A crucial component of our business operation is technology, but something often overlooked is how we actually use that technology in order to grow our companies. Many people simply buy computers, they invest in networking and they purchase all kinds of software that should help to grow a company. Sadly, until they actually take a real look at the technology they’re equipping their business with, they probably have no clue how to use it.
If you feel like you’re filling your business with pointless technology, then here are a couple of signs that it’s actually hindering your success, not helping it.
- You need to call for help on a regular basis
While IT support and consulting quality has grown tremendously over the past couple of years, constantly relying on them is a bad sign of things to come. If you find yourself constantly asking for assistance then it’s a good sign that you don’t have enough knowledge about the technology you use. Support and assistance should initially be relied upon to teach you and install new systems. After that, you should only really call IT support when something is broken. If you find that you’re regularly speaking with them, then it might be time for a knowledge refresher course.
- Your “tech specialists” can’t explain anything to you
But maybe you’ve hired a few tech specialists. Maybe you saw what they could do for other businesses so you decided to see if they can also help you expand your business. Sadly, they can’t explain anything to you in simple terms. If you find it difficult to speak with your tech specialists and they have no positive results to show, then you may have hired them too early and they could be wasting your company money by purchasing tech that isn’t needed.
- You’re spending more on technology than other components of your company
While technology is important, you need to understand that it’s not the most expensive thing in your business. Technology should be there to enhance the other aspects of your business. You should be using tech to make communicating with customers easier, reaching new clients simpler and speeding up your mundane processes. Unless you’re a tech company that pours its resources into research and development, tech expenses should be relatively low.
- You have no clue what you’re doing anymore
Let’s face it, there will come a point where you add so many automated systems that you’ll lose track of what you’re actually doing in your company. Machines and software can do automated tasks really well, but where does that leave you? If you find that your role in the business has changed and that you can no longer tell what your employees are doing because there is so much technology speeding things up and making things easier, then take a step back and analyze just what your workflow looks like. If you think that tech has made your business “too easy” to run, then you might want to rethink your position in the company in order to be more productive.
