Technologies Every Business Needs to Succeed in the Future of Work.

It is the time of year when we all start thinking about the future. What is ahead for 2022 and beyond? Business leaders are constantly looking to adapt and evolve with the challenges the present brings while trying to anticipate what could be waiting down the road. It has now been nearly two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some companies thrived by being quick on their feet amid a rapidly changing business landscape. New challenges emerged in 2021 from managing a hybrid workforce long-term to retaining talent during The Great Resignation. Fortunately, there are more options than ever when it comes to technology geared toward helping business leaders tackle those challenges.

The vast number of options however lead to questions about what technology best sparks the most efficiency amongst employees. Which technologies will help you sustain the momentum of your business? Look to some of the following to tackle today’s needs and set up for success in the future.

Digital Adoption Platforms

Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) are one of the most useful tools in today’s workplace. They are transforming how employees perform their current duties and learn new skills. Digital adoption platforms drastically cut the amount of time it takes for new employees to get up to speed which in turn, reduces costs of training and support. At the same time, DAPs increase productivity by providing real-time training within the apps they will be using on a daily basis through contextual pop-up windows and prompts. 

Instead of forcing employees to take part in long training sessions that can be overwhelming, DAPs present opportunities for “microlearning”. There are now several companies that offer custom interactive walkthroughs that teach users what to do in real-time when they run into problems with a given app. DAPs also feature auto-updates so fresh training materials can be presented to employees when needed.

AI-Powered Assistants & Personalized Employee Training

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred most organizations to accelerate their adoption of Artificial Intelligence. More than half of companies sped up the process according to a survey by PwC. That same study says two of the top five reasons companies are turning to AI are to help employees make better decisions and automate routine tasks.

AI-powered assistants do both. They take on those repetitive jobs that could take up much of an employee’s time. AI can help collect sales data and customer habits and make that information available instantly. Now employees can get insights from the sales and customer data to create better sales strategies for the future.

AI also allows you to personalize training for each employee. In this age of the “Great Resignation”, companies are looking for ways to not only hire new talent, but also retain the ones they have. One of the best ways to do that is to make the onboarding process as smooth as possible. Training programs powered by AI track how employees’ interact with the applications they’re using every day and help create training materials designed specifically for each employee. Now each employee can have a custom training program that fits their learning style and caters to their specific problem areas.

Collaboration apps

Remote and hybrid workplaces aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. How do you keep employees on the same page when they’re not in the same office, same city or, even the same country? The right remote tools can bring employees together in both team, and one-on-one settings. Zoom has become the top choice for most organizations because of how it can be scaled to fit your needs for businesses with a dozen employees or over a thousand. Microsoft’s Teams app is another great choice because it is customizable. You can create chatrooms and channels for each of your teams and topics. And of course, since it integrates with Office 365, Teams will keep files and apps linked together on one platform.

Slack has proven to be one of the best messaging tools for employees because it connects entire teams. It puts conversations into a single application where users can organize conversations into channels created for individual projects and topics. Slack also integrates with cloud-based file management tools such as Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive along with some of your other favorite tools so you can access them directly in Slack.

Preparing for the Future Today

The future of work looks to be about easing the workload of teams that will no longer be in the same room. The technologies mentioned above will all play a role in that effort. DAPs can simplify training for employees who won’t have the people training them nearby. AI-based powered assistants will take repetitive work off everyone’s agendas, saving valuable time and money. Collaborative apps to keep everyone linked together. All of these tools will help businesses not only survive but thrive for years to come.

Written by Vara Kumar.