Op-Ed: Why technology, e-Learning are key for our economic recovery
Author Jorge Mejía is director and founder of Fusionworks Inc.
Technology has key effects on business operations in Puerto Rico today more than ever, especially in the start-up business and entrepreneur’s arena. No matter the size of the enterprise, technology has both tangible and intangible benefits that will help produce the results that customers demand. Being able to meet those demands efficiently, could very well be the difference between success and failure for any company in today’s economic climate.
First and foremost, technology affects a firm’s ability to communicate with customers. In today’s busy business environment, it is necessary for employees to interact with clients quickly and clearly. When customers use technology to interact with a business, the company benefits because better communication creates a stronger public image.
Businesspeople in Puerto Rico, the ones that keep pushing our economy forward, need to change their focus and corporate culture to able to compete, not only locally, but globally, and adapt and keep up with new advancements viewing technology tools as an investment, not an expense.
I feel that I cannot emphasize enough the importance of e-Learning tools as a key to the growth of any business. E-Learning tools provide business owners with a cost-efficient way of enhancing their workforce skills without actually sending them to centers, or back to school.
This means that they are able to maximize their time working while improving their performance and achieving further skill development. With the increasing demand for a knowledgeable and skilled workforce, e-Learning tools are the fastest and most convenient way of keeping workers up-to-date with the current changes in today’s market.
For most business owners, e-Learning tools are less expensive and convenient when compared to hiring professionals to provide an actual training. This also reduces the need for adjusting employees schedule for trainings and seminars since E-Learning tools can provide the training quickly and easily right at the company’s premises and on-demand.
Technology and the business intelligence it brings (managers make more informed decisions when the various metrics of business can be tracked and reported on in more meaningful ways) create a team dynamic within a business because employees at different locations have better interactions and are better informed.
The smart use of business technology helps companies stay ahead of the competition by improving communications, making employees more efficient and tapping into effective marketing channels. Plus, up-and-coming generations of workers are accustomed to a world full of technology.
Business technology encompasses a wide range of hardware, software and services that keep companies running and enhance operations. Technology plays into every aspect of a business, from accounting to customer communications to product design and development.
The rapid forward movement in technology development over the last couple of decades has provided more powerful and less expensive options for companies. Business technology can help small business look bigger than they are and keep them ahead in a competitive marketplace, something urgently needed in Puerto Rico today.
All this is not to suggest the human touch, maybe now more than ever, is needed to compete (among companies and in general as a country). In his book “The Relationships Edge in Business” the author, Jerry Acuff, president of the Delta Leadership Group, believes that everyone can succeed by mastering the art of relationships.
I agree, and I look upon technology well applied as a way to improve business relationships and give us the competitive edge that we all need in Puerto Rico.
