Today, more than ever, American businesses rely on technology to function. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation of workforces, with the introduction of new processes, products and services, many of which are likely to stick.
With digital trends constantly moving and evolving, it’s important that not only businesses but employees too adapt to these changes quickly and successfully. But which U.S. states have managed to adapt, and which are struggling to keep up?
To find out which U.S. states are the most tech-confident in the workplace, Moneypenny has conducted a survey of 1000 employees from different states across America.
How tech-confident are Americans?
Despite this rapid shift in workplace technological advancements, the majority of Americans feel tech-confident when at work. In fact, an impressive 84% of American employees say they feel ‘confident’ using their workplace tech, with 13% feeling ‘neutral’ and just 3% feeling ‘not confident’.
Also surprising are the ages at which American employees feel most tech confident. The survey revealed that people aged 35 to 44 are the most confident with the tech they use in the workplace (68%), while those aged 45 to 54 are the least confident (53%).
The youngest group (18-24), though, were the second least confident, with only 57% feeling ‘very confident’ with their workplace tech. While we might expect the youngest employees to be ultra tech savvy given the digital world they have grown up in, perhaps this lack of confidence is down the short amount of time they have been in work, as well as the types of technology used. Although younger adults are likely to have more comprehension when it comes to the likes of social media and gaming, they clearly struggle when it comes to more functional workplace technology.
Which US states are most tech-confident in the workplace?
According to the survey, the most tech confident US states included Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia, all with 100% confidence in their workplace technology. Tennessee, Missouri, New Jersey, Maryland and Arizona also made it into the top tech confident states.
Overall, there is little disparity between the states when it comes to tech confidence in the workplace. This suggests that the rapid advances that resulted from Covid-19 were widespread across the country, with businesses in most states adopting new technologies to cope with remote working and social distancing. It’s also clear that this rapid change has affected employees in each state in the same way, indicating that businesses across the whole of the country require more training on new workplace tech.
What software are Americans most confident using?
The software that most American employees are confident using is Document Management Software, such as Microsoft Office and Google Drive, with 47% stating that they were ‘confident’ using this. Payment Transaction Software, such as Stripe and Paypal, received the second highest level of confidence (27%).
Surprisingly, Communication and Messaging Software, like Skype and Slack, garnered slightly less confidence from American employees, with only 25% stating that they felt confident using this software. Given the effects of Covid-19, including an increase in remote working, we’d expect more people to have received training on and learnt to use this Communication Technology.
The technology that received the least confidence was Project Management Software, such as Basecamp, Trello and Asana, with just 6% of respondents feeling confident. Perhaps this is because fewer businesses utilise this type of software, choosing instead to spend their budgets on tech like Project Management and Payment Transaction Software.
However, this is concerning given that this lesser used technology, including Project Management and Marketing Software, is of vital importance to businesses across all industries and to most jobs within those businesses. From ecommerce and retail to B2B, all kinds of businesses could drastically benefit from using the software that fewer employees feel confident with.
This suggests that businesses need to reconsider their software offerings in order to streamline and properly adapt to the rapid changes brought about by the pandemic. However, whilst doing this, businesses must take their employees into consideration. After all, it is no use adopting new technologies if no one knows how to use them. In fact, according to the survey, 74% of people still believe they would benefit from training for the equipment and software they use in the workplace, with training on software considered the most important (55%).
Overall, despite there being little disparity between the US states in terms of tech confidence in the workplace, there are some huge disparities when it comes to the types of software that American employees are confident using, as well as the ages at which they feel ‘tech confident’. This suggests that businesses across the whole country need to prioritise training their employees to use the software that is less familiar but just as important, meanwhile focusing on the age groups which appear to struggle the most, including the youngest and the oldest groups.
For further insights, including who are the most confident workers in the US and how likely Americans are to fake a sick day, visit our blog.
