Many business leaders do not pay enough attention to the IT tools provided to their employees, even though they are critical to the success of their business.
In today's professional world, which is characterized by the intensive use of technology, IT tools play a central role in the productivity and well-being of employees. However, it is striking that many business leaders do not pay enough attention to these tools, an aspect that is nevertheless crucial to the success of their organization. According to a 2023 Omdia study, executives are only involved in a third of new technology purchases. Let's look at some of the reasons why it's so important for leaders to address this issue.
The war for talent
Office automation, collaboration, messaging, note-taking, project management and job-specific tools are ubiquitous in professional life. However, a wrong choice of these technologies can have significant consequences. In addition to wasting time, underperforming or slow tools can cause frustration and have a direct impact on productivity and the employee experience.
Furthermore, this has a negative impact on attracting and retaining talent, particularly among younger generations. If you offer tools that are considered outdated by Generation Z, you will never be able to recruit the profiles you need to progress. Companies must offer cutting-edge technology to attract and retain young talent. Members of this generation are looking for jobs that allow them to use the latest and most advanced technologies. According to another study, 70% of 18-25 year olds in France have abandoned their application midway through the recruitment process due to cumbersome application tools, long deadlines or a lack of clarity. This generation wants technologies that promote speed, agility and easier access to information, such as: B. Digital and collaborative tools without code – old-fashioned processes and software are the exact opposite of their expectations.
According to another study, 70% of 18-25 year olds in France have abandoned their application midway through the recruitment process due to cumbersome application tools, long deadlines or a lack of clarity.
The overabundance of tools
Another major challenge lies in the dissemination of tools. In many organizations, employees often juggle too many applications, whether legacy or inherited, that are sometimes deployed outside of IT, in shadow IT. Every day, many companies fall into the trap of stacking collaboration and communication tools. In addition, on average they use 88 different tools in their daily work; for large teams this number can rise to 175 applications. This growth can lead to loss of attention and increases the risk of errors. In addition, this situation also leads to information proliferation, although company data should be centralized in a secure location and easily accessible to anyone who needs it.
Optimize to save
This is an argument that should appeal to decision makers. By streamlining IT tools, business leaders must become aware of the potential savings. By reducing the number of applications and opting for integrated solutions, companies can achieve significant savings on licenses and subscriptions. This makes it possible to direct investments where they are more profitable for the company or to respect budgets that become increasingly tight over time. There are complete solutions that can replace multiple one-time applications while creating a reliable and accessible source of information.
Just one example: Foolproof, a Zensar Group company specializing in digital products, introduced the all-in-one collaboration platform to transform its knowledge management system. By centralizing information, ideas and content and eliminating silos that wasted a lot of time and money, they were able to save £500,000 a year.
It's time to take a closer look
It is imperative that business leaders reevaluate the importance of the IT tools provided to their employees. The right tools can transform the workplace, increase productivity, attract and retain talent, and reduce costs. In times of accelerated digital transformation, strategic thinking about the tools used is not only necessary, but can become a decisive competitive advantage for the company.