Your company is digitizing to stay competitive. But who is leading the charge to keep you at the cutting edge? Who manages the implementation of your tech and fixes the problems as they arise? Your company needs to invest in a Construction Technology Innovator.
What Is a Construction Technology Innovator
This position is designed to oversee and ensure that digital implementation in your organization is seamless. A construction technology innovator knows why connectivity is equally as important as your technology, why clear communication and buy-in at all levels in the organization are crucial to successful tech implementation, and more.
This person drives technology strategy and leads the IT department, but they differ from a CIO or IT Director in that their primary purpose and vision is to look to the future and see opportunities where others may miss it. They must have a pulse on the industry as a whole, be able to network with thought-leaders and game-changers, know who the early-adopters of technology are, and must be strategic in their own early-adoption approach.
This person supports existing IT efforts, but is not directly responsible for managing the day-to-day tasks required to maintain a healthy IT ecosystem; that’s a job for your IT manager or director. This person is your PR for technology, your networking tool, your dreamer, and your strategic executer. In short, it takes a special person to be a construction technology innovator, but the value they add is unbeatable for companies who want to stay on the cutting edge.
Why You Need a Tech Innovator
A tech innovator is the key to translating technology throughout all levels of your business. Not only do they seek internal buy-in at both the executive and employee level, but they communicate value externally, as well. This means clarifying with clients why this investment is critical to their completed project, communicating with contractors, designers, architects, engineers, and anyone else outside of your firm that needs to coordinate on the project. When there’s uncertainty or resistance, they know how to explain the value in a way that overcomes the fear of digitizing.
They keep one eye focused on the present and the other aware of the future.
Your tech innovator ensures that your firm gets the most and the best performance of the tech you’ve invested in. While they’re keeping an eye on the now, they also have a pulse on what’s coming in the world of tech. This keeps your company competitive and provides the opportunity for upgrades in a more timely fashion. Such upgrades can further reduce rework, provide more clarity and transparency in the project lifecycle, reduce cost, reduce or prevent time delays, and boost productivity.
They serve as the PR spokesperson for your company at tech events.
When attending networking events or conferences related to digitizing the jobsite, your tech innovator is the perfect representative to send from your company. They should be able to speak in both technical terms and layperson terms. They’re the go-between from the experts selling devices that may be complex in nature but that offer incredible benefit to organizations who understand how the implementation furthers company goals. Further, if you’ve got a really great tech innovator, they can lead discussions, serve as keynote speakers, and headline local networking events to position your company as a tech leader in the industry.
They are the ultimate resolutioner.
Day-to-day minutiae in tech is what you have your IT team for. But the large scale tech problems that can make or break an organization are where your tech innovator shines. Instead of taking your entire IT team out of commission to pool their resources to solve complex problems, your tech innovator should have the skills and experience to draw upon to make critical decisions that will lead to a swift resolution.
See It In Action
Skeptical? Mortenson implemented tech innovator, Ricardo Khan, at their organization. Read how that’s revolutionized the way they approach construction in this article by Builtworlds, and this article on Oracle.
