- "You're on mute."
"The call got disconnected."
"The picture froze."
"What's the password?"
"I can't find the link."
"I can't access the file."
"Where's the updated file?"
"How do I update the file?"
We struggle sometimes using work platforms and applications,
but the capacities and capabilities
that technology now affords us are extraordinary,
facilitating our working lives in so many ways,
especially allowing us to have greater flexibility
to work where and when we want
so we can engage and perform at our best.
Now the future of work has arrived,
it is essential to treat technology
as strategic to business success
and core to operations and productivity,
rather than being a cost.
The pandemic accelerated the integration of technology
into critical operations,
such as automating mundane tasks,
increasing safety by digitizing manual handoffs,
speeding up processes,
and creating storage in the cloud
that we can access anywhere.
We now have petabytes of data
alerting us to changing customer behaviors,
document updates, equipment repair needs, and much more
so that we can focus on more complex issues
that require all our full human genius.
With technology entwined
deep in our business and work processes
rather than laying on top of them,
it is important to recognize new digital requirements
and assess baseline technical skill needs
for every employee to be able to complete
their daily tasks effectively.
The World Economic Forum
includes two basic technology skill groupings
in their top skill sets that every worker needs for 2025:
technology use and development.
Discover what is necessary at your organization,
from general fluency and usage
with communications platforms, cloud storage,
basic data analytics and cybersecurity,
to sector and company-specific elements
such as facility with CAD software at an architecture firm
or basic logistics program fluency at an e-commerce company.
As part of a cohesive, long-term, strategic approach,
make sure there is a system of controls and procedures,
which means you assign suitable technology governance
that determines who is permitted to make
what technology decision at which specific level.
During 2020's emergency conditions
rushing to find interim solutions,
there was a free-for-all at some companies,
with indiscriminate buying by different teams
resulting in numerous, even hundreds of applications,
which didn't work well together
and needed cleaning up afterwards.
Careful purchase choices
ensure applications work together well
so employees can navigate between them seamlessly,
depending on their different uses, needs, and habits,
as well as being easier to support.
The final critical step is providing sufficient training
to ensure everyone's comfort with tools
so they can work effectively wherever they are
with equitable access and support.
Help people get familiar with new tools
as well as benefiting from understanding
their range of capabilities
and how applications work together.
Keep abreast of technology developments
to check you have what you need to stay competitive.
Technology is strategically important,
and when integrated well
and supported by training for employees,
it enables your business' growth and success.