June 2018

Office Improvements: 4 Workplace Woes Technology Can Overcome

If you’ve ever heard the words (or uttered them yourself) “there’s an app for that”, then you’re already halfway towards figuring out how influential technology has become in modern day problem-solving.

Throughout human history, we’ve applied innovative thinking to our problems, overcoming shortcomings and limitations in the process – and in the 21st century that process has been expedited by how far technology has leapt in recent years.

Now, we have AI assistants helping us to manage our money, our home and our errands, as well as smarter cars, a wealth of wearable technologies, and even the ability to carry hundreds of books with us around the world all at once. Neat, isn’t it?

But it’s not just in our home or leisure lives that tech is helping us to solve challenges. Technological innovations have particularly found themselves in demand in the workplace, with many long-standing issues addressed by tech. Below are just a few examples:

1. Skills Shortages

The skills gap has been expanding since the recession, affecting many industries in its own insidious way. Thankfully, tech has stepped into shrink the gap – a work in progress.

With so much potential, startups and business owners have been able to approach the challenge from different perspectives. On one hand, technology now allows for better remote working, allowing for businesses to hire further afield and tap into talent pools previously thought out of reach.

On the other hand, technology has been adapted to provide enhanced training (through the likes of VR, for example), access to new skills, and made it easier than ever for individuals to pursue a career change.

2. Keeping on Top of Finances

When cash forms the lifeblood of your organisation, accounting becomes a crucial aspect of running a business. With more new businesses being born than ever before, there are more small business owners who are taking accounting into their own hands.

In times gone by, that would mean figuratively chaining themselves to a calculator for hours at a time every year, while they plundered collections of crumpled receipts and tried their best to make sense of what they were looking at.

Now, the likes of Xero have made accounting easily accessible to anybody, with everything they needed – including invoice generation, payment reminders, and reporting – all available at their fingertips. Factor in the ability of Xero to integrate with the likes of Lunar’s bespoke CRM, and you have a powerful tool being embraced by many a business owner.

3. Workflow Challenges

How your team goes about completing tasks forms an important part of the working day: without proper management, individuals may find themselves working far from there optimum efficiency, and productivity suffers as a result.

Now there’s definitely an app or two for that! In the workplace, business owners often turn to the bespoke CRM in order to provide their employees with a tool which can help them to better manage their time, share information across teams, and communicate better with customers.

The real-time reporting available in a bespoke CRM such as Lunar’s also means that managers can glance at employee performance and help them to improve to drive the business forward together.

4. Equipment Costs 

One of the biggest woes faced by small businesses is managing how much money they must invest in the business and its various services. This means keeping a close eye on overheads, and with technology at the centre of the business world, that can often mean equipment costs.

With the rise of portable computers, the Cloud and bespoke CRM tools, equipment costs have become one workplace woe with its bite taken out. Now, bring your own device (BYOD) rules the modern office, and Cloud-based bespoke CRMs mean businesses don’t need to buy physical servers or software to work efficiently – a huge cost saving!

Whilst there are still challenges being faced in the workplace, solutions are thankfully being developed almost as quickly. With technology on our side, small businesses are better equipped than ever before to overcome their woes – so what are you waiting for? Get problem solving!

Overcome challenges in your organisation with a cloud-based bespoke CRM solution from Lunar CRM. Find out more about the features available, or get in touch for a free demonstration.