Every so often Fortune Magazine or Business Week will run an article about jobs that are being phased out due to technological advances. As I read through the list I wonder to myself if my job will show up on the list one day.
But if this past week is any indication, I don’t have much to worry about as computers are still a huge pain in the butt to use for many tasks.
Take the performance review process. Years ago when I needed to give a review I would print out a template and write the review. After meeting with the employee, I’d make three copies and give one to the employee, file one away and send one to HR.
Over time, the review template was put into Microsoft Word and I’d type out the review instead of writing it. Small changes were made but the process stayed essentially the same.
Fast forward to last week as I try to get a head start on writing a half dozen reviews. I assumed the process had been streamlined even more, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Here’s the steps I’ve gone through over the past week in order to gain access to our company’s HR application where I must start the review process:
1. Wait for company to enable my email
2. Wait for company to grant access to intranet
3. Wait for company to grant access to HR application
4. Download Citrix stuff along with a bunch of other stuff
5. Do a web chat with support to get the stuff I downloaded working properly
6. When that doesn’t work, make a few phone calls to see why things still aren’t working
7. After 2 weeks, still no access to area where I can start writing the reviews….
Even once I have access to all the areas I need to write the review I wonder how easy it will be to write, update and print out. This is an example of a process that technology has made much more complicated than it needs to be. I long for the days of the simple review process.
This is just one example of how technology can complicate our lives. A similar thing happened a while back when I tried to order checks online from my credit union. What used to take 5 minutes over the phone turned out to take nearly an hour of frustration.
That’s why I am so loyal to products that take the hassle out of life. A few of these devices are my iPod Video, Nikon D40, and Treo 650.
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