Technology Is Meant to Supercharge Your People...Not Replace Them

Does the mention of implementing new technology put your employees on edge? 

People often feel uneasy when new tech is introduced that has the capacity to streamline processes. The idea of robots taking their job is a looming inevitability according to some, and as easy as it is for people to believe that innovation is going to replace them, those fears, more often than not, are unwarranted. Technological advance is designed to enhance human experience, not replace it. 

Technology is meant to operationalize and commoditize regular and routine tasks, so your people can focus their brain power on driving success and being more competitive in the marketplace. By decreasing, if not eliminating, the mundane and routine jobs, the implementation of technology allows employees to use their talents for more interesting and strategic tasks, enhancing their overall career fulfillment. My favorite way to explain the concept is that technology is designed to rise the tide and lift the boat filled with your employees and staff.

Technology, for the employee, is a major asset, a weapon, if you will, that is placed in their hands to hold the line of competitive advantage in the marketplace. When employees are equipped with weak technology, it’s like going to war with no vehicles to transport your warriors over the long journey nor providing any weapons to fight the opponent, forcing your team to lose miserably, impacting the overall business materially and pushing employees to consider new job opportunities. The victor understands and values the importance of technology as a contributor to effectiveness, and to victory. 

It’s NOT a battle of Technology vs. Staff. The real match is Technology + Staff vs. Competitor’s Technology. The real disadvantage arrives when your staff rejects technology and your competitors are able to jump ahead while your team is just trying to catch their breath. If this is the case, your competition will succeed. 

With the premise that Technology + Staff is a winning combination as the backdrop, there is another very important detail; training. The one thing companies often do wrong is to focus solely on the cost and technical implementation of the technology, and not include the cost of training employees.

This is like sending someone to war with zero training on how to fight. You need to train your employees...not just once, but regularly. Scheduled and ongoing training conditions your team to handle the day-to-day easily, and more importantly gives them the skills necessary to deal with the unpredicted corporate or market elements, which often happen. A winning team is created when they are continuously engaged with a solid technology that not only meets your requirements today, but is also: 

1. Going in a direction that matches your competitive approach style and culture.
2. Is integrated properly with other systems and maximizes its benefit within your technology stack.
3. Adaptive. It’s important that you take the time to realign your operations to use this new powerful weapon. Adding new technology should change your operational strategy. If it doesn't, you are doing it wrong.
4. Easy to use and implement with proper training.

After properly training your team, always continue talking about the tool (or in this case, weapon) and new ways it can serve your team. At most companies, IT departments often sends out reminders on how to contact IT for help with a computer, printer or phone, and reminders on the ever changing security warnings and policies. This practice of ongoing training and reminders helps these topics stay top of mind and ensures best practices. This practice of regular communication should not be limited to just those systems and hardware.

So now it’s time to make your move.

If you have technology in your company: 

• How often are you sending out communication to your staff on how best to use the tools they need to drive the revenue your business depends on? 
• How are you doing your part to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and competency to maximize the use of your technology investments? 
• How are you staying competitive in the market, if your competitors are doing this and you are not? 

Lean into your technology investments, and ensure your people are armed with what they need to use these weapons. Don’t wait; do it now.

If you are realizing your team is ill-equipped with winning technology, then take a step ahead of your competition, and reach out. RepSpark can help. If you are not a client, we can walk you through our offering and how it moves the needle on sales, operations and with your team members. And if you are a RepSpark customer, we can provide Business Consulting, Training, Custom Development, and other services to ensure you and your team is locked and loaded to attack your goals.