The final trend from our whitepaper ‘Retail and Telco, the Big Five’ focuses on ‘Social Tedia’ and considers the implication of social tech tools have on our workforce and its output. As technology continues to shape the way we work internally, operationally and the way external forces such as our customers relate to our business or brand, the conversation about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (or should that be ‘productive’ or ‘unproductive’) tech becomes even more important for business leaders.
Britain has a history and legacy of invention and innovation; from the industrial revolution of steam power & railways, to recent decades at the forefront of driving the internet of things (IOT.) The question we ask as part of trend #5 of our whitepaper on the ‘2018 trends for retailers, telcos and brands’ is whether businesses feel we are now in the midst of a technological revolution? And, is our constant connectivity actually improving our productivity or in reality is it becoming more of a technological distraction?
Download the full whitepaper here.
Face Facts from the Experts
Tech innovation in recent years has largely focused on a succession of improvements in entertainment and communication, this helps us do what we’ve always done but with smaller devices and in more convenient ways.
Statisticians at the University of Belfast tell us global and UK productivity has not improved as a result. Their research actually suggests the UK is yet to realise the potential benefits on economic growth of the ‘technological revolution’ and we are in need of new tech solutions.
We’ve All Gone Comms Crazy – 60 – 70% of Downloaded Apps are Communication Apps
WhatsApp groups can be great for speedy messages to front line retail teams but be wary of key messages becoming lost before action. Jumbled amongst the endless reaction and return commentary, the lines between work and social comms have a tendency to become blurry.
“60 – 70% of Downloaded Apps are Communication Apps”
With reduced workforces and a greater emphasis on building customer relationships, retail leaders need to be even clearer and succinct in their communication. Failure to do so risks paralysing the workforce in an endless stream of ideas and musings, each leadership layer adding further complication.
Multi-Tasking Slows You Down
SMART tech has enabled us to become a nation of multi-taskers, constantly frequenting different media and alternating between tasks simultaneously. Is this frenetic activity making us more productive at work?
A University of California study into productivity in the workplace showed that a sample of heavy multitaskers were, in fact, less efficient at work, they were slower to reorient to the task in hand and more easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli. Sound familiar? Smart can be great but there’s clearly a balance to strike here.
Intelligent retail tech
- Use mobile as the glue between digital and
- Physical for both advisors and customers
- It’s a given but all stores need high speed WIFI
- Make speed and ease king and look towards mobile-enabled payment
- Introduce barcode scanning to facilitate research and comparison
- Find a way to link store and online baskets
- Beacons to recognise customers and welcome in store.
- Cloud based platforms to link to CRM when selling
- Focus on practical & productive tech innovation that delivers immediate results
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our posts about the five key trends Conversity – and retail consultant, Sarah Cameron – identified for retailer, telcos and brands in 2018.
We’ll be posting a summary of all five trends in the coming weeks, but if you haven’t already then we would urge you to download the whitepaper. It’s completely free and essential reading for anyone developing a roadmap for 2018.
We’d love to hear how you’re already utilising social and communication type apps in the workplace. Do they have their uses? Do you avoid them completely? Are there any specific benefits or downfalls you can see when it comes to embracing or rejecting these types of comms? Let us know your thoughts and comment below.
The Conversity Team.