Every company loves productivity but does productivity in the digital age mean the same thing it always did? Does it stand for the same returns of capital and employees’ efforts, except that everyone now has a laptop?
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Introduction
Every company loves productivity but does productivity in the digital age mean the same thing it always
did? Does it stand for the same returns of capital and employees’ efforts, except that everyone now
has a laptop?
This unit explores the concept of digital productivity - what it means and why it should matter to you. Is
it just a matter of deploying the right tool, or is there more to it? How is the business model of the
company affected by the onset of digitalisation? Can digital productivity be measured? What are the
things that kill productivity and how can you avoid them? And if you manage to digitalise your
business, what are the opportunities it opens to you? Who will be the main beneficiaries - the
employees, the management, and the customers? And if digitalisation is good, does that mean that
more is always better? How do you select the right tool for the tasks your company needs to perform?
This unit invites you to reflect on all those questions and consider how they might apply to your
company’s future.
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Table of Contents
01 What is digital productivity?
02 The challenges to digital productivity
03
Matching tasks and tools
04
The opportunities for digital productivity
05 Self-Assessment
06 Transition to next unite
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KNOWLEDGE:
Learning Outcomes
SKILLS:
BEHAVIOURS: Proactively seeking ways to adapt to new challenges, improvisation and
feedback gathering
ATTITUDES: Openness to change, willingness to embrace new processes and tools
Analytical thinking, systemic thinking, problem-solving, selecting suitable
digital tools for a given task
Digital Productivity as a phenomenon, barriers and opportunities to digital
productivity
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Why digital productivity?
Digital productivity represents a new iteration of the challenge companies have always struggled with. As
part of a holistic ecosystem, companies are established for economic growth and can only be sustained
by it. This growth is significantly determined by the level of productivity of a company's employees and
their effectiveness in their work. Therefore, undoubtedly productivity is the main concern of anyone in a
managerial position.
But what to do in times of crisis and rapid change? Research has shown that the level of productivity has
suffered recently in most companies. Specifically, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics made a huge headline
when it announced a -7.5% productivity decline in the first quarter of 2022 (adjusted to -1.7% for the
whole year). In Europe, there was no dramatic drop - because productivity growth has been stalling for
the last 20 years.
What are the reasons for this declining productivity? Parts of it can be explained by the rapid advancement
in technology and the drastic shift in the work environments due to the pandemic. Digital productivity
means being able to function effectively in an environment dominated by digital tools. It is every
company's top priority to increase and sustain the level of productivity of its employees to remain
competitive and successful - in a digital age, this includes much more than the traditional dimensions of
productivity.
Source: Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 2022, Revised. US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm
1. What is digital productivity
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Going digital
Even before the pandemic, most leading
businesses saw digital transformation as their
number one priority. But was it a digital
transformation?
It goes without saying that companies are using an
increased number of digital tools to organise
their work, communicate, perform their
functions, and reach out to customers.
However, digital transformation is much more
than employing several digital tools and
training employees on how to use them.
Digital transformation is about the integration of
digital technologies to transform all areas of
business functions. To truly make use of the
opportunities of digitalisation, organisations
must be prepared to transform their very
culture.
1. What is digital productivity
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The benefits of focusing on digital productivity
Concentrating efforts on improving digital productivity takes time and resources - sometimes exactly when they
are in short supply. Nevertheless, it is well worth the investment. Some of the benefits of increased digital
productivity include:
1)A better competitive position of the company (better growth and increased profits);
2)Increased employee satisfaction as a result of their achievements which may be compensated by bonuses
and more sense of belonging;
3)Greater customer satisfaction as a result of the improved products and services;
4)New resources for R&D and innovation activities;
5)More opportunities for training and personal development activities as a result of more money and time
available;
6) With the new resources and employee skill set, new digital tools and technologies can be incorporated
into the company’s activities.
Most companies recently experienced considerable difficulties with the last point - trying to pursue
digitalisation as an isolated measure, and not as a step in an overall process to enhance productivity. This
training is meant to help bring the focus to the larger context in which digital productivity becomes relevant
for the company.
1. What is digital productivity
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Digital productivity
Digital productivity is the result of an intersection of two different sets of factors:
● the digital maturity of the organisation - meaning possessing the right tools and being able to use them.
This part is easier to quantify and is easily visible, It includes the deployment of a set of dedicated digital
tools and ensuring all levels of employees possess the necessary level of digital competencies to make
effective use of them;
● the business model of the organisation - the ‘why’, the reasons the tools and digital skills and needed in
the first place. It is less immediately obvious that digital transformation affects this area of the business,
but it does. The whole business model, and the organization’s strategy, including its goals and processes,
must be re-evaluated in light of the digital transformation, ensuring they meet the current and not the
past needs of the customers.
