Digital apathy stopped our business moving forward

The problem

HR consultancy Jaluch found it challenging to increase digital skills and bring new tools into the business. Founder and MD Helen Jamieson insisted technology was “critical” to the 17 year-old business’s future success and profitability. However, her efforts were greeted with groans, selective hearing and vague promises of taking it more seriously. As a result, the company “limped along”.

The solution

Jamieson’s first step was to acknowledge that the source of the digital apathy came from a fear of the unknown.

Rather than push technology onto people who were unfamiliar with it, Jaluch recruited a 19 year-old into the position of digital assistant. The role was broad, since the company was essentially starting from scratch with digital. The new hire handled all hardware and software across the business, as well as digital marketing.

One of his first initiatives was to develop and deliver an internal training course on Jaluch’s CRM. Everyone at the company had been asking the same questions about how to use it, so it made sense to create a central resource. It also helped to demonstrate to Jaluch’s 15-strong team that technology could make their jobs easier.

The results

Jamieson believes the digital assistant has “single-handedly” been turning things around. He’s taken a people-centred approach, which helped to ease the general digital animosity among staff. As a result, Jaluch are using their existing technology more successfully and there’s a greater understanding of the benefits of the company’s software.

“Technology was mostly viewed as a necessary evil, rather than a critical business must-have,” Jamieson said. “Although I can see the benefits of it already, I’d actually never identified a need for such a role in the business. An opportunity presented itself and I thought I’d give it a go.”