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Microsoft charges African businesses on tech tools to drive productivity

By Bankole Orimisan
04 May 2016   |   4:16 am
Determined to reinvent the way people work and use new features in Windows 10, Office 365, One Drive, Skype for business and organisational productivity, Microsoft, has stressed the need for....

Microsoft

Determined to reinvent the way people work and use new features in Windows 10, Office 365, One Drive, Skype for business and organisational productivity, Microsoft, has stressed the need for organisations to speed the adoption of new technology tools to drive growth in business operations.

This formed the major highlight at the 2016 Microsoft Reinventing Productivity Roadshow held in Nairobi, Kenya, over the weekend.The Country manager for Microsoft Kenya, Kunle

Awosika, who was a keynote speaker at the event said, “This new model of working requires heightened productivity to ensure each task is successfully completed within a short period of time”

Awosika, added that in order to excel in the gig economy, individual and organisations need to be equipped with the right skills and tools to adapt to this new world of work.

According to the Productivity Expert, from Nigeria, who also spoke at the event, Remi Dairo, electricity challenge is one of the biggest hurdles for productivity in Africa.

“The unstable power supply in many African countries, as well as the high costs associated with powering alternative sources is a real problem.

“This is especially so given our increasing reliance on technology such as PCs and smart devices to get our work done,” he stated Dairo noted that the costs associated with being connected, coupled with an unwillingness to adapt to new ways of working, as well as a general lack of digital literacy, can hinder productivity.

However, he said for those who are embracing technology and the digital world, there is the added consideration that being “always on” can affect work/life balance thereby resulting in digital fatigue, especially distractions from the Internet and social media can also have a negative impact on productivity levels.

According to him, one of the way organizations could overcome this is to “embrace technology and the new way of working to improve business processes.”

According to him, ubiquity of technology and the cloud also means firms can use utilise “unproductive” time more effectively by continuing to work or catch up with the news wherever they are Beyond technology, Dairo highlighted several other simple ways to improve productivity. “Begin by organizing workspace,” he suggests. “Deal with emails and clear your desk as fast as possible, and use calendars to plan time and ensure you don’t miss important meetings.”

Dairo suggested finding a time management technique that works for organizations sharing the many effective time management tools, such as the Pomodoro Technique, the Eisenhower Method and GTD (Getting Things Done), so it should not be difficult to find one that is a good fit for personality and profession.

The Pomodoro Technique, according to him, uses a timer to break down work into 25-minute intervals, with a five-minute break between each interval and a 30-minute break every four intervals. The Eisenhower Method helps companies and individuals to evaluate tasks based on their importance and urgency; important and urgent tasks must be done immediately; important, non-urgent tasks are given a deadline; unimportant, urgent tasks can be delegated; and unimportant, non-urgent tasks should be dropped.

Dairo said that the various methods and tips are all important steps to becoming more productive and getting more done. However, equally important is getting enough sleep, exercising and making time to relax and disconnect.

Dairo commented that, “Productivity is about achieving more in less time, he advised organizations to unwind and do the things they want to do – which in turn helps improve ability to be productive.”

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