A common mistake is to focus on the first aspect alone, gaining a set of capabilities that remain underutilised
because they don’t reflect the organisational structure and goals. That would mean buying a program
because it is trendy or because competitors are using it, without thinking if a real need exists. The correct
way is to start with the reevaluation of the business model and concentrate on the digital maturity
afterwards when it is clear what kind of capabilities are needed.
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Measuring digital productivity
Having a structured approach to implementing digital productivity includes being able to measure it. The
most meaningful indicators to be considered should include KPIs related to the core of the business model
- they would be unique for every company. However, there are a few common aspects to consider:
● Costs - what are the costs of the new tools and running them? What kind of IT support is required?
What kind of employee training? How long with the transition to the new tools take?
● Overall utilisation of digital tools - is the new software solutions acquired used at all and to what end?
● Who are the most active users of specific solutions? Maybe they can provide qualitative feedback and
stimulate others with their example.
● Team-related aspects - are employees more motivated? Have specific issues voiced by them been
addressed? Do they have better access to training opportunities or a better work/life balance?
● Customer satisfaction - have the changes implemented brought to greater customer satisfaction and
in what aspects?
1. What is digital productivity
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Reevaluating the business model
Digitalisation affects all sides of the business, not just the performance of concrete tasks. That is why it is
recommended, time permitting, to reconsider all aspects of the business - it might have changed
significantly.
Using the Business Canvas model, you could explore the following aspects:
● key activities - are there opportunities for new activities, or have some of the old ones become redundant?
● key resources - do you have additional resources available, especially human and software?
● partner networks - have you expanded your partnerships recently?
● value propositions - can you meet the needs of your clients in a much better way, either by improving
existing services or adding new ones?
● customer segments - how has digitalisation affected the profile of your customers?
● channels - do you have new channels - easier delivery of products, perhaps even online?
● customer relations - how have automatisation and co-creating affected them?
● costs and revenues - how has digitalisation affected both?
You will learn more about connecting the processes identifies with suitable tools in topic 4.
Source: https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas
1. What is digital productivity
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Before going digital
Inefficient processes have always been the biggest
productivity killer for companies. A survey among
British companies before the pandemic found that a
full quarter of a working day every employee is
wasted on unnecessary tasks, redundant
administrative burdens, or outdated ways of organising
work. To be more precise:
• 42 minutes on administration tasks if questionable
necessity;
• 36 minutes on work conversations not resulting in
any tangible outcomes;
• 28 minutes on mandatory team meetings that did
not require the employee’s presence;
• 26 minutes of tasks dealing with outdated
technology.
2. The challenges to digital productivity
Source: How inefficient processes waste nearly a third
of employees’ time The CFO: https://the-
cfo.io/2019/06/19/how-inefficient-processes-waste-
nearly-a-third-of-employees-time/
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The main barriers
A similar survey conducted in the US,
the UK, Germany and the
Netherlands focused on the main
factors preventing employees from
working effectively - meetings and
email came first, significantly before
other aspects of company life, such
as management, organizational
aspects, and collaboration.
Source: Employees waste tons of time
in meetings and emailing.
Consultancy.eu:
https://www.consultancy.eu/news/32
99/employees-waste-tons-of-time-in-
meetings-and-emailing
2. The challenges to digital productivity
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Time-wasting activities and some solutions
• Managing emails - this could be remedied by a tool like
EmailAnalytics, which helps measure and improve your team’s
response time by visualising their email usage with graphs and
charts; or an email manager like Mailbird, which helps integrate
several mail accounts with third-party apps like Dropbox,
Facebook and Twitter; or even a personalised inbox like
SaneBox, which filters out the important messages;
• Attending unnecessary meetings - you could make meetings
and daily tasks more efficient by using a time-tracking tool like
TimeBro; or you could try some of the tips we provide in Topic 4
(Effective hybrid meetings) of Unit 4 - Effective management of
hybrid teams;
• Handling employee expenses and arranging business travel
details - the best solution here is to outsource these tasks to an
external agency, which can perform them far more quickly and
efficiently
2. The challenges to digital productivity
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The bigger picture
The greatest challenges to digital productivity, however, lay beyond the daily routine of employees.
