Suresh Menon, main vice-president and managing director, Software Solutions at Zebras technologies.
How much tabs Have you opened on your browser right now? How many different technological tools – devices, software applicationsSystems – Do you have to use every day to do your job?
If you are like me, the answer is probably “too much”.
Some people can carry their growing collection of devices, applications and tabs as an honorary badge in our digital society. However, there are studies that talk about the impact of information And technology overload on our mental health, especially in the workplace. There are also indicators that too much technology can be counteratful If you try to do more work or work more quickly, especially on fronts.
This is why it is so important to choose the technology that offers more use in a single platform. Reducing the volume of technological tools that your front -line workers need to do their job can help increase their capacity as more customers start to knock on your door by wanting you to help them get what they need .
Why less (technology) can be more (impactor)
Ask any worker without office, who would facilitate his work, and he will probably say “technology”.
In the last zebra Global study of buyersRetail Store Associates expressed its frustration that buyers sometimes have more technological tools than they do and can therefore obtain answers more quickly than they can.
However, these leading workers do not necessarily require more Mobile devices responsible for more Software applications. They require more technological tools adapted to specific aspects of their work because those they currently have (or do not have) hinders their ability to do their work.
Therefore, “more technology” could mean a mobile device with an application that can tell them everything they need to know to do their job. Or this could mean more technological systems in the store that can fuel information relevant to their only device and application so that they are more deepened in what is happening around them. Think of RFID -based stocks monitoring systems or computer vision systems that can monitor shelf inventory levels, then have an Alert them when items must be reappropriate.
It is not a question of limiting the variety of technologies used to help front -line workers because it is a question of reducing the volume of similar devices and applications that leading workers must use to do their job. (Do your partners, nurses or store warehouse teams really need two “communications” applications on their mobile devices? Probably not. Do they need two separate applications for “communication” and “collaboration”? Double.)
If you have not scanned your workflows and you consider your technological options – or you realize that your team is blocked too much technology – make a list of what they really need. Not from the point of view of the “tools” of technology but from a capacity point of view. For example, they may need a way to communicate, collaborate, see the task lists and answer customer questions.
Once you know what your team needs, start buying this multitool. If you find it hard to find one that meets all your needs, you may need two or three tools to do the work. Just make sure you …
• Do not inadvertently choose several tools that do the same work in different ways. (Again, do not choose two communication applications, or even separate communication and collaboration applications when it is possible to find both capacities in a single application.)
• Strongly consider quality and function.
Avoid thinking that “all technology” will do the trick
If you only have one mobile device that must do everything, make sure it can do whatever you want. Not only today but in a year. The same goes for software. If the objective is to find one or two applications that can perform several tasks, make sure they can evolve if necessary, especially when used in support of the front line work. Also confirm the user experience …
• will remain consistent when you unlock new features or iterez on the software to create new capacities.
• Feel familiar from the start.
This does not benefit anyone if front -line workers are constantly in technological training mode. We all use mobile devices in our daily life. It is not necessary that their work mobility experiences are different from personal mobility experiences.
That said, consumption technologies do not always translate well in professional parameters, in particular front line work. So three tips:
• View similar, not necessarily identical.
• Do not be caught in media threshing around trendy technology. Look for it and see if there is merit in media threshing. But examine if there is more value in the “safe” choice – the devices and software that have always proved reliable, scalable, affordable and easy to use. Make a impartial choice that is not based on words or a budget only.
• Confirm that the devices and software you want to use on the front line will also play well with back office systems.
Avoid renovating someone else’s house without talking to them first
When people wonder why new mobile devices or software applications do not help front -line workers as much as expected, I ask if these workers were consulted before the purchasing decision. In many cases, they were not. Someone in IT or operations evaluated the technological options and made a decision, but the end user has never been invited to weigh – even if these are the ones that technology is intended to help.
I have also seen situations in which the operations teams lead technological changes because they need certain tools to do their job, but do not consult the computer team before making a purchasing decision. However, the IT team is responsible for how to get (and keep) online technology for front line teams.
So, when you think you have found “the one”, a mobile device and an application that “checks all the boxes” – which offers the right public service – to make it possible to those who must use it every day.
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