New technology is constantly being developed to streamline operations and simplify day-to-day tasks. John Allen, Director, Global SEO at RingCentral looks into how technology enables companies to be more productive by automating routine tasks, freeing up resources, and simplifying work life.
Throughout 2020, it became very clear that businesses could function optimally with a lot less than they realized. With the right technology on hand, companies managed to operate from remote locations, running multiple branches across the world, while still enhancing employee engagement and collaboration.Â
Technology is an aid to business success. The use of technology, layered with user skills and experience, creates systems that enhance existing processes and operations. Using technology strategically is a means to smoother business operation and increased productivity.
Here are nine ways technology can help companies be more productive in 2021.
1. Higher Efficiency
Being efficient means having the required amount of time to dedicate to your tasks. Using technology such as marketing automation and machine learning helps free up employees’ time. This enables them to focus on more pressing business-related tasks instead of administrative tasks.
Many businesses have found success through the use of a chatbotOpens a new window that manages their inbound interactions with customers. Chatbots are able to filter messages and direct customers to the right department without any need for human intervention. Humans can take over when customers have specific queries or want to talk to a human.
2. Efficient Project Management
Project management tools make it easier to bring team members on board with any given project. Project managers can assign tasks, attach briefs and associated files, and engage with team members from one convenient platform.Â
Team members can easily see what their responsibilities are and where their priorities lie. They are also connected with their fellow team players on the project. All project files can be shared within the project, keeping everyone in the loop with progress and deliverables.Â
Learn More: 5 Tips for Excelling at Virtual Project Management
3. Improved Cost-Efficiency
Every company wants to improve its cost efficiency and make more money. The technology aims to support this, helping companies expand their bottom line while executing critical tasks more effectively.Â
Some examples of how technology supports cost-efficiency include:
- Remote working and office mobility reduce the costs spent on office rental, office cleaning, or the purchasing of office consumables from paper to coffee.
- Automation software or AIOpens a new window takes care of repetitive tasks so that employees can focus their time on more important and profitable tasks.
- Manual tasks can be replaced with a SaaS alternative, helping employees optimize their responsibilities.
- Data quality software can be used to ensure that the data being used by the business is of optimal quality. This reduces time spent on sourcing relevant information for data-driven decision making.
4. Improved Collaboration
Collaboration software has made it easy for teams to collaborate on projects and tasks, regardless of physical location. Not only does this help teams stay engaged, but it improves their general communication techniquesOpens a new window with one another too. This is a win for teamwork and general bonding between peers.
Teams can stay connected at all times, even across different time zones. This is where collaboration tools make it easy for teams to catch up on what they missed while offline. Team members can share information and ideas, inspire one another, and help each other with issues or through difficult situations.
Learn More: 5 Things That Are Making Your Virtual Meetings Ineffective
5. Enhanced Employee Engagement
Managers can track employee progress a lot more effectively with productivity tools and engagement software. This gives employees a means to chart their own progress, measuring themselves against KPIs or other targets.
Employee engagement tools also empower employees and incentivize them to achieve a higher potential. Some of these tools are gamified — this drives innovation and productivity.
6. Improved Customer Service
Customer service channelsOpens a new window have been optimized with the use of unified communications and systems such as VoIP. Features such as call waiting, caller identification, and automatic call distribution help customers know they are being taken care of. Moreover, features such as interaction analytics help improve customer interactions.
- What is call waiting? Call waiting informs employees of another incoming call, allowing them to place an existing call on hold to answer the waiting call.
- What is caller identification? This enables employees to see the caller’s number or identification on incoming calls.
- What is automatic call distribution?Opens a new window It’s a telephony system that automatically receives calls and distributes each call to the first available agent.
- What do we mean by interaction analytics? Interaction analytics measures conversations and extracts insights from them, enabling employees to learn from each interaction.Â
7. Better System Security
Cloud-based system technology has state-of-the-art security measures in place. Plus, there are a number of options in advanced anti-phishing software and solutions to prevent security breaches.
Security breaches are an unnecessary waste of a business’s time and they can be avoided. With up to date security technology in place, businesses don’t need to worry about downtime due to domain or website hijacking, ransomware, or any other related cybersecurity threats.
In the event of a security breach, these same security solutions are on hand to immediately rectify the situation. This minimizes any downtime and helps restart business operations as soon as possible.
Learn More: 9-Step Guide to Choosing the Right Online Meeting Solution
8. Remote Working EnablementÂ
Remote working enables employees to work from home or any location in the world, which helps keep businesses running optimally. It also keeps employees happy and saves time due to there being no commute into work.
Migrating operations to the cloudOpens a new window keeps everyone connected on the same systems, working with the same data and applications. Even your call centerOpens a new window can be migrated to the cloud, keeping your business operational, and serving customers around the clock from anywhere in the world.
9. Customizable Software
Most software is made to scale as businesses grow. The same can be said for companies who need to downsize. Employee access can be removed as employees leave the business. This enables businesses to only pay for what they need, improving cost efficiency.
With most software, onboarding employees is an easy task that is managed for the most part by the software provider itself. This frees up time for human resources or managers who can take over once the new employee has been onboarded and is familiar with the business’s software and technologies.Â
Final Words
Technology is constantly evolving to serve users better and make life simpler. Where businesses are concerned, technology is being used to improve operations, enhance productivity, and reduce costs. Productivity is down to the individual and then the team as a whole, but the available tools only enhance the probability.
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