5-minute read – Business Management Series – Workplace Technology
At one time or another, all of us were children. And if we were like most children, our attention span was relatively short.
We would get a new toy for Christmas or our birthday, and it would be wonderful – so new and shiny and interesting.
But after some time, perhaps a few months, perhaps over a day or a few hours, the novelty would wear off, and we would forget about the toy, and either go back to old toys we love, or find something more interesting.
As adults, workplace technology is somewhat like those toys from when we were kids.
When a new platform is rolled out across an organisation, it often comes with a lot of excitement.
There are usually launches, internal communications, training, and incentives or encouragement to adopt the software.
It is at that point, that most employees log in for the first time, try it out and start to buy into using it.
But again, just like those kids, sometimes, after a few days, weeks or months, employees can return to old habits – learning even the simplest of new systems can seem like extra work on top of what they already do.
Gradually they log in less and less, or only to use the necessary functionality. After a while, they can even get out of practice and forget their training.
When this happens, engagement with the system begins to decline, and the investment you made in exploring solutions, finding the right one and implementing, suddenly seems somewhat wasted.
And yet, you decided upon this solution for a reason. You determined it would bring value to your organisation, perhaps improving productivity and enhancing results.
So how can you make your time and efforts worthwhile? The simple answer is, don’t stop investing!
Keep communicating about your workplace technology
In the old world, pre-Netflix and all those other streaming services, if you wanted to see what happened on a television show, you had to tune in each week.
Unfortunately, even with a great desire to see what would happen, as adults, many of us have so many obligations and commitments, that days get away from us and it would be easy to forget when the new episode is scheduled.
To help us out, television networks would advertise; relentlessly reminding us of the time slot and cliff hanger associated with the next episode.
When it comes to workplace technology, you need to be that relentless advertiser.
Your teams have a lot going on, they have a lot of commitments.
They might like the software, they might understand it – they might even love using it, but if it is their habit to log into something else, and that something else still exists, there will be days when they take those shortcuts.
One short cut becomes another, and eventually, what was logging into the old process every now and then, becomes only logging into the old process, and the new platform is forgotten.
Don’t stop communicating about the software and reminding people of its benefits and functions just because it seems everyone has bought-in and adopted it.
Keep pushing it and promoting it and supporting it until it becomes the new habit, and your employees log into it out of routine as much as they do out of choice.
Keep up the training
Remember those toys? Remember what happened when you found something about it that you just couldn’t figure it out?
Sure, you gave it a try, but trying and failing is not very satisfying. Eventually, unable to work it out, you moved on and found a toy you knew how to use.
Again, workplace technology is no different.
Provide ongoing training that is mandatory for all employees, whether online or face-to-face.
This not only helps them figure out any of those frustrating bits that might have turned them away, it also regularly introduces them to new ways of doing things they may not have been aware of.
Make it a source of crucial information
A new intranet is one of the most common platforms in medium to larger organisation, regardless of industry, and it’s also one people tune into at the start, but often less and less over time.
And yet, it can be a crucial point for obtaining information, if you so choose!
Use your workplace technology to share information that employees NEED to know – this will encourage regular use.
As an example, workplace management software might be a good place to make rosters available, so employees must use it to find out when their next shift is.
A CEO might make a $100 prize available to the employee of the month, and the intranet might be the only place employees can find out if they won.
You have workplace technology because it provides an important service, so draw on its purpose to determine how you can use it to share crucial information or processes.
Make workplace technology available and accessible
Over the last few years, and especially in 2020, our workplaces changed dramatically.
While aged and disability care frontline staff were rarely office-based, now even those office staff have started to work offsite, from their homes.
In order for workplace technology to be used in the long-term, it needs to be easy to get to, no matter where your teams are.
This means taking the software to them, rather than making them go to the software.
Visicase’s workplace management platform is on the cloud, meaning users don’t need to be stuck in an office in order to use it.
Field workers can log in remotely, using any device, and do what they need to do, on our system, from wherever they are.
If you implemented software that is not cloud-based, it is likely, over recent years, developers have looked at making it more accessible or will.
Get in touch with your service providers to find out what options you have for taking your workplace technology to your people, rather than the other way around.
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VisiCase provides an NDIS-ready business automation platform, built on powerful workflows. It helps you manage, streamline and optimise every component of your business, and its modules empower a positive employee and client experience.
Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash