By Richard Coates, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Lumanorth and BentoBot
Target setting, resource planning and budgeting tend to feature heavily on business agendas as companies seek ways to grow and increase turnover.
The advantage here is that the people involved are very often working within their specialist field and their area of knowledge to develop projections and predictions.
Plans can be developed based on industry experience and employee expertise. But what about the ‘unknowns’?
There are areas within a business that could be vastly enhanced, made more efficient and effective, and produce far greater ROI for the company with the introduction of new tech.
Very often we find when working with clients, they are often unaware of the possibilities made available with new tech and how it could benefit their business, potentially saving them a lot of money and making company touchpoints much more engaging.
Below we summarise in brief some of the considerations which should feature in yearly planning when it comes to tech:
1. Incorporate an annual technology audit to review existing processes and identify any legacy systems that may require updating, and any operational activity that is not running as smoothly as it could.
2. Focus on driving efficiency gains – technologies that use a combination of automation, algorithms, AI, a blend of tech, and are well integrated into other internal systems can work to hugely simplify internal and external processes, increasing productivity.
3. Involve relevant stakeholders – ensure wide consultation to help clearly identity any inefficiencies and problems.
4. Appoint representative stakeholders – With the right inout from relevant departments, the process of defining user requirements for new tech is much easier and much more reliably informed.
5. Choose a tech partner wisely – bringing in external expertise can provide a fresh perspective and new knowledge. When looking for a tech partner seek recommendations and closely review their business competences. There are many technology agencies, most usually have a specialism.
6. If you’re looking to add new tech, make it scalable – the tech you opt for needs to be flexible enough to adapt and keep pace with a growing business. It may also need to be deployed quite differently in the future, depending on your business model.
7. Be realistic – Introducing new tech takes time. Good project management will help to ensure sufficient time allocation and planning.
8. Follow best practices – A good tech agency will be well-aware of the best approach to take with a project and will be able to advise on best practice.
9. Don’t forget to allocate for training – ensure a full training programme is costed for. Failure to train adequately could result in failure to adopt properly.
10. Demonstrate success – Gaining buy-in is crucial for tech adoption, helping to promote a general willingness to adapt to new ways of working and a smoother adoption process. Show-off successes along the way.
For more information, email hello@lumanorth.com
