Barrier 2: Treating technology as a solution rather than an enabler
Discover why technology alone is not the answer to building business resilience and agility.
Hyland's team
In our report, Unlocking business resilience and agility, we found that while building resilience and agility is top of mind for many executives, 51% of businesses today see themselves as resilient and agile. Thirty-one percent of companies evaluated themselves as “weak” or “very weak” on resilience and agility, and 19% were neutral.
To help businesses struggling on this front, we identified four key barriers organizations must overcome to reach their full potential. One barrier is the temptation to treat technology as a solution, rather than an enabler.
Technology by itself is never the solution to any workplace challenge. Instead, it is a means for humans to work more effectively.
There’s no question that advanced technology solutions can take a business’s efficiency, accuracy and productivity to the next level. However, productivity doesn’t just increase overnight.
Some leaders assume they can purchase a new platform and call it a day. It’s important to remember that people are the ones using the technology. The more they understand it, the better it will work.
To build resilience and agility, companies must be willing to invest time and money into fully training their employees on new solutions and developing new processes and protocols regarding their use. How companies source, understand and use their technology solutions directly informs whether or not they’re able to use technology to its full potential.
We asked executives and employees from companies in a range of industries whether or not they found the technology they interact with on a day-to-day basis to be innovative, impactful and helpful. Their answers pointed us toward identifying key areas of improvement. Here’s what they said and where there’s room for growth:
Innovative technology
Our research suggests that the companies that see themselves as most resilient and agile have a few things in common. One is that they invest in innovation.
What does this mean on the technology front? The answer is two-fold. First, companies should dedicate time and resources to trying out innovative technology offerings. And second, as business needs change and processes evolve, technological investments should follow.
When consulting executives and employees on this matter:
- 55% said their companies “have time and money to try out new technologies to improve the way they work.”
- 59% said “our IT is adaptable to changing needs.”
These results point to a general lack of investment in innovation. To build greater resilience and agility, companies should consider forming an “innovation unit” to try out new technologies and ensure that as their needs change, they’re investing in the right solutions.
Impactful technology
From video conferencing platforms to process automation tools to content management systems (CRMs), companies use a range of different technologies. We wanted to know which types of solutions are the most impactful. To figure it out, we asked executives and employees to rank 13 different types of technology solutions according to their impact on resilience and agility.
The respondents said these five solutions have the most impact on resilience and agility:
- Experience management systems
- Artificial intelligence
- Issue tracking systems
- Enterprise resource planning
- Learning management systems
Interestingly, 40% of companies reported using these types of technology solutions. This means that 60% aren’t yet taking advantage of some of the most impactful solutions on the market.
Now let’s zoom out. Overall, 32% to 49% of survey respondents didn’t believe that any of the 13 technology solutions enabled resilience and agility. The verdict? Employees and executives are generally pretty skeptical of the impact of all technology solutions, no matter their form.
This finding opens up a few questions:
Are the 32% to 49% of survey respondents correct in thinking that technology doesn't impact business resilience and agility? If so, this is an opportunity for tech providers to improve their products or more clearly communicate their products’ benefits.
On the other hand, could it be that survey respondents aren't able to see or understand their technology’s benefits and impact? If you feel this may be the case at your organization, it could be a sign to invest more time into training employees on how to use your platforms to their full potential.
Leaders should seek out easy-to-implement tech solutions that positively impact business resilience and agility. Gather data, measure success and don’t forget to share it with the rest of your colleagues. Executives and employees should be able to see the positive impact of technology on their business’s success. If they can’t, it may mean it's time to look into a new product or invest in more training.
Helpful technology
When technology is intuitive to use, it can vastly improve speed and productivity. On the other hand, if technology is overly complicated or employees haven't been thoroughly trained to reap its benefits, it can be a detriment to workplace efficiency.
We asked employees and executives how they feel about the technology they currently use at their organizations.
- 61% of companies agreed that their technology “makes work more efficient and faster.”
- 60% agreed that they have “technology solutions that are easy to use.”
- 61% agreed that their technology gives people “the right information at the right time.”
This begs the question: How can these numbers be improved? If 40% of people don’t see their workplace technology as intuitive or helpful, what’s wrong?
One potential answer is for technology companies to include users in product development. Another is for them to assist their users with implementation.
Building a roadmap toward unlocking resilience and agility
In summary, our data shows that to unlock greater resilience and agility, companies should:
- Dedicate time and resources to trying out innovative new technologies, with changing business needs in mind.
- Determine which technology solutions are most impactful and thoroughly train employees to use them to their full potential.
- Invest in technology that is easy to use. If a certain platform is overly complicated or counterintuitive, it will slow down work rather than increase efficiency.
The bottom line: Technology is only as strong as the people using it. Be smart when sourcing and invest time and money into thoroughly training employees to use the technology available to them to its full potential. While not the solution in itself, technology has the potential to significantly increase workplace speed and efficiency, enabling greater resilience and agility.
