The “convenience economy” has revolutionized the way we work, buy, live, and study. Companies like Uber, Amazon, and Google have made simplicity and convenience the standard across industries. Whether we’re talking about retail, travel, hospitality, finance, or other industries, people have come to expect convenience. Over the past few decades, technology has brought ease, speed, and connectedness to our lives in a way we never could have imagined before.
But is it doing the same for your research systems?
The convenience economy
Technology makes our lives easier, both personally and professionally. From smart home devices to remote business communication and collaboration tools, technology is changing our lives and expectations. The U.K.’s National Retail Federation reported that 83% of consumers say convenience is more important than it was just five to ten years ago.
This preference for convenience is true not just in retail. Research industry professionals expect a level of support and convenience only achievable with the aid of technology. Technology can simplify, enhance, and refine administrative activities, transforming outcomes with greater efficiency and accuracy.
Change can feel overwhelming. How do you know if the time is right to implement new technology?
Signs your research administration team may be ready for a technology refresh
Rapid innovation and digital technology adoption have increased dramatically in the past few years. As more businesses retain remote or hybrid work environments implemented during the pandemic, digital communication and collaboration technologies become a must-have solution to operate successfully. Yet despite these recent innovations, many research organizations are still bound by legacy systems. Although legacy systems are familiar and comfortable, they also can disrupt the flow of communication, slow down processes, and impair the team’s ability to scale.
Implementing new technology requires careful consideration and planning to ensure data integrity and minimal disruptions. If you can relate to the following signs, it may be time to take the next step toward a digital transformation.
- You’re still entering a lot of data manually. Did you know that 44% of available work time in research is spent on administrative tasks? Despite improvements in tech and automation over the past decade, many administration tasks are still manually managed. Manual data entry is time consuming, prone to error, and difficult to fix. Technology helps reduce that administrative burden, freeing up teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
- You’re using multiple databases and systems that don’t integrate. Many research administration teams are stuck operating multiple disparate systems and processes that don’t “speak” to one another. This creates siloed data that limits visibility and requires additional oversight to update and maintain information in multiple locations.
Manual tasks and complex, disconnected systems are clear indicators of inefficiency. If left unaddressed, these factors can hamper your team’s research experience, leading to slower progress, potential burnout, and increased mistakes.
Key benefits of adopting technology for research administration
Research has accelerated in recent years, and the ability to conduct research-related administrative activities with speed and efficiency is more important than ever. To remain competitive, research administration teams need to have fast, accurate processes in place and the right technology to support them. Technology can provide visibility, efficiency, and collaboration in ways we’ve never seen before.
Some key benefits of adopting an integrated technology solution for research administration include:
- Reduced risk. Advanced technology solutions, like the Cayuse Research Suite, reduce risk by introducing tools such as automated protocol expiration reminders to ensure accuracy and compliance across your research portfolio.
- Improved efficiency. Administrative burden increases your operational costs and reduces your workload capacity. Leveraging technology to support administrative activities can increase your efficiency and cut review time in half.
- Reliable data integrity. Database automation and digital workflows ensure that your data is accurate and easy to manage.
- Improved business continuity. Technology is key to any business continuity planning. Many saw this during the pandemic when cloud-based solutions enabled important work to continue even in a global crisis.
- Increased flexibility. In research, every project has a unique set of requirements, attributes, and approvers. With the right software system, teams can adjust criteria based on individual research project needs and can automatically route and process information with greater agility.
- Accurate planning and forecasting. With digital solutions, research teams have instant access to reports, documents, status updates, communication trails, and more. This information will help drive better, faster decisions and generate more reliable forecasting models.
- Better data and analytics. A technology-driven ecosystem organizes all your systems in one place with accurate data, on-demand reports, and easily accessible data insights and analyses.
- Greater employee satisfaction. Technology solutions reduce administrative burden, resulting in improved efficiency, reduced stress and frustration, and greater focus and satisfaction across the team.
