Australian businesses slow to upgrade to new technologies
Corporations "stifle employees" and lag behind a nation of early adopters.
Australian businesses are woefully slow when it comes to upgrading their technology capabilities in line with the rest of the world, says Adelaide-based consultant, Lee Hopkins (pictured, left).
In an interview for a pan-global report for software firm SAP, Hopkins says Australian firms are often a couple of generations behind in technology with only small or technology-oriented firms investing to stay up to date.
Australian firms are often a couple of generations behind in technology with only small or technology-oriented firms investing to stay up to date.
“Most companies’ IT departments are very risk-averse and so any initiatives to do with the technology race (including hardware and software implementation) usually don’t get past these influential gatekeepers,” says Hopkins.
A widespread lack of examples
“We know that AMP and Westpac are experimenting [with social media tools] behind closed doors. No doubt there are other major corporations conducting similar experiments, hidden from our watchful gaze,” Hopkins advises.
Can social media aid recruitment?
However, visible Australian corporate successes with tools, such as blogs and wikis, are few and far between.
“Apart from Telstra, the ABC and a handful of radio stations, the take up of social media by ‘business Australia’ has been lamentably non-existent,” adds Hopkins.
Organizations are stifling employees
It’s also suggested that a lack of investment in new technology and communication channels and platforms will cause deeper problems for organizations looking to recruit the best talent and improve their global collaboration capabilities – concerns that are the top of many corporate agendas.
“We all know that these [social media] tools are in use now but ‘business Australia’ prefers to put its collective head in the sand and pretend that these tools don’t exist,” continues Hopkins.
These tools are ‘oxygen’ for today’s young graduates when they need to solve their problems.
“These tools are ‘oxygen’ for today’s young graduates when they need to solve their problems. They have been taught all through their school years to collaborate: suddenly they arrive in the workplace and the very tools that allow them to share ideas and collaborate are denied them,” he says.
Have your say
Is your organization adopting web 2.0 and social media tools for internal communication? We’d love to hear from you! Contact the Hub team.
Related news stories:
Aussie communicators get to grips with social media
Got a news story? Contact the
newsdesk
News archive