Installing new technology should make work easier. But if employees are still entering the same information twice, and correcting the same mistakes, that shiny new system may simply have digitised the frustration. Research involving 500 Australian food and beverage workers found that 58.4% believed their organisation was becoming less productive despite investment in technology. More than four in five respondents said repetitive or manual tasks consumed over a quarter of their working week. Almost 96% reported duplicated work across systems, processes or teams. The most revealing result concerned implementation. More than three quarters said new technology was typically introduced without corresponding changes to processes, responsibilities or established ways of working. As Argon and Co Managing Partner Paul Eastwood said: “Technology alone won’t fix an inefficient process.” The research focused on food and beverage manufacturing, but the lesson travels easily into restaurants, clubs, commercial kitchens and franchise networks. A new ordering platform will not solve poor communication between the dining room and kitchen. Inventory software cannot correct inconsistent receiving procedures on its own. An artificial intelligence tool will not produce reliable insights from inaccurate information. Even useful systems can create more work when employees must move between several platforms, enter the same details repeatedly or develop unofficial workarounds to keep service moving. Before buying another system, operators should identify the exact problem they want it to solve. Is the venue losing stock, producing inaccurate rosters, missing booking information or spending too much time reconciling reports? A specific problem creates a clearer test of whether the technology is helping. Employees should be involved early. They understand where information is duplicated, which steps cause delays and what happens when a system fails during a busy service. Their experience can reveal whether a proposed solution fits the real operation or merely looks convincing in a demonstration.
