Companies that take advantage of technology to find shortcuts to free up time for employees to do their jobs are more likely to be successful.
But not everybody is in that category.
The College of New Caledonia recognizes many businesses in northern B.C. could be spinning their wheels because they have missed technological opportunities so the college is extending an offer to help them close that gap.
For the next 18 months, free of charge, CNC and its Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program will connect with small- and medium-sized local businesses to show them how to adopt digital technology to foster innovation and increase productivity.
As part of the federal government's cross-Canada digital economy strategy, the National Research Council has provided CNC $170,000 to fund the program, which started in late October.
"The range of technology use varies between businesses and across industry sectors, but there is fairly widespread recognition that there are benefits and clear links between using technology and productivity," said Hardy Griesbauer, CNC's director of applied research and innovation.
The first phase of the project is to survey various industry sectors to determine what levels of technology are being applied in the workforce and identify what practical use of digital technology would help those companies increase productivity. That could as simple as setting up a PayPal account or some other method to facilitate electronic transactions for customers.
"You might have a local store that uses paper records [for tax purposes] and you get them to transfer over to a spreadsheet or database software to help them become more efficient," said Griesbauer.
"Some businesses are looking at CNC machining software, customer relationship software, and transportation fleet management software. The companies already using the software would perceive an advantage. To them, the investment they've made in digital technology and building digital skills has paid off, whether it's increased productivity, reduced costs, or even increased market share."
CNC has already started consultation work with businesses involved in transportation, logistics and geospatial technology and is looking to take on more projects. There is no charge to get involved.
"We may even be able to explore funding options to support businesses' investment in digital technologies," said Griesbauer.
Over the next year, Griesbauer and Zelda Craig, CNC's college liaison officer, will provide one-on-one consultations with individual businesses to find ways to take advantage of new technology in their daily operations and will connect them with college experts or the business leaders for further support.
The third phase of the project will unfold early in 2014, when CNC will host a series of workshops showcasing a successful local business from a particular industry sector. Griesbauer said the mining and oil and gas sectors will be represented. They will team up with digital technology providers to share their experiences in information sessions to identify best practices and talk about some of the obstacles of adopting technology.
CNC is collaborating on the project with Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek and Northwest Community College in Terrace/Smithers/Prince Rupert.
For more information call Griesbauer at 250-562-2131, local 5586, or email [email protected].
