Boldly Exploring Technology to Build an Innovative Workforce
Since I first learned about the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Z keyboard short cuts in elementary school, I have been addicted to experimenting with new technologies that can improve productivity and innovation. It’s incredible to see a steady stream of new business products arrive into the mass market and bring exponential increases in productivity and innovation.
As a business operations manager at Arc Aspicio, I have had the pleasure of exploring new tools to support the company and our workforce. My colleagues and I find new products that can support innovation, test them, and deploy them to our entire team. Through my exploration, I have learned the following lessons on how to use technology to spur innovation in the workforce:
Find your early adopters – Pilot new tools with a small group that can easily understand the technology, use all its features with minimal training and support, and quickly provide informed feedback. After the pilot, test the tool with a larger group to get a better idea of the opportunities and challenges that full deployment will bring
Bound your exploration – Although I love using new technologies and tools, I found that it is very important to set bounds and scope my exploration to prevent it from monopolizing my time. Set a fixed amount of time each month for exploration or limit the number of tools you are experimenting with at one time
Always consider the user experience – A new tool can either be a life saver or a nightmare to some in an organization. Thinking about how all types of users may experience the change is critical to successful deploying it. Design Thinking techniques are an excellent way to understand all your stakeholders when planning your change management strategy
Through these lessons, we have had successes including the deploying the corporate social media tool Yammer, deploying the collaboration tool Microsoft Teams, and automating data analysis and visualization through Microsoft Power Query and Power BI. By building our capabilities in new areas and new tools, we can continuously improve our operations as well as use them to support our clients through our SILab. It has been incredibly exciting to witness the impact of our technology exploration and how that has translated into results and strengthened relationships of our consulting teams, no matter where they work or serve our clients.
About Arc Aspicio
Arc Aspicio is a management, strategy, and technology consulting firm that takes a mission-oriented approach to complex client challenges. Focused on innovation, Arc Aspicio provides services in strategy, design, human capital, operations, analytics and visualization, technology, and information sharing. The company is known for a strong, collaborative culture that values gratitude, provides leadership opportunities, and explores the future. Our teams use a human-centered approach to working with clients and are flexible and responsive within dynamic Government client environments that often have new priorities and evolving missions. We thrive on these situations and promote continuous improvement and new ideas. And, #welovedogs! Follow us on Twitter @arcaspicio or learn more at www.arcaspicio.com.
