We’re not telling you anything new when we say that 2020 has tested everybody’s patience. From casual staff through to CEOs, the new business landscape has been, to say the least, challenging. One of the biggest hurdles, of course, has been how to keep things running smoothly while accommodating remote work and flexible conditions. Businesses rushed to find a custom software company, they quickly acquired collaboration tools and also became Zoom experts. When the changes hit, one thing became very clear. A smooth transition was nearly impossible without the right tools.
The right support for remote workers
The biggest change for most businesses in 2020 has been the switch to remote work, or working from home. Offices just weren’t viable, so businesses needed an alternative. Companies with outdated systems struggled, particularly those without cloud-based options.
Working from home isn’t a walk in the park for employees either, especially those with small children. So, providing the right remote working tools for them to feel productive is crucial. Without this, their frustration continues to grow and productivity decreases.
Start the conversationThe staff engagement factor
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that stressed staff are probably not going to be engaged at work. According to the Harvard Business Review, since the pandemic hit, 67% of people reported higher stress levels. The longer it goes on, you can imagine that number rising. Even before the pandemic, Gallup’s Global State of the Workforce report suggested that a dismal 14% of Australians were engaged at work. Obviously, plenty of factors contribute to such low engagement levels, but having the right tools to do your job is certainly one of them.
If you want to reduce stress and increase engagement among your workforce, help them out with the right technology. You might consider a CRM to make the sales process more effective. Maybe even hiring a custom software company to deliver a purpose-built system. Anything that decreases frustration levels among employees is going to be a winner for engagement.
The right tools equal higher productivity
We know that poor staff engagement equals lower productivity, but that’s not the only cause. You can increase productivity simply by giving your teams the right equipment to do their job. You know what we’re talking about, right? Double handling data because it needs to be entered in two different systems. Payroll staff checking timesheets when a computer system should do it for you. Clunky processes and approval requirements that just delay everything. All of these things make your business less productive.
Speed up your onboarding and training
Hands up who has started in a new job, and the staff member training you is constantly apologising for all the weird little workarounds you’ll need to do. Yep, we’ve all been there. Everything takes longer when systems and processes aren’t fit for purpose. You’re basically training people to be non-productive.
Provide the right tools, and you can onboard staff and get them trained up quickly. For example, don’t force staff to learn a range of obscure spreadsheets and databases for customer information when a CRM like Zoho or Salesforce makes it so simple.
Ultimately, everybody wins when you give staff the right tools. Engagement increases, productivity gets a boost, and change management becomes a whole lot easier.
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