The tech tools managers need to master

Future proof your career by making technology your friend.

Griffith Uni: tech tools

Future proof your career by making technology your friend.

HEAD: The tech tools managers need to master

INTRO:

We’ve teamed up with Griffith Business School to learn more about the changing face of business.

STANDFIRST: Expert says future job security is about embracing new technologies. 

William Holmes

The typing pool was the first to go, as Dr David Tuffley remembers it. 

“It was the ‘80s,” said Dr Tuffley, a Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics and SocioTechnical Studies at Griffith University.

“There was a typing pool and they’d take handwritten papers and type it up. Then almost overnight the PC appeared on people’s desks, and we had to learn to type ourselves.

“There was a lot of consternation at the time about people losing their jobs, but after a few years I noticed that all of the people who wanted to be employed were all still employed, in better jobs than they had been in, because typing skills were still in demand.

“The whole situation created all these new categories of jobs in the IT sector.”

Dr Tuffley has been watching technology cause disruption in the workplace ever since. But rather than view advancements in tech and artificial intelligence as merely job destroyers, he sees the value they can bring to the workplace when employed judiciously. And while he understands that embracing new technology to improve your business can be frightening and exhausting, he sounds a warning to those that refuse to adapt.

“From all of my research, I’ve come to a very simple conclusion — the people who will prosper in the future are the ones who learn the technological tools that now exist to help them do their jobs better and more effectively. The technology is not a competitor, it’s a helper,” Dr Tuffley said.

“There’s plenty of evidence to show people working in all sorts of professions and areas are being enhanced by using these technology tools, but there does have to be that willingness to learn them.

“If someone is really stuck in their old way of doing things … they are going to find themselves marginalised.”

A key part of the challenge for business owners or managers is trying to sort the wheat from the chaff when choosing which apps and platforms to employ to assist in areas such as meetings, sales, logistics, calendars, video conferencing, websites and communications within the office.

A bad app or content management system can cause untold damage to a company, as it not only risks wasting time and money, but can leave staff frustrated and stressed.

Dr Tuffley points to a few ‘best in class’ tech tools to get businesses started:

•         Slack: The one-stop-shop for all internal business communications. Set up dashboards to upload work, timelines, share ideas and make announcements. Slack brings all your communications together in one place and allows for ultimate team collaboration.
•         2Do: If your desk is peppered in yellow Post It notes with ‘things to do’ scribbled on all corners, it’s time to take your to-do list digital. 2Do is a simple task manager that allows you to jot down things you need to do, remember or follow up, across all areas of your life. From what bills need paying, to your work meeting schedule, it can all be stored in this handy app, and accessed from the palm of your hand.
•         Minute: Everything you need for your meetings, in one place. Minute is a tool that organises minutes, meeting notes, agendas, documents, reports etc all in the one place. It allows meeting attendees to edit and collaborate on the same documents, meaning all your notes are in the one place, boosting productivity and reducing time wasting.
•         SuperNotes: Born out of frustration of taking notes in multiple computer programs, the founders of SuperNotes created an app that allows you to do it all in the one location. You can jot down short notes and have them filed into categories, keep your cards to yourself, or share them with others.  
•         Zoom: Used by brands like Uber, Nasdaq, Delta, Groupon and more, this is the app for videoconferencing. It allows cloud video conferencing, group collaboration, whiteboarding, screen sharing and more.

“One of the biggest problems in the IT industry is not figuring out the technology, but figuring out how to create a user experience that fits with the way humans like to do things,” he said.

“We’re programmed a certain way, we’ve got certain instincts, and for a long time the technology we were given to use was not terribly well designed, so it was frustrating, because it didn’t do what you wanted it to do.

“But occasionally you get organisations that understand user experience very well.”

He acknowledges that constantly being on top of what is new and understanding whether it could be of use to your business can be tiring and overwhelming, but that “in a free market economy people are coming up with improved ways of doing things that give you a strategic advantage over your competitors”. He doesn’t see any slow-down to the updates, adaptions and new tools that can assist the savvy business person. 

The Griffith MBA teaches leaders how to turn good business practice into strategic advantage. Scholarships available. Learn more here.

BREAKOUT QUOTE

“The people who will prosper in the future are the ones who learn the technological tools that now exist to help them do their jobs better and more effectively.

Dr David Tuffley, Griffith University

Originally published as The tech tools managers need to master