Don't be so fast to let technology take over

6 February 2012 | By Richard Sexton, Business Development Director, E.Surv

It’s a struggle to recall how we coped without 24-hour access to our colleagues and clients.

Before the internet, people probably spent ages wondering what to do with all their pictures of cute puppies. This pervasive connectivity is good, opening new markets and facilitating our appetite for all kinds of data.

It also allows us to stay in touch with those dear to us. My kids need surgical intervention to remove them from their glowing screens.

Technology convergence will mean we have fewer but more sophisticated gadgets. The trick is making the technology work for us, rather than the other way around.

For example, email and the phone are great, but after 20 years supporting clients, no medium captures that certain something of being in a room with your contact.

I’ll voice another heresy here - just because we can do something faster doesn’t mean we should. The valuation world provides advice and on occasion that requires thinking time. I’ll wager financial advice is the same.

So devices that allow us to speed up delivery should be welcome as another tool, but focussing on just that capability is a red herring.

Ask those firms still dealing with a tsunami of professional indemnity cover claims that were arguably avoidable with a bit more research.

Let’s not confuse the map with the territory we are trying to reach.

 

If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Mortgage Strategy and Follow @mortgagestrat