This is How One Tech Leader Keeps Her Use of Digital in Check

Technology should always complement and enhance human activity, not be detrimental to it. Many organisations are finding themselves cluttered up with tools and systems that are outdated and don’t produce the desired results. This, of course, negatively affects the experience of their customers and employees.

Ask yourself this question: are you using technology purposefully? Understanding what your business needs and goals are, and how to achieve them through intelligent use of technology, is so important, and will reveal which technologies you should be investing in.

For me, time ‘unconnected’ is imperative to allow me to create, reflect, focus and be present. I have two young boys and my downtime involves hanging out with them, my husband and friends. Sport, in particular CrossFit, is another way that I unwind. I believe in balance and I am a passionate advocate of the role of technology in supporting, as opposed to dominating, life.

The most successful companies are open to embracing new capabilities – be that business, technology or cultural capability. Having a startup, entrepreneurial mentality about technology adoption, regardless of the size of your company, is known to have a positive impact on employee wellbeing, as the latest digital tools on the market not only allow us to do our jobs better, faster and more efficiently, but also promote staff collaboration, flexible and remote working, and fun.

Companies should be investing in those digital platforms that create a transparent, ‘human’ working environment, while also supporting their business needs. There are so many things to be excited about, from popular project-collaboration tools such as Slack, which enables teams to work better together regardless of location, to the SAP Leonardo digital innovation system, which uses predictive analytics to allow management to understand in real time how the business is performing.
Harnessing the power of cutting-edge technology, our clients now use augmented reality in training or to bring to life large-scale infrastructure projects for engineers. They use virtual reality as an onboarding experience solution, big data to create virtual boardrooms, and machine learning to enable computers to learn behavourial patterns and anticipate everyday needs.

The trick is to adopt technologies that best fit your business and people needs, increase productivity and engagement, and enhance performance. Companies need to empower their employees with the right tools so that they can easily access information in real time, and make informed, data-driven decisions. This will free up more time for developing relationships and learning new skills.