They are deeply embedded in the company’s culture. In fact, they are the company’s culture. Being
accustomed to a set of values and a way of cooperating, it often becomes very hard to move on, even
when the need becomes apparent. The main reasons for that include :
● reluctance to change - organisations are conservative by nature. Especially the larger a company gets,
the more likely it becomes that bureaucratic inertia will force it to stick to well-tested and approved
by all layers of the company’s management, but ultimately outdated, routines
● functional and departmental silos - with a bigger organisation, different parts of the business take a
life of their own - and very often it becomes difficult for them to focus on the same vision as the rest
of the company
● lack of unified customer-centricity - although in theory user-centered design has become the norm in
product development, in practice it often faces many barriers. This means that products and services
are often created because a designer thought it would be a cool idea, and not on the basis of
thorough research of the potential users’ needs.
2. The challenges to digital productivity
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Summary
The challenges to digital productivity represent a
combination of several factors:
• Traditional challenges to employee productivity,
such as administrative overload;
• Additional factors specific to the hybrid working
environment - a lack of real-time feedback, poor
work-life balance;
• The presence of various, unstructured and
sometimes outdated work processes;
• A company culture resistant to change.
In addition to the necessity to deal with all of these
challenges, companies are presented with some
unique opportunities in the digital age. Let us have
a look at these - right after you consider the
barriers in your company.
2. The challenges to digital productivity
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Self Reflection
The barriers to productivity in my company
Consider what have been the biggest barriers to productivity in
your company, according to your experience.
Which are the processes and activities that take up the most
time of your employees without giving a tangible benefit?
For each barrier, try to elaborate on why it exists. After
all, most of the tasks in a company have been put
there for a reason. Is this reason still valid?
If the reason still exists, are there any alternative ways
to organise your activities which will make more
optimal use of your employees’ time?
What do you need to make use of those opportunities?
An investment of time? Money? Hardware?
Software? Training?
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Full digitalisation of administrative processes
Administration is notorious for its conservatism. When asked why something is being done in a specific
way, an administrator’s default response is – “Why! It has always been done like that.”
Remote work over the Covid-19 period forced some processes to be moved online, but in most cases, this
creates a mash-up of digital and paper-based solutions that can arguably take even more time than
usual. The instinct of administration would be a ‘return to normal’ – meaning more paper. Even some
employees could welcome that if they feel lost in the world of changing rules and requirements.
Cloud-based office services
Services like Microsoft 365 allow for documentation to be handled from anywhere and at any time. But
choosing a service must be done strategically – it must be reasonably priced, functional, easy to use, and
take into consideration the problems of data security. Could a single service meet all the organisation’s
demands, or are specialised applications better? But, on the other hand, too many applications can be
confusing on the user side and take up precious time to manage.
3. The opportunities for digital productivity
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Automating repetitive tasks
Repetitive tasks have always been among the worst productivity killers,
wasting valuable time and ruining employee motivation. Automating
tasks used to require a significant upfront investment of time and
resources, so it was not always an option. But progress in software
development means that now there are already products available
allowing the creation of automated workflows. These allow things
from automated expense reimbursement, through automated
performance management using real-time insights and instant
feedback, to automated sorting of customer tickets.
Individual employees can also create their solutions without having to
request the IT team – a win-win situation for both. If everyone can
take the initiative to solve the problems that bother them the most,
that will result in a significant decrease in bothersome repetitive
work.
3. The opportunities for digital productivity
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Example: Microsoft Power Apps
Easy automation for everyone
Microsoft Power Apps makes use of pre-built AI
components to enable easy development of
own software apps. Its goal is to make the
creation of low-code apps widely accessible so
that organisational processes can be
modernised and concrete tasks tackled. It
offers pre-built templates, drag-and-drop
functionality, and quick deployment so that
new apps can be quickly launched and
improved. It is meant to be widely accessible,
and not just for software developers –
although it has some extra functionalities for
them.
What it offers
• easy app-building for everyone;
• boosting business innovation;
• expanding the capabilities of existing apps;
• automatic app generation from existing data;
• creation of secure websites.
How does it look?
You can watch a demo of the product:
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/demo/
What are some of the alternatives?
OutSystems, AppSheet, Quickbase, Salesforce
Platform, Application Express, Kissflow, Airtable,
Betty Blocks, and many others.
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Automating customer service
Estimates show that up to 85% of customer interactions have
been automated.
Chatbots have become increasingly popular during the pandemic,
as the requests for assistance skyrocketed, while the staff
available for addressing them was often not available.
When working properly, live chat is quicker than email and easier
than phone calls, making things easier for the customer while
saving a huge amount of costs.
However, they are best at dealing with trivial requests – complex
problems requiring creative solutions tend to puzzle them and
irritate the customer as a result. Thus, a chatbot is not a
universal solution to all customer problems – contacting a real
person is sometimes the best option. The most effective
software recognises when these situations occur.
