Digital know-how gives companies the upper hand

Digital systems are playing an increasingly important role in the nation’s workplaces and those with a sound knowledge of HR management software and other products are proving invaluable.

This is according to a recent report from Deloitte Access Economics, which explored what an important role staff with digital expertise are playing in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commissioned by salesforce.com, the study found that 37 per cent of businesses believe their future growth will result from locating the right talent. A further 35.5 per cent believe enhancing productivity is an essential tool.

One of the case studies used in the research was Redback Conferencing and its CEO Jeff Downs emphasised how companies need to readdress how they go about doing business.

“The best way to empower employees we have found is through the use of smart connected technologies – like mobile and the cloud. In this way we can grow capacity, stop churn and save costs,” noted Mr Downs.

Allowing a workplace to become digitally connected has a wide range of benefits, Deloitte discovered, such as providing satisfactory working conditions and encouraging employee loyalty.

The group also stressed the need for businesses to make use of analytics to get a better understanding of their customers – something those with digital expertise can help to achieve.

This follows the release of the Australian Productivity Pulse from Ernst & Young, which emphasised the important role investment in IT is playing across the nation.

However, it’s essential for new systems to be properly adopted, as 35 per cent of workers were found to have been hindered as a result of issues with legacy IT systems.

This encompasses a wide range of problems, such as hardware on PCs not being sufficiently powerful enough to be able to run the latest software and a lack of customised software solutions.