Brad Griffith is the Founder and President of Buckeye Innovation. His company helps organizations use technology to work smarter so they can better serve the people who depend on them. We have invited him to expand a bit more on his recent Looking Forward Our Way episode.
When I had the opportunity to be on the Looking Forward Our Way podcast, I shared a question I like to ask organizations: “If you wanted to serve 10 times as many people, what would have to change?”
It’s a simple question, but it can tell you a lot about where things are working and where they aren’t.
Think about what would happen if 10 times as many people filled out your interest form, called your office, signed up for your program, or bought your product or service. Could your team handle it? Or would things fall through the cracks?
You might find out that your team spends hours each week entering the same information into different systems. Or maybe people have to call or email to schedule something that could be handled online. Perhaps one person on your team knows how everything works, and everyone has to go to that person for answers.
Those are the kinds of things that catch my attention.
Because when these things happen once or twice, they may not seem like a big deal. But when they happen repeatedly, people get frustrated. Your team wastes time, and the people you serve may have a harder time getting what they need.
That’s what we mean when we talk about “human-centered technology.” It sounds like a tech buzzword, but it simply means that we don’t start with technology. We start with people.
Where are they getting stuck? What is taking too much time? What work is redundant? What is making things harder than they need to be?
Once you understand the problem, then you can ask whether technology can help solve it.
Sometimes it can. For example, a nonprofit might automate part of an application process so staff members don’t have to enter information by hand. A business might make it easier for their customers to schedule an appointment. An organization might connect two systems that weren’t previously sharing information.
None of those things sound exciting. And that’s kind of the point.
Good technology shouldn’t make your organization more complicated. It should reduce some of the busywork, so your people have more time to do more complex work.
You probably don’t need to be ready to serve 10 times as many people tomorrow. But thinking about what would happen to enable that growth can show you where your biggest roadblocks are today.
Not sure where to start? We created a “5-Minute Tech Check” to help organizations take a quick look at what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and where technology might be able to help.
Five minutes might be enough to spot something that could save your team a lot more time down the road.
