The Benefits and Impacts of Using Technology in Your Business

Integrating technology into your business seems like a no-brainer. There are very few people who would outright say that technology couldn’t help their business in some way. But the term “technology” is so broad that it can often lose meaning.

With the help of technology, we’ve seen groundbreaking inventions, innovative medicines, and other incredible accomplishments that wouldn’t have happened without it. Alongside such achievements are the advancements that technology has made towards traditional business practices. At this point, a business cannot be run without a significant IT support system of technicians, CIOs, project managers, etc.

Regardless of the profession, technology will benefit business processes and procedures so you can focus on what you do best. Framework IT understands that you have more important tasks to tend to that can’t be disrupted by technological setbacks. Discover why we believe technology should be an integral part of your organization and how Framework can help.

1. Remote Work Means Providing Mobility and Flexibility to Employees

The average workweek no longer includes spending all forty hours inside of the office. In fact, Remote work has grown 159% since 2005, and having the opportunity to do so is a highly desired asset among applicants.

Technology is to blame for this phenomenon – there are entire companies that are fully remote. Whether or not a company has the ability to provide remote work opportunities can be a deal-breaker for many job seekers. Some of the most popular remote software favorable among workers are Office 365, Evernote, and Slack

A study conducted by Stanford confirmed that not only did morale increase, so did productivity. The experiment was conducted in collaboration with the NASDAQ-listed Chinese travel agency, Ctrip. Volunteers were randomly selected to either work from home or in the office for nine months.

The study discovered that “The overall impact of WFH was striking. The firm improved total factor productivity by between 20% to 30% and saved about $2,000 a year per employee WFH.” Forward-thinking businesses will encourage such autonomy because it facilitates trust and boosts morale.

2. Onboarding

Hiring new talent can become a more daunting task than anticipated, especially if there is a shortage of human resource support. Onboarding needs to be efficient and effective, but also supplement the business in a positive fashion. Lack of onboarding technology and software could cause setbacks to daily tasks if the proper precautions aren’t taken.

Most of the onboarding process can be automated using a combination of traditional enterprise IT systems and new cloud-based tools. Some of the most popular programs include Rippling, Bamboo HR, and Hubstaff. Automated processes also reduce mistakes to resist future hassle.

Benefits of onboarding software

  • Paperless forms – Your new employees will be able to view mobile-friendly documents and use digital signatures, so no physical paper is involved.

  • Digital Training – Get new hires prepared to work faster with preliminary training through the use of pre-recorded videos, handbooks, and other instructional materials.

  • Document tracking – Track the status of your new hires to guarantee people can’t work until all onboarding steps are completed.

By embracing this onboarding technology, employees can get through all of the tedious forms more quickly and spend more time focusing on getting up to speed in their new position.

Technology can streamline and automate your onboarding process, so you can focus your attention on your business’s core mission.

3. Increased Team Collaboration

Fostering collaboration between employees is one of the earliest results of implementing technology. Organizations that work collaboratively spend 64% more time on a task than those working alone.  

Because technology allows you to do things more quickly and efficiently, it also allows room for increased responsibility. There are many cloud-based collaboration and communication tools available, including, basecamp, and Monday.com that consolidate critical information so that it is quickly available to all stakeholders.

According to a new study from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), companies that promote collaborative working are five times more likely to be high performing. With an increased volume of responsibility assigned, your mobile team can unite together to produce the most effective outcomes.

Providing your team with the proper tools is essential for seamless work from home collaboration.                    

4. Improve Productivity

Technology has single-handedly increased the rate of which we work.

From hand-written memos to instant messaging, technology implemented so much speed that has greatly impacted our lives and what we’re seeing now is beyond email Worker productivity has skyrocketed in the past 20 years.

It is important to examine the most essential areas of your business and determine where heightened productivity is needed. There are many platforms to support a remote workforce while increasing productivity.

  • Video Chat – Leaving the comfort of your own home is old news when you can dial in from your bed, the train, or even the beach.

  • Direct Messaging – Private chat systems such are designed to replace your current communication channels, such as email, with real-time messaging.

  • Productivity Tracking – SaaS programs are uniquely designed to remotely monitor employee progress to improve customer success.

Technology has allowed us all to have immediate access to anything imaginable – providing a limitless opportunity for growth.

5. Business Growth

Technology will serve a business the best if its employees and its stakeholders embrace change. A prime example of a company who did not embrace the changing environment is Toys “R” Us. In the early 2000’s they signed a 10-year contract with Amazon to be their exclusive toy vendor. However, in 2004 Amazon broke the deal by allowing other toy vendors on the site. Toys “R” Us sued Amazon, breaking the deal and missing the opportunity for a lucrative e-commerce presence.

It is important to foresee growth and future demand for technical assistance but even more important is to be constantly searching for tools and software that makes things more scalable.

Organizations are continually searching for ways to improve their capability to provide positive outcomes to trusted clients. The easiest way to achieve greater technical support for your business is to add and update technical support. It is not uncommon to see a business that has had the same technology for a long time, and that it is ingrained in its culture. Oftentimes companies reach a point where that specific technology is no longer compatible with its surrounding counterparts – this is called technical debt.

In environments possessing a large amount of technical debt, failure is imminent if no action is taken. We are currently in the middle of a massive market shift from traditional software & hardware capital expenditure to a recurring “As a Service (SaaS)” model.

It has always been critical to maintain your business’ pace in harmony with technology advancements, and this shift make it even more important. Stagnation is not a feasible strategy and technology can make sure that your business is moving on an upward trend.

Need Assistance Implementing IT into Your Business?

Are you struggling to effectively leverage technology that results in business growth? Framework IT is a managed services provider located in Chicago, IL with more than 10 years’ experience managing the IT systems of expanding businesses, we understand the value that technology adds to business and how we can bring your organization to the next level. If you would like to learn more about our data-driven process, contact us for an assessment.