Senior managers in accounting firms are known for finding new ways to bring innovation to the work that they do.
However, the march of progress is not always entirely straightforward, as attempts to embrace new technology can fall flat with clients and team members.
Before any new approach is adopted, it is worth considering how you will make its value known.
If you are currently struggling to get everyone up to speed, then it might be time to think of a different approach.
Why does new technology get ignored?
Old habits die hard.
While senior management may be fully aware of the capability of the new technology that they have invested in, it can be difficult to communicate the value to a team or to clients more generally.
This is evident when new portals are introduced in an effort to streamline workflows.
A lot of portals require clients to create and maintain an account and often have an array of features that are wholly unnecessary.
Getting clients to sign up to something entirely new is a challenge in and of itself, but if they attempt it and are hit by a wall of complexity, they may never use it again.
If clients resist, then team members resist. They still need to engage with clients via email a lot of the time, meaning the portal has succeeded in adding more work rather than removing it.
In time, team members are likely to abandon the new technology entirely if it is not seen as helping their work.
What happens when new technology gets ignored?
Unlike in days gone by when a lack of engagement might have meant a new printer was left to gather dust in the corner of the office, ignoring new technology can become quite costly.
Most technology is accessed through a licence that is tied to an annual subscription.
This is valuable money that is wasted if no one actually engages with the technology.
On top of that, the problems that were supposed to be fixed by the new technology will persist if the solution seems to be more complicated than the initial problem.
If client engagement and retention were problems that the portal aimed to solve, a lack of engagement can make this issue worse.
How can senior managers choose technology that people actually use?
To choose the right technology for clients and team members, senior managers need to consider how it looks from an external perspective.
While you may have been part of professional demos that show the true power of the technology, your team and clients will not have been.
As such, the technology needs to be immediately understandable and have clear value from the outset.
Glasscubes ditches the account-based portal approach and cuts straight to the simplification of workflows.
Clients are not asked to create another account alongside all the rest they already have. Requests for information are sent to them and they provide it through a secure link.
Follow-up emails for clients can be automated at a frequency that works for the team and the client.
Your team know who needs more reminders and who will be irritated by them, so they can adjust the system effortlessly to match these temperaments.
The team also benefits from enhanced firm-wide visibility of workflows, making it clear how far along every piece of client work is, so nothing slips through the cracks.
This visibility also allows other team members to jump in on tasks as needed, ensuring that illness and holidays do not leave clients facing the stress of impending deadlines.
Senior managers need to be empowered by technology that actually benefits the team, the firm and the clients.
Glasscubes is a technology that is simple to use and extremely effective at enhancing workflows.
Tired of wasting time and money on technology no one wants? Book a demo today!