3. The opportunities for digital productivity
Source: Is this the 'person' claiming to solve
your problems? This is Money:
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/
article-9291693/Robots-posing-humans-
answer-85-customer-queries-online.html
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Enhanced employees collaboration
Digital tools can enable employees and whole
departments to communicate and collaborate in
ways that weren’t thought possible before.
Digital solutions have the potential to provide
employees with the right processes and tools to
perform their tasks more efficiently.
Managers can also review the progress of their teams
more easily and keep track of the overall results
achieved.
3. The opportunities for digital productivity
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Re-evaluation of existing systems and processes
Digitalisation is pervasive and always offers new services and
tools which oblige managers to re-think all internal
processes in a systematic approach. They are invited to
think if current systems and processes are still valid and
meet teams’ and company-changing needs.
One example would be the employment of improved inbox
filters or stricter guidelines on internal communication to
reduce the time employees spend handling incoming
emails.
Another example would be employing a dedicated business
travel service, which would handle all specifics regarding
work trips and save the employees from having to select
travel options and accommodations for themselves.
3. The opportunities for digital productivity
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Enhancing company productivity
If you had to select one area on which to focus
your efforts for enhancing productivity in your
company, what would it be?
Will your focus be on managing in-company
processes, employee cooperation, client
relation management, marketing, and
customer service?
Why would you start there?
If you had to focus limited time and resources on
one area before others, why is this the best
choice?
Is it the most important one, or the easiest to
achieve and lead to a meaningful impact?
Self Reflection
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Is a transition needed?
When thinking about selecting a digital tool for a
specific task, the first question always is: “Should
you?”
Digitalisation is not an end in itself. It brings a
substantial cost, a need for re-training, and a
restructuring of work processes. Because of that, the
digitalisation of a given work process should be
preceded by a through analysis of its goals and
further potential. If a system is already working well,
the attempt to make it better could lead to the
opposite result. This also applies to switching
between an already employed tool and a supposedly
superior one.
Even after identifying a clear need, it pays to spend
enough time deciding on the best way to meet it.
4. Matching tasks and tools
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“Best of” guides
When you search for a digital tool for a specific task
online, you inevitably stumble upon numerous
rankings. Some of them are compiled by independent
reviewers, while a not inconsiderable number is done
by software development companies. After a more or
less objective article, you will inevitably be
recommended the tool that the company sells. This is
not necessarily the worst outcome - in a bid to gain
your trust, many companies will offer genuinely
useful reviews - you just have to ignore the inevitable
preference for their product.
Nevertheless, you might want to try out several tools
for yourselves before making a purchasing decision. It
is best to discuss them with the potential users, and
in such a way find out the one most suitable for your
company.
4. Matching tasks and tools
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Prepare for the transition
A software product can be installed quickly and easily, but
making actual use of it is much more complicated - it
requires trained employees capable of implementing its
functions, as well as the transfer of all necessary data.
Like all other steps, it must be done strategically - it
would be good to envisage a specific point in time when
the transition will take place, the way it will be carried
out - all at once or gradually, who will be responsible for
training the team members in its use, who will provide
support when something goes wrong etc.
When a new system is being put in place, having a backup
is usually a good idea in the initial period - in that way,
the operations of the company can continue even if
something goes wrong.
4. Matching the tasks and tools
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4. Matching tasks and tools - a quick guide
Prepare for deployment
After selecting a tool, make a
plan on its gradual
implementation. Who will be
the lead users who will need to
be trained in its functions? Will
they be able to train others
and how long will they
require? How will the data be
transferred from the old mode
of storage? Will there be a
transition period, during which
operations will have to cease?
Review processes
Identify the goals your
company is trying to achieve
and the ways you are trying
to realise those goals.
Which processes will benefit
from automation or other
forms of digitalisation?
Why?
What will the benefits be
and for who - the team, the
management, the
customers?
Review available tools
Research what kind of tools
are available for the selected
task.
Are you already using one?
Does it make sense to invest
the time, effort and resources
necessary for a switch?
Can a single tool serve several
main processes, or are you
better off using dedicated
solutions for each one?
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Good Practice: Hubspot
A single CRM platform
Hubspot aims to connect a company’s data,
teams, and customers on one CRM platform
that grows with the business. It consists of
several separate tools that could be used
individually, but are marketed as working more
effectively as a package:
● a marketing software helping run complete
marketing campaigns.
