Ever since the Industrial Revolution, machines and technology have ushered in great economic progress globally. Over the years, technology has advanced in strides transforming the conventional landscape significantly. An amazing by-product of these developments has been that people’s jobs have become much easier. Tasks that would previously require tens of people and days of labor can now be accomplished at the touch of a few buttons. And this doesn’t even scratch the surface when talking about how jobs have become simpler, faster, and more productive thanks to modern technology.
In a recent survey of employees at companies that freshly introduced technological solutions, 76% agreed that their job had been made significantly easier. In modern companies, the extent to which technology-backed tools are being introduced varies.
However, with automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics, and machine learning technologies in place, the impact is substantial for workers even at a small scale. These systems enable every person to handle greater workloads with minimal errors and greater efficiency.
So, what are the practical ways in which technology is making jobs easier? Here are a few:
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Warehousing and Inventory Management
Since mass manufacturing began, warehousing and inventory management have been crucial to the supply chain. In the olden days, warehousing was a hectic process where items had to be sorted, packed, and shipped manually. At the same time, the logs had to be updated by hand, and suppliers informed in a manner that involved a lot of hassle. However, the landscape has changed. Today, products like CodeCorp barcode readers, RFID scanners, and automated systems with shared access to suppliers are streamlining the process completely. Inventory management for supply chain professionals is a breeze where payment, restocking, and shipping all become an effective process with minimal delays and a whole lot of customer satisfaction.
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Automation of sales and marketing
The aspects of business that seem the most human to us are streamlined through marketing automation and client relations management (CRM) technologies. There is no inherent technology involved. Meetings in person, vigorous phone calls, and door-to-door advertising were the old way to do it. For a very long time, computer programs, drip campaigns, telemarketers, automated emails, and robocalls have been used to conduct sales and marketing.
Nevertheless, there is no reason why companies shouldn’t look at these instruments from a human perspective. Thanks to technology, finding what you need immediately is becoming quicker and easier! As we’ve seen, it’s also made communication simpler for businesses and customers.
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Remote offices
This is a notion that has come to light mainly after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down physical operations for months on end. Indeed companies have been experimenting with hybrid or remote working models where employees could work from anywhere in the world with no mandatory requirement of being present in the office. However, with the pandemic’s outbreak, it became evident supporting remote work was no longer a luxury but a necessity for businesses that wanted to be sustainable in the long run. As a result, 42% of global businesses supported hybrid working by the end of 2021, and the number is expected to rise to 81% by 2024.
It is undeniable that one of the main reasons why most businesses didn’t go under, and economies survived the brutality of COVID-19 was due to the advancements in technology available today. The internet alone enabled communications to stay active and business operations somewhat intact. Now, remote and hybrid work is a part of many corporations worldwide since these models allow employees to be productive when and where they want. No matter which corner of the globe a person is in, with just a laptop and an active internet connection, they can do just as much as someone physically present in the office.
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Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Another communication medium that has evolved from the olden days is VoIP. Most of us still remember landlines and fax machines, whether from seeing them in action or movies from the past day and age. This equipment was considered the pinnacle of communication during their time, but they had their problems which most frequently included blurred and disappearing voices. Thanks to the internet, this is no longer a problem because now businesses around the world have VoIP.
Voice over Internet Protocol allows users to communicate over long distances by making calls and texts online. Whatsapp is a prime example, and it is the medium of choice for all communications, whether personal or professional. For face-to-face meetings, Zoom and Google are available, which effectively means that there is no longer the hassle of traveling or fussing over weak landline connections to deliver important messages. Today, a simple email can suffice.
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Enterprise data management
Companies and government agencies are utilizing Document Management or Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions to organize, distribute, annotate, search, and retrieve their information and securely store them. An ECM program, in essence, streamlines the filing system. You can automate the process of batch scanning files into the system and indexing the data for later search and retrieval. Additionally, you can create intelligent workflows that resemble actual business processes, sending documents through each step so that the appropriate individuals receive them and can approve, send them back, add notes on, change, or email them. This entire process takes a few hours compared to manually going through the entire cycle, which would take days if not weeks.
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Cybersecurity
Many people still argue that manually storing physical copies of important documents is still crucial today. With the constant threats of hacking and a host of other cybercrimes looming over corporations’ heads, it may seem like a sensible thing to do. However, times have changed, and physical documentation holds less and less value with each passing day. Cybercrime losses may accumulate in billions every year, but the advancements made in cybersecurity have transformed the ecosystem significantly.
Digital storing and organization of files and documents have become the new norm. Not only does it make finding, editing, and sending these documents a breeze, but it also enables years of archived results to be available within minutes.
Conclusion
Modern technologies are a blessing to the job roles of today. They allow employees to create, plan, discuss, store, and execute diverse strategies and communications without breaking a sweat. As said before, today’s employees only need a laptop and an active internet connection. Then, it doesn’t matter which part of the world they’re in; they can perform the job of an entire department alone. This is a crux of how technology has made jobs easier today.
