The results of a survey on remote work in Germany at the beginning of the pandemic (as of April 2020) show that many companies used the crisis for the first time to drive digitalization and build new digital sales channels. 59% of all small and medium-sized companies in Germany had adapted their business offerings either completely (16%) or partially (43%) so that they were available virtually.
Since then, digitalization has reached many different business areas and changed the way customers consume products and services and what they demand of companies.
Companies should continually look for ways to raise the bar on customer experience, and especially customer convenience. This includes exploring business models and process changes that make customers' lives more convenient.
Digitalization offers immense opportunities for companies. However, there are also risks that cannot be neglected. We look at four areas that are heavily affected and analyze the opportunities and risks of digitalization.
This Capterra Digital Consumer Trend article identifies 4 trends that are the result of a meta-analysis of several surveys commissioned by Capterra and its affiliates. The methodology for the studies is at the end of the article.
1. Home office and employee monitoring
The transition to a remote or hybrid environment is one of the biggest consequences of the pandemic for companies. Employees have been faced with a new way of working. Not only have companies had to invest in communications , online conferencing and security software , but they have also introduced employee monitoring tools to observe and support employees while working from home.
The crisis has led some companies to use employee monitoring for the first time. 6% of employees surveyed in our Covid Monitoring survey (as of February 2022) say that monitoring was introduced during the crisis. 17% say it was already in practice beforehand. 16% of monitored employees say that no one in their company has communicated with them about what of their data is being collected and what it is being used for. 23% were only told about employee monitoring verbally. Let's look at what activities are being monitored.
Digitalization of home offices: employee monitoring at work
Time and workload management ensures that employees do not work overtime and respect their break times. It also facilitates project planning and task allocation. However, we can see in the graphic above that activities that are highly intrusive into the privacy of employees are also monitored, such as monitoring computer activities, digital communications or the work area.
At least for the majority of employees (68%), the work environment has not become more or less unpleasant than before due to surveillance. For 23%, the work environment has become more unpleasant, and for 9%, it has even become more pleasant.
opportunities of digitalization
Employee monitoring is often viewed negatively. However, there are some benefits that can arise from it for employees. Companies should monitor activities that benefit employees, not to control them. Monitoring can be used to better distribute tasks within the team, identify and reward particularly hard-working employees, and uncover problem areas that can be addressed through education and training.
To ensure that your employees do not assume the worst when surveillance is announced, you should make sure to communicate the measures correctly. Here you can find out more about how to communicate employee surveillance.
risks of digitalization
In principle, employee monitoring is legal in Germany, but employers must pay attention to a few things from a legal perspective in order not to violate applicable laws. Otherwise, lawsuits can result in high fines and damage to the company's reputation. In this regard, the protection of personal rights - which is anchored in both the employment contract and the constitution - and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are worth mentioning. Both restrict companies when it comes to employee monitoring.
Some of the activities tracked by employee monitoring software, such as monitoring computer activity (27%) or video recordings (13%), are highly intrusive to employees' privacy, especially since passwords or personal concerns of employees could also be recorded. Video recordings of the screen should only be made for training purposes with the consent of the employee in question.
2. Digitalization in Medicine
Healthcare is one of the most important areas that has gone digital due to the pandemic. Telemedical treatments maintained access to healthcare during the pandemic. Our 2021 telemedicine survey shows that 78% of German telemedicine users had their first online consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 42% of cases, the consultation related to COVID-19 symptoms, in 58% to something else.
At the time of the study, the usage figures were still low (17% of patients had spoken to a doctor via telemedicine), but the patients were convinced. For 61% of patients, the problem was solved after remote treatment and a full 91% of users would like to continue using telemedicine in the future.
Digitalization of medicine: could the problem be solved in telemedical consultation?
opportunities of digitalization
Reduced waiting times, shorter travel times and faster availability of a specific doctor are taiwan telegram data important advantages that will stimulate the future use of teleconsultation. In addition to telemedicine treatments, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will conquer the healthcare industry. AI can combine and analyze large amounts of data in a very short time. The technology can be used in various areas of healthcare, for example diagnosing diseases, personalizing treatment and being used in robot-assisted surgery.
risks of digitalization
The risks of digitalization in the medical field are primarily related to data protection. As with all digital areas, it is important to protect the privacy and data of customers. However, telemedicine involves extremely sensitive data. Hacker attacks on hospitals can prevent access to patient records needed for treatment. Protecting patient data must be the top priority for doctors and hospitals.
The crisis has already given the real estate industry a push in the right direction when it comes to digitalization. However, our study results show that interest in technologies is higher than what is offered on the market.
While virtual property tours are becoming more popular, they are not yet available everywhere. In our early 2022 real estate survey, we found that 27% of survey respondents (people who have bought or rented a home or apartment within the past three years) said they had done virtual tours in their property search. The majority (51%) of respondents had not done a virtual tour because it was not offered.
Digitalization in the Real Estate Industry
The most frequently used virtual tours of the 27% were in the following areas: