Can Technology Harm Your Business?

Let's get this out of the way first. I love technology. iPhone - check, Apple Watch-got it, Dyson Fan- cooling me this very second, anything with a bit of a wow factor and I'm a sucker for it. In fact, if Apple invented a pair of socks that alerted me when my feet were about to smell I'd probably get them. Technology has its uses and the speed of development in the last 20 years has been frightening but is it time to set back and think if it is actually harming our business. Here are some of the angles where I think that modern technology can inadvertently affect our businesses.

Unrealistic Expectations

When I started working for our company seventeen years ago, emails were in their infancy. Our customers would send tenders to price in the post. A package would arrive the size of a small country containing the tender drawings and documents needed and most importantly a tender deadline. Usually, this would be about 4 weeks after we received the document.

In comparison today we have emails and cloud hosting. I get this. Costs of sending large parcels and the time involved have been scrapped allowing us instantaneous responses. The big problem with this is the word, instantaneous, is that as soon as the email is sent a reply is required or wanted. It is not unusual for an email to be in our estimating inbox first thing in the morning and a customer to want a detailed quote back within an hour.

As we work with shopfitting and construction companies we appreciate that they can be put under pressure to turn around quotes and jobs. We want to help as much as possible but there has to be a reasonable amount of time to return prices especially when the jobs are large or complicated. We have found the best solution is, to be honest with our customers upfront and communicate our timescales. Experience has taught us not to bend over backwards to cost and book work in as it normally comes back to bite us.

Always Switched On

Computers, tablets, phones and now watches are constantly surrounding us. There is no switching off. There is almost an addiction to checking the pings and dings that get delivered throughout the day. I went through a phase where I would check from the moment I awoke to the moment I went to sleep. It is putting your mind through unnecessary pressure. It affects mood and sleep patterns. The solution was to get emails sent through to a shared email account where we only work on those in office hours. We have taken the work email accounts from our personal devices and we encourage all our employees to take the downtime they are entitled to. The result is we are fresher and more productive in working hours.

Communication

Email is a faceless, emotionless, form of communication. People tend to send emails as they are a record of information. Some email chains are not necessary. It would be quicker and more personable to pick up the phone and speak to the person on the other side. Lately, we have decided to visit more of our customers face to face, this goes against the grain of recent trends. We are finding that developing that relationship is resulting in more work and partnerships are being created rather than never speaking like an autonomous robot.

Security Risk

Cloud computing offers great benefits like sharing vital documents and photos and storing them remotely in case of computer failures. With this though comes increased risk from hacking. Passwords protection needs serious thinking. Using obvious passwords is opening up the possibility of a cybercriminal wreaking havoc with business data. All employees need to be aware of the threat of online theft and a password policy should be implemented with guidelines and how often passwords should be changed.

Some of the examples may seem a bit negative but these real examples of how they have affected our business. I am a great advocate of new and emerging technology and how it can help a business but a serious thought has to go into how this affects employees and the business in the long term.