“You can’t manage what you can’t measure goes the saying, and measurement is all about the right data. One of the factors behind stellar profitability (and productivity) is the availability – and the ability to manage – data. The ultimate value in data is when it becomes ubiquitous, so it’s no use for just a few people to be able to manage complex data analysis whilst the rest of us wait for the answers to our questions.
Business leaders of today and tomorrow need insights at the speed of business so everyone needs access to the data they understand and work with as part of their everyday roles. With data scientists in short supply, everyone has the ability to become a citizen data scientist, or everyday analyst as long as they can dive in on the right analytics platform, to bring meaningful results utilising advanced analytics – without the need to write or understand code.”
However, Kunal Argawal, CEO at Unravel Data, believes application management is vital to truly deliver on big data investments:
“Big data can be a challenge, especially due to the sheer volume of it that exists today. Managing applications is highly complex and requires an end-to-end solution to optimally meet SLA requirements.
So what could be a possible solution to the productivity plateau that often occurs with complex technology investments? One solution lies in the hands of application performance management (APM) software. This technology is used to manage the tools and technologies of varied project groups within the enterprise. It monitors big data stacks in order to identify failed jobs or queries, the misallocation of computing resources or missed SLAs. Pair this with automation, and you have an optimised process which produces faster and better results for the entire organisation. It represents a productivity haven for the DataOps teams.
Investing for the future through strong instructure
John Morrison, Senior Vice President EMEA at Extreme Networks, says that putting money behind technology is crucial to the overall better working of business:
“Breaking down geographical barriers and organisational silos to empower collaboration and seamless access to information, data and insight is not only central to digital transformation, but to unlocking new levels of productivity inside and outside your organisation.
Whether friction is eliminated through the cloud and edge computing or the implementation of progressive technologies like IoT, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence the core principle remains the same: none of this is possible without the right network in place. The network sits at the heart of any transformation journey no matter how simple. Only with a robust digital infrastructure and high-performance connectivity can you seek to unlock the productivity and efficiency savings that technology offers.”
Scott Brothers, Group EVP Corporate Development at ONVU Technologies, believes that adding the power and speed of digital into the physical world brings true business intelligence:
“Solutions like augmented reality or smart video that work with and enhance the human capability really improve productivity as well as satisfaction for workers in areas where they need to navigate space and assets in the real world. Improving digital productivity is great, but many workers still need to move stock around a warehouse, help customers through a store, or plan how the public will travel through a busy city street or travel interchange. They need ways of observing the space, how long people wait in queues, the most common paths taken through areas, and how fast vehicles are moving.
All of these require observers and special tools – unless smart video is deployed to monitor and analyse the scene and provide actionable intelligence to make planners and employees more productive and empathetic to customers’ needs. 360-degree video and smart video technologies are perfect productivity match to help workers making the most of their environment.”
Maintain a good level of cyber hygiene
John Titmus, EMEA Director, CrowdStrike, would argue that human productivity is increasingly intertwined with human productivity:
“It’s becoming clear that human productivity is entwined with technology efficiency. In the cybersecurity domain the threat of zero-day attacks and new variants of malware mean that a workforce can be made unproductive as fast as an email can be sent or a malicious link shared over instant messaging. AI and cloud-powered solutions enable organisations to react in real-time to threats, monitoring the environment and stopping threats and breaches before they break out into serious threats.”
Nailing the who, when and where
Jeff Paradise, Chief Revenue Officer at Pipedrive believes that what you don’t spend your time on is just as important as what you do spend your time on:
“One of the main productivity hacks I’ve learnt is to keep two clear lists of tasks: one personal and one professional. I have over 150 employees on my team and need something which gives me a clear overview of today’s and this week’s ‘must-dos’. I wouldn’t be able to handle all of this successfully without a tool that helps me stay organised, keeps track of all projects, and addresses crucial priorities in a timely manner.
My advice for driving new levels of productivity is finding a system and platform that helps you to be mindful of all the tasks at hand. Look for ways to automate some of the more time-consuming activities that usually hinder your workflow, as this will help you to direct your time toward the higher priority assignments and free you up for building relationships with your clients, new-business prospects and colleagues.”
Dustin Moskovitz, CEO and Co-founder of work management tool, Asana takes the approach to ban meetings on one day every week:
“My biggest hurdle to productivity is interruptions. To accomplish something that requires deep thinking, I need to have at least an hour–ideally two to three–of contiguous free time on my calendar. This requires careful planning of group meetings that I do need to attend, and diligence to avoid unnecessary engagements.
We practice “No Meeting Wednesdays” to ensure that everyone at the company gets a large block of time to focus on heads-down work without having to fit it in between meetings. This may be our most valuable cultural practice, and I encourage every company to consider adopting it.
Additionally, we reflect frequently on whether our group activities are getting enough ROI to justify the interrupt and time expenditure. Recently, we decided to cut the number of all-hands meetings almost by half to give more time back to the team for focused work.”
Carl Standertskjold, Corporate Segment Marketing Manager, Sony Professional Solutions Europe believes that great levels of productivity can be achieved if you optimise your workplace environment:
“While individuals and teams might be the primary drivers of productivity, how the environment within which they operate is set up and functions is almost as important. Too often do organisations only focus on how employees are going about doing their work, rather than on the tools and technologies at their disposal. Connected professional displays, advanced room booking systems, high-end video conferencing technologies and more are all a part of an effective, efficient and productive workplace ecosystem. If businesses want to truly tap into and unlock hidden pockets of productivity, then they should make optimising the workplace environment a priority first.”
While all the above provides valuable insight into how businesses can tangibly increase productivity, many will attest that mindset is one of the biggest challenges to meet when it comes to embracing a more productive business. As neatly summarised by Peter Arvai, Co-founder and CEO,Prezi: “Be clear on your long term strategy and goals. Spend time thinking ahead about what you want and how you went to get there. With clarity of where you’re headed long term (and doing the hard work in advance), you can make the right decisions when you need to – quickly and easily.”
[“source=businesschief”]
