. Indeed, it’s fair to say the firms that weathered the COVID-19 storm best were those that already had strong IT, cloud and remote-working capabilities in place.
While we all hope the worst of the virus is now over – and there is light at the end of the tunnel with the global vaccination process now well underway – most industry experts suggest the practice of remote-working will remain long after the virus has passed. Indeed, some larger firms like Twitter have already confirmed their employees will never again return to office-based working while Google is also actively considering the idea.
Moving your IT to the cloud will help future-proof your firm for the post-coronavirus era but it also provides many other considerable benefits – not least of which is allowing your staff to connect and work collaboratively online in a virtual office space. By giving your staff access to files and software held remotely, you’ll make them truly mobile and allow them to work anywhere they have an internet connection.
Offer staff opportunities to climb the career ladder with extra training
One of the most common reasons for employees leaving a job is a lack of career advancement and feeling like they’re stuck in a dead-end role. Most employees see work as much more than just a way to earn money and you’ll be far more likely to get the best from your workers if you offer supplemental, ongoing training through their careers.
It’s also worth remembering that training doesn’t necessarily need to mean attending potentially expensive college or university courses. These days there is a huge range of much more affordable, specialist online training courses available – plus options to devise and design your own in-house training modules. By working with a managed learning services company like WahooLearning, you can develop and deploy training specific to your firm that will be to the benefit of all employees as they work their way through the ranks.
Invest in project management software
Project management software is a relatively new concept brought about by firms’ increasing use of cloud-based technologies. Using these remote apps, you can empower your employees by keeping everyone involved in the development cycle, highlighting delivery milestones and also assessing overall progress. Moreover, because your files are held remotely, staff can access their data from any location.
It’s also worth remembering that project management software doesn’t just provide advantages internally – it can also be used to keep clients up-to-date with development progress and deadlines.
Eliminate waste and underperformance with time-tracking tools
Most companies aim to produce the best possible product with the least possible outlay. However, most bosses are aware that the time spent on a job does not necessarily translate to productivity. Rather, time can get lost through getting bogged down on details or being distracted by other issues.
If you want to get a handle on exactly how well your staff is performing, consider installing time-tracking tools into your operations. By taking a macro view of your staff and processes, you’ll be able to make like-for-like comparisons to potentially identify and isolate problem areas. In turn, you might be able to improve productivity by shifting staff sideways into jobs better suited to their particular skills or offering additional training, as noted above.
Remember that happy employees are more productive employees
There has been considerable research made into the relationship between employee happiness and productivity with studies confirming that happier employees work harder and quicker. Remember to inject a little happiness into your working practices by organizing teamwork days out, tasks or courses.
There is now a plethora of fun internet-based educational, team-building or cognitive challenges that you can set your staff to improve morale and keep spirits high.
