According to a study by the consulting firm, Capterra, the use of software is perceived as a useful tool to improve performance among the workers. Analyzing the use of four categories of software —collaboration, communication, project management and productivity, and performance monitoring and time management—, it turns out that 85% of the employees surveyed state that they use one or more programs of this type. guy. On the other hand, only 15% do not use any of them. Likewise, more than half of those who do use them claim to do so every day.
Those tools that contribute to remote work (collaboration software and communication software for teamwork and video conferencing) are the most used. On the other hand, the tools related to the performance (project management and productivity software, and performance tracking and time management software) are less used. This is due to the perception of usefulness that users have regarding each category of software.
Win-win: advantages for the employee and for the company
The use of these tools can bring numerous benefits for employees and also for companies. Respondents The main advantages stand out: faster access to important information and tasks (41%); better team organization and collaboration (40%); better communication between colleagues (39%); improvement of time management and organization (33%); and increased efficiency and productivity (32%).
Despite the benefits, employees of Spanish SMEs also identify some disadvantages such as technical problems or lack of reliability (29%); feeling more controlled by the company (25%); receiving too many notifications or emails from these software accounts (25%); lack of privacy (20%) and time spent invested in learning to use these tools (18%).
A boost to flexible hours and remote work
According to the Capterra study, 92% of SMB employees who use any of the software belonging to the four categories mentioned above believe that the use of software contributes to the Flexible hours and workplace.
According to employees who use any of the four tools, 70% believe that collaboration software is the tool that contributes the most to the effectiveness of remote work. They also find communication software useful for teleworking (56%). Both categories of software offer functionality that facilitates communication across different tasks and projects, file sharing, and content management.
To achieve more time flexibility, respondents find communication software (42%) and performance tracking and time management software (41%) the most useful. On the other hand, to measure the performance of employees based on their objectives achieved, performance evaluation systems work especially well.
Only 34% of employees believe that their company will invest to increase flexibility
34% of employees who use any of the four aforementioned software believe that their company plans to invest this year in programs that allow greater labor flexibility; 35% of this segment do not believe they will invest and another 32% do not know if their company plans to invest this year in programs that allow more flexibility.
Among those surveyed who work in companies open to investing in software (employees who believe or do not know if their company will invest), 76% believe that their company should invest more in software to achieve more flexibility. The use of technology at work can help a lot with flexibility, but it can also mean greater control over the tasks of employees. Even so, 85% of the total number of employees surveyed would accept greater control over their tasks if it meant more flexibility in their work.
In this regard, greater supervision could have positive effects on the productivity and motivation of some employees. However, the question arises as to what would be the negative effects that employees perceive to be supervised more frequently in their tasks. According to the survey, the three most prominent negative effects are: an increase in the level of stress (46%), an invasion of their privacy (34%) and a decrease in their trust in the company (23%). On the other hand, 20% of the participants consider that an increase in supervision would not have negative repercussions on their work.