● a sales CRM software for getting deeper
insights into prospects and automating tasks
● a customer service software
● a content management software that is
flexible, powerful, and secure
● an operations software syncing apps,
curating customer data, and automating
processes
Hubspot comes with an impressive array of
features, though they come with a significant
price tag. Smaller companies might consider
more affordable alternatives.
Some alternatives include: EngageBay,
ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, Sendinblue,
Sharpspring, Drip, Ontraport, Insightly.
You can learn more about Hubspot here.
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Select the best tool
Selecting the best tool from a huge available pool of
offers can be often overwhelming. Let us try it
with a process common to all companies - internal
communication.
What tasks do your employees need to complete
when communicating in a hybrid environment?
Do you think that all current needs are met by the
solutions currently employed?
How about exploring some alternatives? Can you
find online guides suggesting other tools that
would suit you better? What are some specific
advantages they might have? Would you consider
a change?
Self Reflection
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Digital productivity is the result of an
intersection of the digital maturity of the
organisation and its business model.
It is challenged not only by an administrative
overload but also by outdated work
processes and a company culture resistant
to change.
Some of the opportunities it provides include
automating repetitive tasks, customer
service, and enhancing employee
collaboration.
The digital transition should be initiated
through a review of processes, leading to
the selection of suitable tools, and planning
their gradual implementation.
SUMMARY OF UNIT 1
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We offer you a short questionnaire
for self-assessment on the extent
to which you have understood the
content.
The goal is to check and reinforce
what you have learned.
You can take the quiz as many times
as you want. Remember, the quiz is
just part of the process of learning
new things! Click below to get
started.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
QUESTIONNAIRE
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Question 1:
What is digital productivity about?
Answers:
1. Transforming the business
model
2. Acquiring the right set of
digital tools
3. Enabling teams to make the
most of the digital
transformation.
4. All of the above
Question 2:
What kind of activity does not
regularly lead to a reduction of
employee productivity?
Answers:
1. Administrative tasks
2. In-company communication
3. Learning and development
activities
4. Organising and attending work
trips
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Question 3:
What is the most significant
barrier to digital productivity?
Answers:
1. Lack of hardware and software
equipment
2. A digital skill gap on the side of
the employees
3. The existing company culture
4. A lack of vision on the side of
the management
Question 4:
Which part of a company’s
activities should not be aimed to
become automated?
Answers:
1. Most administrative tasks
2. All customer service
3. Repeated work processes
4. Elements of creative tasks
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Question 5:
Which of the following in not an
example of automation?
Answers:
1. Improved inbox filters
2. Building in-company apps
3. Outsourcing travel
arrangements to an agency
4. Employing chatbots for
customer service
Question 6:
What is the best way of identifying
suitable digital tools for the
company?
Answers:
1. Searching for a single tool that can
fulfill all needs at the same time
2. Reviewing recommendation guides
3. Looking at statistics of the tools’
market share
4. Matching the tools to the
organisaitonal processes
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Topic 1 - US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022. “Fourth quarter and annual
Averages 2022, revised”:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm
Bruegel, 2022 “The low productivity of European firms: How can policies
enhance the allocation of resources”:
https://www.bruegel.org/sites/default/files/wp-
content/uploads/2022/04/WP-06.pdf
Replicon, 2021 “4 Ways enterprises can use digital transformation to
enhance digital productivity”: https://www.replicon.com/blog/ways-
enterprises-can-use-digital-transformation-to-enhance-productivity/
Breezy, 2020 ”How to measure the ROI of your digital workplace: 5 metrics
to track”: https://www.beezy.net/blog/how-to-measure-digital-
workplace-roi
References
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Topic 1 - Strategyzer “Business Model Canvas”:
https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas
Topic 2 - The CFO, 2019 “How inefficient processes waste nearly a third of
employees’ time: https://the-cfo.io/2019/06/19/how-inefficient-
processes-waste-nearly-a-third-of-employees-time/
Topic 3 - This is Money, 2021 “Is this the 'person' claiming to solve your
problems? Robots posing as humans now answer up to 85% of customer
queries online”: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-
9291693/Robots-posing-humans-answer-85-customer-queries-online.html
Information Age, 2021 “Three digital tools to boost employee productivity”:
https://www.information-age.com/three-digital-tools-to-boost-employee-
productivity-19079/
References
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To think about improving your
company’s digital productivity, a
good starting point would be to
consider organisational processes
and how they can be optimised.
You can learn more about that in
the next unit.
TRANSITION TO UNIT 2
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You can find us:
● https://prosper-project.eu/
● https://www.facebook.com/Workplace.SMEs.EU
● https://www.linkedin.com/company/workplace-smes/
Thank you for learning with us!
www.prosper-project.eu