Your business is growing, your business is doing well, or you plan to sell it in the next few years? You seem to know your company and its operations well: R.O.I., competitive advantages, ratios, operating costs, etc. However, one statistic seems to go unnoticed by many organizations: the level of technology.
Do you know if your company is behind or ahead of the market in technology? If not, this article will help you answer this question.
What is the effect of technological advances on a company?
Technological progress is a sign of prosperity and productivity. It accelerates transactions, enhances a company’s competitiveness in its market and even increases its market value at sale or financing! It’s easy to see why investors are focusing more and more on it in a potential transaction.
Despite its benefits and importance, most companies are experiencing a technological lag. Some are even losing their place at the top because competition is ahead of them and productivity is silenced.
When does a technological delay start?
In order to better understand and prevent technology delays, it is best to know when they can infiltrate a business. Although it can occur at any time, it is noticeable that it occurs at two key moments:
- During a period of growth : As the company grows, it is at greater risk of falling behind in technology. As an expert in organizational performance optimization, I note that the first lag is when a small business moves to an average size. More employees are added, there may be a multitude of files left and right. Up-to-date version problems create delays, delays increase and frustration begins to build. It is time to act to catch up and continue to grow.
- In the event of a standstill
Sometimes, it is difficult to follow and sometimes it is not easy to understand, but technology is sometimes ignored. Whether it’s a lack of knowledge or a simple oversight, a delay accumulates and the effects are felt. That is when the company loses competitiveness and productivity. The technological delay has taken hold. This is sometimes evident when work methods have not been renewed for several years. Fax, for example, is still widely used. Some people say, why change when we have always done that?
Where are they more at risk?
- Finance: Data is lost, duplicates occur, year-ends grow longer (month-end, shift-end, year-end), etc.
- Employees : Some leave because they experience constant irritants.
- Operations : Despite technological solutions, many operations are still carried out manually.
- Customers : No MRC can track their file and measure their satisfaction.
- Delivery times : You take longer to deliver on time, deadlines are fickle, time is wasted.
How do you know if you are technologically behind?
If you are an executive or entrepreneur, first ask yourself these questions to see if you are behind:
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Are your competitors better equipped than you are?
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Is your company losing value because of outdated or non-existent technologies?
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Could your productivity be improved with technology?
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Are your new employees leaving due to a lack of effective tools at work? Are they saying, “Why are you doing this? Why don’t you use this software?
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Is your cost of production higher due to a lack of technology?
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Does your competition produce more with less?
If you answered yes to many of these questions, it is highly likely that your business will be technologically delayed. It’s possible to make up for lost time by taking a few simple steps. It is recommended that you correct the situation if you plan to sell your business or acquire new market places. Read the next article to learn about the key actions and solutions for becoming more technological and closing the gap with the competition.