Too Many Technology Tools?
A non-profit needed to improve its IT strategy to better understand where they were falling short and how it could make tangible improvements. After conducting interviews across their organization and reviewing their use of various collaboration and workflow tools, it became clearer as to what their key issues were. They simply had too many tech tools at their disposal and there wasn’t clarity on what they were doing with all of them. Employees were left confused about which tool they were supposed to use for communication, collaboration, document storage, and project management. Many of the employees either stopped using the tools due to a lack of training or were unaware of their full capabilities.
This led to a more obvious issue. For instance, the redundancy in having multiple tools for the same purchase meant the organization paid for licenses that they did not need. An example was having three different project management tools across three different teams. The teams had good intentions, but their inability to coordinate with each other to maximize the benefits never occurred. This is a huge opportunity cost since the tools were adequate for their needs, but were going unused, which kept them from driving more efficiency in their project management workflows. Also, the dollars spent on unused technology could have been given to another tool that could have had a greater impact.
In addition, teams might find themselves using less technical options if employees are not trained properly or if they decide there are too many challenges to overcome. A team might result to using an Excel document for project planning and save it on their desktop or in a buried folder. While Excel can be an effective tool there are other project management tools such as Smartsheet or Monday.com that can allow for increased collaboration. A further problem is when teams create shadow IT as a workaround for the tool they do not want to use. This may also occur in the absence of a process to bring in modern technology where they may not feel the need to tell IT. For instance, employee may find a free SaaS version of a tool, but not realize they could be exposing the organization to cybersecurity threats for not enacting MFA and a password is compromised.
Perhaps you recognize a similar situation in your organization and need help on where to start. Below are a few steps that you and your team could start incorporating into your approach to modern technology tools and systems:
Inventory your current tech stack that is in use.
Evaluate the usage of the tech vs the team’s needs.
Work with teams to compromise and select the one best tool, leaving room for exceptions if needed.
Develop a simple intake process to bring in innovative ideas for using technology and their solutions. For instance, the process could include evaluating any innovative ideas against the business strategy to ensure alignment before testing and implementation.
Ensure that clear communication and ongoing training is distributed appropriately to teams across the organization. This ensures that teams understand and maximize the benefits of the tool.
Remember, that technology in and of itself is not the problem. It’s typically how they are applied in your organization and not having a process to evaluate the benefits they bring, ensuring they are aligned to your business strategy, tested, and implemented in a clear and concise way.
