Is the price in adopting digitisation worth paying?

So far in this series of articles on unemployment, we have looked at ways in which people in Botswana can contribute to our high unemployment rate. The next two articles will now focus on how unemployment can be caused by things that are beyond our control. This week we will look at one cause of unemployment which would surprise many readers – digitisation – also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Digitisation simply means converting information into a digital, or computer- readable, format. A wide range of electronic devices can be used to access digital information: desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. We are so often told that we need to embrace digitisation to stimulate economic growth and become more competitive on world markets. And it is already changing our lives especially in how we do business and even in our personal lives. It’s the in thing! But digitisation has its drawbacks and comes at a price for some, as we will see in this article! A total of some 390 people have left the employ of various local banks during the State of Emergency. One of the reasons for this is that many banks have embraced new technologies and innovations that reduce the need to recruit and keep staff. This means that in our banks digitisation is rearing its ugly head for some who may now find themselves jobless. Let us see how our banks are embracing digitisation. In the past, customers would physically in person go to their local bank for any service that they required. However, today ATMs enable people to withdraw and deposit money as well as obtain bank balances and statements at the click of a few buttons without having to enter a bank. Online banking is also becoming a part of life for many these days and can easily be carried out if customers have an electronic device. Sitting in the comfort of your home in front of your computer screen, you can access many services through online banking. For example, you can send money to another person’s account through e- wallet or cashless card, arrange for payment of credit card bills, view your statement and apply for debit and credit cards. And utility bills may also be paid online – this may also cause job losses at Botswana Power Corporation and Water Utilities Corporation offices. And you can do all these things whilst on the move using your smartphone. This is convenience banking – services are available 24 hours a day! And in some countries, banks also offer video banking.

However, there is a downside to this. Having to go into a bank less often these days means shorter queues and, because of this, banks may retrench some of their tellers which means that only their senior staff may now have any degree of job security. And in some countries, digitisation has led to the closing of some bank branches altogether. Botswana Post has also followed suit; through Poso Money and Virtual Post Box one can transfer money and renew vehicle licenses, postal boxes and DSTV subscriptions, etc.

Shopping is also experiencing a digital revolution. In the past, customers did all their shopping at a local supermarket, general dealer or wholesaler, but many of us are now changing the way that we purchase goods, even in developing countries such as Botswana. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows customers to directly buy goods and services from the seller over the Internet. Again, customers can shop online using desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones. An online store allows customers to view their products on their website where they can also pay for the goods using their credit card. Once the transaction has been completed, the store will then dispatch the goods to the customer. One example of such an online store is Amazon which sells books and other goods. Ecommerce benefits both the customer and the online store. The customer no longer needs to spend time and money visiting a store in person and the store may be able to trim their costs by reducing the numbers of their employees, such as sales assistants, thus throwing them out of work. However, online shopping may be risky – photos of goods on the website might not actually be photos of the actual goods on sale. So, some goods may have defects, or be damaged, but the consumer will only know this when he receives the goods. And it’s even more risky when buying electrical goods because one does not know if they are in good working order. At least, if I go to Game Stores to buy an electric kettle, I can ask the sales assistant to check that it’s working before I leave the store! And if it’s not working, no problem – it will be replaced with no hassles.

Jobs may even be lost in traditional stores. In the past, bulky cash registers were used at checkouts to find out how much the customer had to pay. And the price of each item was entered by tapping keys on the register much like using a typewriter. And that took time! But modern cash registers are much easier to use and the cost of items can quickly be entered by scanning the barcodes on them. The customer may then use his ATM card to pay the bill. Hence, fewer cashiers will be required as compared to before. And some research is being undertaken in some countries to do away completely with people working at the tills. Here some stores have already introduced selfcheckout machines where the customer is trusted to scan the barcodes of each item and place the items in a large bag. The bag is then weighed and the machine halts the checkout when the total weight of all the items does not match the weight in the inventory database. Payment is accepted using debit or credit card, or cash using a bank note scanner, a device that determines whether bank notes are genuine or counterfeit. Of course, some security personnel may need to be employed to ensure that the system is not abused by customers. And digitisation is also making inroads into schools, especially private schools. Educational technology, or e- learning, is the use of electronic devices to facilitate learning. Government plans to supply all learners in Botswana with a mobile device by the year 2025. Teachers may also use interactive whiteboards, or smart boards, in the classroom. These are large display boards that connect to a computer and projector. However, research has indicated that such modern technology may not really improve academic performance and they do not come cheap at more than P30 000 apiece! But such technology may not lead to a large loss of jobs! However, this might not be true with electronic books, or e- books. Printed books may be converted into e- books by using an image scanner. The main reasons why people may buy e- books are possibly lower prices and they may be read easily on electronic devices; also, people can read them anywhere they go on their smartphones. But e- books can easily be deleted or even corrupted. And to many people, a printed book looks so much more attractive than viewing images on their tablet!

The widespread use of ebooks may be a death sentence for many traditional publishers who would have to adapt to the new state of affairs, or go out of business. And in Botswana we have many such publishers – Macmillan, Pearson, Diamond, Collegium… Jobs will be lost in the industry since in e- book publishing there will be no need to employ, amongst others, printers or those who distribute the books. Digitisation has also spread its tentacles into manufacturing. In vehicle assembly plants, robots have replaced many workers in certain tasks. And in transport, in developed countries research is being undertaken in the development of trains that do not need drivers to operate them. In conclusion, digitisation has its pros and cons. But we have to ask ourselves: Is the price in adopting digitisation worth paying?