We know that investing in new workplace technology is essential for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve. 78% of workers say that technology is a crucial factor when choosing one job over another, and 87% of CIOs believe digital transformation drives at least 5% additional revenue growth.
However, it’s not just about introducing any old tool. Investing in new technology is important, but choosing the right technology for your business is essential to a successful implementation, and to your bottom line.
Is this new software suited to your workers, and the way that they work? Will it solve problems, or add further friction? Making the wrong investment could be detrimental to productivity and even employee retention, with workers being over 50% more likely to stay in their roles if empowered with sufficient tech.
Luckily, we’re here to help you avoid a poor investment. Read on for a list of factors you should take into consideration when investing in new workplace technology.
Quick navigation:
- What problem does it solve?
- Do your employees want it?
- Is it user-friendly?
- Does it integrate with your existing tech-stack?
- What's the ROI?
1. What problem does it solve?
Take a step back and look at the current challenges your business is facing. Are you experiencing high rates of employee turnover? Struggling to motivate and engage employees? Or battling low customer satisfaction due to poor availability of information?
Any new technology you implement in the workplace should aim to solve one of your key problems. If not, it’s unlikely to be the best investment.
You should also ask yourself how this new tool will solve your business problem. If, for example, you’re looking for a solution to simplify shift scheduling within your retail store, does the tool automate this process and remove friction? Is there evidence that the software has helped other companies to achieve your desired results?
Ensure that any new tool you implement in the workplace aligns with your business goals and presents a clear solution to a problem you’re currently facing.
2. Do your employees want it?
When deciding on a new tool for the workplace, you need to think about who’s actually going to be using it: your employees. Make sure that you fully understand their needs and the way they currently work before adding a new tool that may well be irrelevant or even disruptive.
This can be done by conducting employee surveys and interviews to discover what your teams think about the proposed tool and whether it would be useful to them. Finding out that the technology you’re interested in is actually not suited to existing workflows could save you a considerable amount of time and money.
Conversely, leveraging employee feedback before committing to a new workplace technology is also key to ensuring its success. Getting buy-in from your employees will drive further adoption of the new tool, and also guide your implementation strategy to ensure a successful launch.
3. Is it user-friendly?
Another key factor to take into consideration is whether the new technology is easy to implement and adapt to. Is there a smooth user experience? Does it require little to no training for employees to pick it up and start using it? If you’re not sure, you might want to reconsider your options.
New technology needs to simplify processes - not add more friction. A complex implementation and training process could quickly become costly for your business and a drain on employees’ time.
90% of users have stopped using an app or software because the UX wasn’t up to scratch. If it’s tricky to use and makes your workers’ lives harder, the new tool won’t be fully adopted and your investment will go to waste. It may even have a negative impact and cause resentment among your teams, which should (of course) be avoided.
4. Does it integrate with your existing tech stack?
A factor that’s sometimes underlooked, but can be detrimental to the success of a new technology, is whether it can be integrated into your existing set of workplace tools.
Any added technology should be agile and easy to integrate - or at the very least, not interfere with the tech-stack you already have in place. If you find that you need to upgrade your current stack to support the new tool, or that implementation actually requires a lot of development work and technical support, it may become more hassle than it’s worth.
The ability to embed new software solutions within the tools your workers are already using is also highly valuable. The more seamless the experience, the more likely your employees are to adopt the new tool and continue using it.
5. What's the ROI?
The final - and to many, the most important - question to ask yourself is how this new tool will impact your bottom line. Will it generate a healthy ROI, or become a drain on resources?
New workplace tools should be introduced in order to make your business more profitable by saving you time or money - it should automate manual tasks, eliminate friction and help you alleviate pain points. Compare what you’re currently doing and the results you are (or maybe aren’t) seeing with the predicted outcomes of the new technology, and determine whether the switch makes business sense.
We also recommend that you invest in workplace tools that have experienced teams behind them - whether that’s in technical support or customer success - who will be ready to help you launch your new technology with maximum impact and ensure ongoing success.
The takeaway
By investing in digital transformation and bringing intelligent new software tools to your workforce, you have the opportunity to increase productivity, engagement and even profitability.
However, it needs to be the right investment. By taking into consideration the above factors you can ensure that your new technology is positioned to bring you the best possible results for you, your business, and your workforce.
Are you looking to leverage more technology in your workplace? eduMe is an embeddable training solution which lets you provide seamless, one-tap access to timely and relevant training by integrating into your existing tech stack. By partnering with providers such as Fountain, Quinyx and Braze, we help you onboard and upskill your deskless workers at scale, optimizing efficiency and improving worker retention.
Book a demo with us now to find out more about eduMe’s seamless integrations 👇
