CEO’s Guide to Business Productivity Technology: Do More with Less

Do More For Your Business With Less

Technology is a valuable asset to any business, large or small. When it comes to choosing the right technology for your organization, making the right choice can be difficult. There are numerous types of solutions of software and various tools available to digitally transform your business. So how can you choose the right tech to suit your company’s needs?

Implementing new technology to improve your company’s overall performance must be a strategic decision. It’s not unusual for modern-day companies to use outdated methods and technologies to run their business. If results yield success (no matter how mild), many companies won’t invest resources into evaluating and implementing updated tech. Due to a lack of digitalization, it’s these companies that are losing time, business opportunities and ultimately, money. Additionally, lagging behind other companies technologically puts the competition out in front. Not evaluating and updating tech might produce a gap too big to cover when the economic scales are tipped or when disaster strikes. 

The world is continually evolving, and business leaders must evolve with it. The objective is to reduce costs, time and resources to produce superior products and services. Constant evaluation and improvement are necessary.

Are you looking for increased productivity through technology? You should never decide on what tech to deploy based on a whim. Take the time to determine your company’s needs and the needs of your employees to choose the right technology to meet them. Productivity technology can vastly improve a company’s overall efficiency and performance in the market, as well as employee productivity, communication, collaboration, morale and engagement. Whether it’s using software or other digital tools, many benefits come with increasing productivity.

Benefits of Business Productivity Technology

Companies worldwide and across all industries are leveraging technology to improve operations, generate more business and reduce costs. Here are types of emerging technologies that add value to a business:

• Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
• Cloud-based services
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Machine learning (ML)

So how can your business use these types of technologies to help you do more with less? Let’s take a closer look into ways technology can increase productivity for your business.

3 Ways Productivity Technology Can Help Your Business:

1. Business Applications

Companies should ensure that employees have facilitated, direct access to fundamental business applications such as:

• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
• Human resources (HR)
• Help desks and Wikis
• Accounting and payroll
• Contract management

An enterprise mobility report reveals that 23 percent of workers observe increased workplace productivity when using mobile applications. Depending on the industry, custom-developed apps might apply. However, when it comes to choosing existing products or developing software in-house, the company’s needs, size, budget, culture and employees must be taken into consideration. Overall, the goal is to reduce manual labor as much as possible and increase digitalization for basic company necessities. Consulting advanced technology professionals is a great way to ensure this gets accomplished.

2. Communication and Collaboration

New communication tools and technologies can improve employee communication, collaboration and productivity, while saving  your company a lot of money in the process. Focusing on how technology can be used to improve the overall efficiency and ease of business processes for employees is a key to success. For instance, technology can improve the efficiency of project management, thus improving the collaboration, communication and productivity of team members on projects.

Today, WFH is the new normal and information sharing is a central component of life; not just a way to improve workplace productivity. Business leaders and team managers must continuously improve communication methods through oriented digitalization:

• Portals and intranet with less lag and delays
• Cloud-services for remote access
• Customer service chatbots
• Stable video conferencing
• Online group meetings with integrated tools and whiteboards
• UCaaS systems with voice, chat, text, and video conferencing.  

What can poor communication cost your business? According to a Grammarly survey of business leaders, poor communication results in an approximate loss of $12,506 per employee every year.

3. Remote Operations

Businesses that engage in teleworking are experiencing economic benefits across the board:

• Reduced work and health insurance costs
• Employees that are more productive and happier
• Reduced rent, lighting and climate control costs
• Increased ecological value of the firm
• Home sourced workers that are usually more cost-effective
• Possible tax benefits

Recent studies show that 77 percent of teleworkers are more productive and 30 percent are doing more work in less time. The right productivity technology required for remote workers allows companies to:

1. Enhance communication (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet).
2. Coordinate teams (Google Hangouts, Google Drive, Dropbox).
3. Streamline project management.
4. Schedule and complete tasks.

Remote operations serve as an excellent example of doing more with less.

Consult the Experts on Productivity Technology

At ATC, we can help you reduce or eliminate manual, time-consuming tasks with automation technology that increases efficiency and productivity. Contact us today for strategic IT consulting that puts time and money back into your business. Let us empower you to drive transformation by tying strategy and technology to business outcomes and goals.