Look at any business trend think piece or strategic advice article and you will likely see some familiar patterns emerging - most notably the increased importance of digital technology in the workplace. That might mean greater adoption of smart devices and unified communications (UC), experimenting with new frontiers in the Internet of Things (IoT), even using electric vehicles to move from place to place.
It's unlikely that anyone will argue with the value of new innovations such as these, however what is often overlooked is the importance of training the workforce to reap their full benefits. It's all very well to have the most sophisticated equipment available to your employees, but if they're not well versed in its application, you may be missing out on much of the promised improvements to productivity and performance.
As such, the implementation of any new technology needs to be accompanied with a suitable amount of staff training. According to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the lack of digital culture is holding back half of all organisations considering more significant moves toward digital operations. Despite the prevalence of new technology in our lives, a remarkable number of professionals still don't have the skills to effectively adjust to the digital age.
Are your employees in need of some new digital training?Just how important are digital skills?
There's no escaping the presence of computers in the modern environment, both for business and leisure. You're possibly reading this very article on a computer, while another sort of computer sits in your pocket, next to your bed, even on your wrist. They're everywhere, and as such we need to know how best to utilise their various applications.
A survey commissioned by VMware found that two-thirds of employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) believed the widespread improvement of digital skills would increase revenue. Further to this, 71 per cent believe that more effective use of digital skills can give their organisation a greater competitive edge.
"Successful digital transformation in today's business world is shaped by culture, people and capabilities," says Joe Baguley, vice president and chief technology officer EMEA, VMware.
"Enterprises are rightly investing heavily in 'digital' talent as they look to harness the key skills and capabilities that can help organisations evolve to innovate faster and fully engage customers - both of which impact an organisation's bottom line."
More effective use of digital skills can give organisations a greater competitive edge.
Where do unified communications fit in?
Analysis from McKinsey & Company has found that 28 per cent of the average work week is spent reading and answering email, with a further 14 per cent going towards other discussion and collaboration. That translates to over three hours in every eight-hour work day dedicated purely to communication - clearly any improvements to this workflow is important.
A good first step in streamlining the entire collaboration process is bringing all communications - be they phone, email, SMS or video conferencing - under one umbrella. Adopting a UC solution and fully training your employees in its application can improve productivity in a number of ways, all while saving money on your communications bill.
Offering the ability to work from anywhere, modern UC platforms are designed for the flexible workplaces of today. With Fonality, all of your communication requirements are managed under the innovative Heads Up Display, which allows you to keep track of the actions of your employees and contacts from any digital device.
Improving the digital skills of yourself and employees doesn't need to be a challenge. For a software demo, information about IP phones or to organise live webinar training through Fonality Academy, speak to us today.
