It’s undeniable that IT and telephone systems have a vital role to play in boosting employee productivity.
However, Intercity’s research on attitudes towards technology in the workplace and its impact on productivity amongst both IT Managers and IT users revealed that companies could be doing much more to improve employee productivity.
Certainly, the research made a strong case for higher levels of employee involvement. Employees want more say, with 72% of them believing they should have more influence over the IT solutions they use for their job. An employee is familiar with the intricacies of their role and it’s therefore only natural that they could have some great ideas on how technology could enhance their personal productivity.
Selecting the right Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) strategy is crucial too, as 69% of employees surveyed believed using devices of their own choosing positively impacts the way they work with their colleagues. Devices must empower employees in their jobs and help them work more flexibly. Nowadays, this means enabling them to work from any location with multiple devices and without network downtime. Of course, the IT department must keep some control and ensure that devices are used appropriately and securely, whilst assessing whether a device of an employee’s own choosing really makes them more productive at work.
To increase employee productivity, in addition to flexible working, remote working may be an option. IT Managers do not currently consider it a high priority, with 37% of IT managers surveyed thinking that less than 10-25% of their workforce can work productively from home. There is clearly still a need to find ways of increasing the potential of remote working in regards to enhancing employee productivity. Can IT Managers and the business itself be convinced of this potential in your company? Furthermore, if you already adopt remote working practices, ensure that you measure and review its contribution to enhanced employee productivity.
The research identified several ‘productivity pain points’ in the areas of network downtime, outdated software and hardware and a lack of IT support, with IT departments believing that they were performing at a higher level in these areas than employees did. Identifying whether such pain points exist in your own company and working to resolve them would certainly enhance employee productivity.
Indeed, outdated technology was a major concern for employees and it can hold their productivity back. The majority of IT users we surveyed felt IT departments were 21 months behind supporting current working trends. Maria stated, “Users may feel that technology within the business is outdated but from a company perspective, this may or may not directly impact employee productivity. If the business agrees that it’s IT systems are adversely affecting employee productivity, we always encourage them to work alongside a strategic partner such as Intercity, whilst involving employees in realising the correct solutions.”
Our top 5 tips to improve employee productivity are:
- Identify if you have pain points within your company such as network downtime, which could impact on productivity
- Involve employees in implementing new IT projects or technology – they could have some great ideas on how technology could enhance their personal productivity
- Consider rolling out remote working – after all work should be something you do not somewhere you go
- Make sure you have the right Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) strategy in place to help employees work more flexibly, whilst of course keeping the business and its data secure
- Check your technology is up to date as outdated technology can hold back productivity
To find out more about our research, download our new white paper - Bridge the gap between IT managers & IT users
