When the working from home became a norm during the Covid-19 lockdowns this accelerated the uptake of technology as this gave people the ability to get access to company resources while communicating and working together with colleagues, partners, and customers in a remote capacity.
Everything was flipped upside down with face-to-face becoming webcam-to-webcam instead. Every industry has needed to adjust. For example, the recruitment sector has been particularly affected by the pandemic however by electing to embrace technology to streamline business practices it is possible to deliver better results for the industry and its clients.
But as much as technology has made our lives easier, it’s vital to remember that you need to maintain the human touch when adopting technology solutions.
How to Work in A Virtual World
A lack of social contact and fragmented communications are real concerns with remote working. This being said without videoconferencing, we would all be quite lost in both our work and private lives. This is underlined by the increase in meeting minutes at videoconferencing provider Zoom. In January 2020 it carried 100 billion, while just three months later, the figure hit two trillion meeting minutes.
If there are no advances in technologies, it is quite clear that our lives would not be as rich, particularly in the current exceptional situation. However we must remember that digital transformation and innovation serves up a human purpose. The human dimension must not be ignored.
Take the digital workplace for instance. By 2021, just a quarter of mid-size and large organisations will positively employ new ways of working in 80% of their projects. Why? This is because companies treat them as an IT initiative and don’t take into account the human aspect. They often forget that we humans are creatures of habit and really don’t like change. Any change has to be carefully managed. We have to learn how to work together and interact in a digital world.
People Still Matter
This is an important point that you need to keep in mind. Even in situations that don’t involve advanced education, such as physicians, it doesn’t mean that we as people don’t want to interact with people rather than machines.
This is not about being backward. Technology marches ruthlessly forward – just look at crypto slots -, and it would be unwise to argue otherwise, however some things remain fundamental. People-to-people communication will go on to become one of them. Just because the tech is accessible, doesn’t mean it’s always going to be the best option in almost every situation.
It is very paramount that technology companies – as well as their co-innovation partners – take a step back and think about the technologies that employees need and will really use. We need to put the human touch first and foremost in projects which involve. Without engaging all stakeholders from the start of a transformation project, it is quite impossible to assess if it will work or fail. If a technology is far too complex and difficult to use, chances are it won’t be adopted.
