The Technology Driven Workplace.
The term that underpins the idea of a workplace is “association.” Knowingly or unknowingly, when we go to our places of work, whether in a formal or informal setting, we seek association with colleagues, partners and clients alike. In this regard, the reason for such associations is to achieve goals beneficial to ourselves, our teammates, or our partners.
These goals are not necessarily super goals such as increasing the bottom line, breaking even, meeting stipulated organization’s target, or even striking mouth-watering business deals, but they could include simple things like creating an organized folder system for storing documents, clarifying tasks and functions for colleagues and partners, and so on.
Whether major goals or goals that seem inconsequential, integrating elements of technology in our work processes can help speed up time and ease up burdens in achieving the desired goal. This fact, which cannot be overemphasized, must continually be emphasized in scenarios where work is being done.
Working with people over the years, one key observation I have made is the unwillingness or reluctance of working people or clients to embrace new technologies in work processes. This reluctance (and unwillingness as the case may be) usually stems from the time they perceive it will take to familiarize with “new” technologies. In this case, going the old route is considered to be relatively faster. This sort of attitude is detrimental not only to the organization as a whole, but to the individual’s own development and competitiveness, and thus must not be fostered.
The workplace must seek to expand its horizon in terms of its adoption and use of technology. It should constantly review its work processes and identify procedures that could be driven by a particular technology — the organization must be daring in this regard. The short term and long term benefits that results from employing technology in various work processes is enormous .
On the other hand, the individual in the workplace must understand that he age will live in is driven by continuously improving technologies, and this is in no way going to abate. As a result, s/he must seek to improve and catch up. Being complacent and making no effort to acquaint oneself with both existing and emerging technological advancements that govern work flow reduces your competitive edge in the global space.
