How can technology support team work

Employers are engaging designers to create areas where employees can work wherever they want, changing settings within the office. Many are recognizing the need for experiences based on choices, technology will help develop this new reality, however a balance between technology and human contact will determine the success.

Technology has been used to keep the business organized, management software’s have helped with delegating, reviewing, and assessing a task. Technology allows teams and groups of people with different schedules and locations to get in touch with each other. The main benefit of technology is to increase effectiveness by decreasing project times and costs.  For example, conferencing technology provides real-time interaction among co-workers, eradicating confusion and frustration stemming from back-and-forth emails.

In today’s scenario according to Forbes Magazine technology “must enable people to be more productive, efficient and innovative; stay connected internally and externally; and feel safe and cared for. It should facilitate the comfortable and expeditious flow of people, ideas and emotions.” Interactions with other people in the office impacts problem solving and creativity around our work. At the end of the day we gather around the kitchen and watercooler to create these interactions that will spark problem solving. These are skills technology can’t automate, but it can influence and support interpersonal contact when work is done remotely.

We are seeing how workplaces are running and changing after Covid-19.  According to The National Post “the pandemic has forced several workplaces to hastily upgrade and/or invest in technology to allow for people working remotely. On one hand, for those coming back to the office, employers might continue to make investments to keep the office accessible and safe, such as voice and automation technology.”

Every organization had to adopt new technologies to change how they operate in this new social organization. However, technology can only succeed when a collaborative process already exists in the workplace. With that in mind, IT will generate new workflows, efficiencies, and processes to support an existing collaborative work. Once teams start working together in a more effective way it will start to positively impact production and profitability.

Implement the right technology and people will adjust and make the new technology part of their workflow:

1. Make it easy for teams to meet: Technology like Zoom and Skype help host virtual meetings with easy to share audio, screens, and voice. These tools will encourage innovation and creativity.
2. Make it easier to share ideas: Complete projects faster with quick message technology like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Although Email is a traditional form of communication, it can be a burden if not used correctly.
3. Be a source of knowledge: Achieve uniformity and consistency across the board developing templates for projects and archiving important documents.
4. Share availability: Achieve coordination with different departments and across your team establishing a policy where staff make their calendar public for everyone in the organization. Private meetings can always be marked as private.
5. Standardize Tools: Boost work efficiency adopting one sharing tool, once everyone uses the same toolstaff training time will be reduced.

The new reality we are living today has forced several companies and organizations to implement technology rapidly to keep collaboration going even when working remotely. However, for an organization to be more collaborative, technology alone is not enough. For technology to work it must support people so everybody can move through the routine of their workday with ease, spending more time with family and friends.