Innovation. One of the words most present in our daily lives, as new technologies take on an increasingly important — and constantly evolving — role in both our personal and professional routines. Staying up to date with the market is essential to maintaining the success of a business and a company.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought several changes to human life as we knew it, from interpersonal relationships to professional ones. As far as companies were concerned, there was an urgent need to adapt and modernise in order to maintain the same levels of production, even remotely whenever possible.
The pandemic may have accelerated this process of increasing digitalisation, but the truth is that this is a path that has already been developing for more than two decades.
Many experts argue that these drastic changes have permanently transformed the way we relate to work, particularly through the growing adoption of remote working. While in 2020 companies rushed to adapt to the new digital reality with as few difficulties as possible, by 2021 this had already become much more commonplace. But is everyone prepared for this new and innovative world?
Digitalisation has already become unavoidable, and companies must seek the best possible conditions to ensure that employees can work safely and productively. Those who want to increase productivity and competitiveness must take on greater responsibilities and understand how to provide their employees with the technological tools they need to perform their roles effectively.
Skills and flexibility are key to business success and innovation
Company employees need to know what to do and how to do their jobs, but they also need support. It is the employer’s responsibility to provide the best possible conditions for this, offering solutions that reflect the new reality in which we live — one that is constantly changing.
Marketividade has gathered three essential tips which, according to Fernando Braz, Country Leader of Salesforce in Portugal, can help bring success and innovation to companies:
1 – Increase employee competitiveness and skills
With rapid technological development, it is increasingly easy to stay connected 24 hours a day, every day, without physical, linguistic or communication barriers. This is one of the strongest factors in maintaining productivity and competitiveness, which are no longer tied to fixed working hours or locations.
Having specialised teams trained in the appropriate areas, and offering increasingly personalised and specific services, is another way to guarantee quality.
To make the best possible use of new technologies, it is essential for business leaders to equip their teams and employees with specific and fundamental skills, thereby increasing competitiveness and productivity. By skills, we mean not only hard skills but also soft skills such as empathy, teamwork and resilience.
2 – Invest in the right sources of inspiration for distributed teams
Remote working has enabled companies to have employees working from anywhere in the world, without the need for a fixed presence at the company’s headquarters. While this provides originality and intercultural diversity in some areas, it also creates challenges, such as maintaining the company’s own identity.
As teams become increasingly distributed, it becomes necessary for everyone to share the same common ground, culture and vision regarding the company’s key principles. Investing in the right innovation and technology is essential so that, regardless of where people work, everyone has access to the same conditions and can easily remain in contact and connected with one another.
Encouraging team unity and wellbeing, while creating sources of inspiration and motivation, is crucial to success.
3 – Encourage flexibility, not inequality
According to several experts, the pandemic has increasingly widened differences in salary levels and in access to working and technological conditions. Companies must make the best possible use of technology without contributing to this divide. Keeping pace with digitalisation is essential to building a more technological, productive, accessible and flexible world.
Encouraging flexibility can be highly productive, as employees can more easily balance work, leisure and family life. The key is to invest in the right technologies and innovations.
Take note of these tips and invest wisely in the best technologies for your business.
