8 Ways to Make Your Organisation Cutting Edge
Nowadays, businesses don’t just need to meet standards, satisfy employees and be current; they need to surpass expectations, empower staff and be progressive. It can be difficult however to know exactly how to achieve this. Of course, organisations have to be digitally transformative by investing in the right tools and technologies, but it’s not the only way to make sure your company is cutting edge.
Embrace digital
Investing in new technologies isn’t solely about keeping up with the latest trends, it’s about boosting employee productivity and business performance. That’s because an employee with the right tools will have greater output, be better-equipped to meet the needs of customers and more motivated than an employee who is frustrated and inhibited by out-of-date technologies and environments. This means individual workstations and communal areas that engage, enable and empower.
Be flexible
Having the ability to adapt can be the difference between a company succeeding and failing. From a customer perspective, it’s about expanding or adapting your service offering to meet their evolving needs. In terms of employees, it’s about facilitating them in a way that allows them to work how, where and when they want with unified communication systems and mobile devices with access to internal company systems. In turn, this boosts customer service levels and reaction times.
Review processes
It’s important that the processes by which a team operates are effective and efficient. After all, it’s not about working harder but working smarter. That means freeing up time and resources with solutions which streamline document management and optimise information workflow. Furthermore, the digitisation of information not only results in greater productivity but also accessibility and security. Essentially, it’s moving away from the presence of paper to a digital future.
Involve people
Communication is crucial within any business as you will only know what yours needs by talking to those within it. People are the starting point when it comes to developing any operational strategy, including decisions about technology. If they are the ones who will be impacted and using the tools, they need to be involved in the decision-making process. So find out what they require through feedback forms, a monthly meeting or an online staff forum. Ask and, more importantly, listen.
Facilitate everyone
With four generations currently in the workforce, it is imperative that Irish businesses think about the needs of all their employees and enable workstyles that cater for everyone. That includes those who like a physical workspace, those who prefer to work remotely and those who are on the other side of the globe. With collaborative technologies such as interactive whiteboards and videoconferencing widely available, this is easier to achieve than ever before.
Transform space
From how and who to where. The concept of the office as we know it is changing. Different organisations need different things when it comes to the workspace. An increasing number of employers are enabling mobile workstyles and responding to the emphasis on health and wellbeing by providing ergonomic workstations for staff. Others are creating communal areas which aid communication and collaboration while some don’t need a shared office space at all. The secret is to use only the space you need and equip it accordingly.
Think big
In this age of digital disruption, anything really is possible. Irish companies can take advantage of the latest advances in artificial intelligence and robotics to progress and innovate. Imagine a workplace in which people can share ideas across locations, people have their own smart lockers and virtual receptionists greet visitors – actually, you don’t have to imagine, you can make it happen today.
Give back
This takes many forms including adopting sustainable business approaches that benefit the environment and establishing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) offering that allows the team to contribute to causes they care about. Sustainability and CSR are of increasing importance for prospective employees but they can also benefit your organisation by helping to attract and retain talent.
With any of these approaches, the first step is determining what your business and workforce needs. This is the only way of figuring out which technologies, processes and strategies are best suited to benefit business performance and make your organisation cutting edge.
