My, how our world has
changed. I am at a stage in life
where I am amazed daily at the impact technology has on our day-to-day living.
I was reminded of this when I accompanied my youngest son on a visit to a
college he was considering. "Several new enhancements are being added to
the campus because of requests by students,” explained our student tour guide.
First, the new student
activities center will use palm scanning for entrance, instead of requiring
students to swipe their Student ID. Wow. I thought that type of thing was
available only in a Mission Impossible
movie!
Next, the laundry
facilities are equipped with text messaging alerts to notify students when to
move their clothes from the washer to the dryer or get them from the dryer.
Amazing! Students today realize time is valuable, so there is no time so idly
sit around and wait for clothes to wash and dry. To think, I remember sitting
in the basement with my great grandmother literally watching the washing machine!
Finally, I have known
this had to be coming, this school has full-fledged use of digital textbooks
through CafeScribe and other vendors. This lower-cost alternative
allows students to download textbooks to an iPad or Kindle, and takes advantage
of all the features these readers possess — not to mention it is a much
"lighter” option than toting around textbooks.
These technologies
provide solutions to the needs of our future workforce—today.
- What expectations do
these technologies create for our current college students post-graduation?
- What would happen if
they chose to enter the insurance agency business?
- Would they face
frustration dealing with multiple carrier passwords in their management systems
when they’re used to swiping a palm for access?
- Would they sit around
watching their email inbox for answers, just as we used to watch the washing
machine?
- Would they need to
retrieve manuals from someone’s office bookshelf or carry around paper client
files, or would everything be available via the agency’s Intranet or other
cloud-based source that is accessible anytime, from anywhere?
The questions all point
to a much larger one: As business owners
and employers, what are we doing to understand new technologies and deploy
these ideas and others to attract youth to our industry? Could we do more?
At NetVU, we continue to
explore opportunities and integrate member benefits that will drive technology
adoption among our members. The goal is
to make our members as efficient, productive and profitable as possible. As you think of ways we can help your firm,
please email me – [email protected].