One of the most widely searched topics online among
professionals is “How to be more productive”? People seem to be obsessed with
being productive. With added complexities and more open-ended job roles,
employees are incessantly scouting for tricks on how to increase their overall
performance and growth. However, productivity is highly subjective and one of the more convoluted reality is that every workplace is so different, offering clear and
consistent behavioural changes, processes, and systems to increase productivity
can be difficult.
The dearth of technology and digitization is one of the things
workers condemn when unable to reach their productivity goals. According to the
Staples
Business Advantage Workplace Index, “3 out of 4 respondents say
their employers don’t give them access to the latest technology to do their job
efficiently.” In another survey by The
Economist, respondents who say their employer is either a “pioneer” or
“good” at mobile use, score themselves 7% higher for productivity than those
who do not.
What is Digital Transformation?
It is a business strategy aimed at boosting employee
engagement and agility through consumerization of the work environment, Gartner
analyst Carol Rozwell says. Ideally, your digital workplace helps
individuals and teams work more productively without compromising operations.
It includes computers, mobile devices and productivity and collaboration
applications and, increasingly, chatbots, virtual assistant technology,
personal analytics and immersive workspaces.
"The idea of the digital workplace is to bring that same
simplicity and intuitiveness to employees when they're doing the mission-critical work," Rozwell says.
Influence of going Digital on Productivity:
· Going digital enables people to come up with more
innovative recourses to collaborate and discuss solutions, ideas and thoughts.
According to McKinsey,
Innovative collaboration techniques improve productivity across global teams. Process
and networking tools improve productivity 20 to 30 per cent for global software
development teams. Such tools can also be approached across multiple devices so
employees can collaborate wherever they are situated. Employees can hold
virtual meetings whether they are in the office, in transit, or working from
home.
·If all employees kept a tab on the minute and
monotonous tasks they do every day, the time spent on it adds up. Digital workplace can simplify and automate such tasks for you. For example, Today, business
leaders spend about 80
per cent of the workday communicating, while their employees each
spend roughly 17 hours a
week fielding communications on the job as well. This means, on average,
companies lose $5,246 per
year, per employee, to ineffective communications. Having tools that automate
and process your emails and communication helps out on this front.
·How many times does it happen that right before a
huge project something goes wrong due to lack of proper coordination? You may
have a different version of the same story, but it’s clear that poor project
management is a productivity leak in any company, not to mention the negative
impact on employee morale. This is easily avoidable with the use of work management tools such as Crrux. Team members will know who is working on what.
It also clearly outlines a timeline, deliverables, and bottlenecks in the project, allowing project managers to take certain steps to maintain a high
level of productivity.
·Sharing files is one of the most basic tasks
employees do every day. Yet, it’s also one of the most common productivity
killers. File sharing technology has been around for several years, yet many
companies are still not using it to their advantage. File sharing tools also
make it easy for employees to track the history of changes that were made to a
document. Team members can quickly identify who made what changes and provide
clarifications if necessary.
·Experts predict that by 2020, 50% of the entire workforce will be working remotely one way or another. According to a survey,
companies who are “seeking to boost employee productivity should pursue mobile
strategies that support the ability to work anywhere at any time.” This is why
employees of organizations that invest in remote work technology that allows
them to telecommute rate themselves 16% more productive. They also report 23%
higher job satisfaction compared to employees of companies who have neglected
to invest in good telecommuting tools.
The reality
that every manager or business owner needs to accept is this: unless you’re
planning to scale back on your operations, workplace demands and requirements
have nowhere to go but up. That said, increasing productivity should always be
the priority to meet these demands without overworking your employees.
Technology is
constantly making headway. Digital workplace tools such as Crrux are created to help businesses
improve productivity and achieve goals. It also makes the work more interesting
for both employees and managers. It’s up to you to make a conscious decision to
invest in productivity technology and integrate it into your fundamental
business game plan.