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Artificial intelligence, chatbots, virtual reality, driverless cars: much of the tech grabbing the headlines seems intent on removing human presence from various walks of life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. On the contrary, many digital technologies actually encourage more human interaction – and by introducing more technologies, businesses can use them to their advantage.
The rise of the internet and smartphones have transformed the way we interact. Whether your organisation is B2B or B2C, messaging platforms, social media and apps have changed the speed and ease of communications beyond recognition. Thanks to the rise of platforms such as Skype and Slack, people can interact with each other and with customers in ways that were once unimaginable.
These solutions encourage people to work together, whether that’s real time collaborative working between people in the same and different offices – and even different time zones – or face-to-face conversations unimpeded by geography thanks to tech like Microsoft Teams. By enabling flexible and remote working, technology has provided businesses and their people with a whole new level of freedom to work in ways that best suit them and their needs. And with better support for employees and better service for clients, your business is bound to flourish.
Adopting a new technology
Amid all of the options available, it is important to identify the specific ways in which digital technologies could better support your staff and your customers. The answer may be as simple as adopting a single new service or piece of software that resolves an existing pinch point in the business, as was the case for occupational health company Innovate Healthcare.
Innovate Healthcare works with companies to assess, diagnose and initiate treatment plans which support their people to return to work after illness or injury. Those employees can be anywhere in the UK, and Innovate Healthcare experts undertake both face-to-face and telephone assessments; obtaining written consent for the latter caused frustrating delays for them and their clients.
Securing recorded verbal consent would overcome this issue but it needed to make sure that any solution would stand up to rigorous scrutiny and meet certain legal standards. Most solutions required an office-based line, but with Innovate Healthcare staff based all over the country this was not an option. The solution found was Mobile Recording from O2 Business, which allows their assessors to record and log all telephone calls and text messages from anywhere in the UK.
According to business improvement manager David Bunce, the difference this service has made to how Innovate Healthcare experts can interact with customers is enormous. “Consent can now be given verbally,” he explains, “which means that we are able to start coordinating and facilitating care and treatment in a timely and effective fashion.”
Transforming your infrastructure
Technology can also drive systematic improvements to help people work better with each other and with customers. Fashion retailer Boden, for instance, had grown to a workforce of more than 900 in six countries. With 96% of sales coming via their e-commerce platforms, it was vital that they – like so many businesses today – could be fast, agile and always connected.
Following the recommendation of their O2 Business digital adviser, Boden adopted Office 365. Beginning with their email system, the introduction of this package has gone on to overhaul many aspects of how the company works, with vast improvements to their file- sharing and communication systems in particular.
All of the new services have mobile apps, which is enormously beneficial for teams out on photoshoots or costing models. Head of technical services Lalit Mandalia describes switching to Office 365 as “a smart move” that has made Boden “more efficient, more connected, more prepared for the future”.
Establishing boundaries
Whether you are looking for individual solutions or large-scale change, a critical part of being a human-centric business is ensuring that guidance is in place around the use of tech.
While many organisations may be connected 24/7, no individual should be. France introduced a “right to be disconnected” law in 2017 but even without legislation, you can put boundaries in place by encouraging your people – including yourself – to make their downtime as unplugged as they wish.
Many companies set a good example by promoting screen-free breaks. And while, for many people, evenings and weekends can seem like a great time to catch up on work, it’s important to be aware of how this can intrude on others’ leisure time, with a flurry of emails or messages creating a sense of obligation to respond. It’s better practice to schedule these to send only during working hours – and create a policy that if a genuine emergency arises, colleagues should call one another. Having to actually pick up the phone is a sure way to quash not-so-urgent queries late at night.
By managing digital services appropriately, you can adopt new tech in a way that will facilitate positive and productive interactions among your teams and between employees and customers. In doing so, you’ll make both happier – and your business will benefit.
