Increasingly, you may have heard the word literacy being used to advance your work, such as “Lack of literacy” and “IT literacy is necessary to advance business.” However, I think there are very few people who understand literacy in the correct meaning.
Therefore, in this article, I will explain the meaning of literacy. We will also explain the difference between literacy and competency and an overview of IT literacy, so please use this as a reference.
What is literacy?
First, let’s start with an overview of literacy. Literacy is the English word “literacy,” which means the ability to read and write. However, in actual business and work settings, literacy is rarely used as the ability to read and write.
In business and business settings, literacy refers to understanding, basic knowledge, and understanding of specific things. People with high literacy in a specific field have a high level of understanding, and people with low literacy take a lot of time to catch up, so people with high literacy tend to be in demand in many workplaces.
What is the difference between literacy and competency?
Many people have probably heard of the word competency, which has a similar meaning to literacy. Competency refers to “ability” or “characteristic.” At first glance, it seems to be synonymous with literacy, but in business and work settings, it is used as a behavioral characteristic that leads to improved business performance and sales.
In other words, whereas literacy refers to “knowledge,” competency refers to “action.” No matter how much literacy you have, if your competency is low, you will not be able to take actions that will lead to sales.
Furthermore, although literacy itself is rarely used as a salary or job evaluation criterion, there are many companies that use competency as a salary or job evaluation criterion. In other words, while improving literacy, we also need to improve competency.
How to use literacy
Here are some examples of literacy.
- you have low literacy
- you are highly literate
- acquire literacy
- lack of literacy
Literacy is often used in business settings, but I think we are hearing it more and more often in our daily lives. In particular, literacy is often used in negative terms such as “not literate,” so it is important to acquire a minimum level of literacy in order to avoid giving negative evaluations to others.
What is IT literacy?
So far, I have explained about literacy. At the same time, we also need to deepen our understanding of IT literacy. IT literacy refers to literacy in business and work related to IT, such as networks, security, computers, and SNS. IT literacy is often expressed as not only knowledge but also the ability to utilize knowledge. Also, IT literacy generally means three main things.
- network literacy
- information literacy
- computer literacy
Let’s look at each in turn.
network literacy
Network literacy refers to literacy related to security and networks. It is often referred to as “Internet literacy.” Nowadays, it has become commonplace to conduct business using the Internet, so improving network literacy is essential. This is because there is a possibility that one employee’s words or actions could cause a firestorm, or that confidential information could be leaked to the outside world due to lax security measures. In consideration of the risk of harm to companies, many workshops and seminars on network literacy have been held in recent years.
information literacy
Information literacy refers to the knowledge and ability to judge where information is appropriate to obtain and to handle the obtained information appropriately. Nowadays, with the internet becoming more active and overflowing with a huge amount of information, the ability to discern the correct information is essential. There is also the risk that companies will be swayed by fake news and cause damage to their companies.
You also need the ability to correctly understand the information and put it into action after acquiring it. If you have a strong ability to utilize information in action, you will be able to assess user
needs
and come up with the measures your company needs.
computer literacy
Computer literacy refers to the skills and knowledge to operate computers. It is rare to find a company that does not use computers in its business, and most companies use computers such as personal computers to conduct their business.
In addition to basic operations such as how to use a keyboard and mouse, literacy in Office skills such as Word and Excel is also required. In fact, many companies have recruitment requirements regarding computer literacy, such as having minimum office skills.
Risk of low IT literacy
Earlier, I gave an overview of IT literacy. Here are three risks of low IT literacy.
- decreased productivity
- damage a company’s brand
- Unnecessary workload placed on some employees
I will explain each in turn.
decreased productivity
Low IT literacy risks reducing productivity. This is because they are unable to use computers and the tools necessary for work efficiently. In addition, there is a risk that the productivity of other employees will decrease as a result of adapting IT tools to employees who do not have access to them. In today’s internet society, it can be said that literacy to utilize IT tools is essential.
damage a company’s brand
There is also the risk of damaging the corporate brand by entrusting the operation of SNS and
owned media
to employees with low IT literacy. Naturally, as a company disseminating information, it is required that the information be accurate and that words and actions do not hurt users. However, due to a lack of IT literacy, it is difficult to judge these matters, and there is a possibility that the content of the message goes too far.
Unnecessary workload placed on some employees
If you have employees with low IT literacy, some employees with high IT literacy will be overburdened. This is because employees with low IT literacy are increasingly asking questions of employees with high IT literacy, and it is necessary to set up a help desk as needed. Employees with high skills and literacy are often entrusted with tasks that are directly linked to a company’s sales, so if the burden on those employees increases, it could lead to a decline in sales for the company as a whole.
Increased security risk
Finally, there is also the risk of increasing security risks for businesses. This is because employees with low IT literacy may fail to detect spam emails and download highly illegal files, or their computers may be hacked. As a result, important company information may be leaked to outside parties.
There is a big relationship between DX conversion and IT literacy.
In recent years, DX (digital transformation) has been rapidly progressing. There is also a big relationship between DX conversion and IT literacy. In order to efficiently proceed with DX conversion, it is of course necessary to use tools that improve business efficiency and to use a wide range of IT tools. However, those with low IT literacy are unable to use these tools and will fall behind in the era of DX.
By promoting DX, companies will be able to reform the way their employees work and make their operations more efficient. In other words, it is possible to increase sales and profits as well as reduce unnecessary expenses. In order to achieve these goals, it is necessary to urgently consider increasing the IT literacy of employees.
To increase IT literacy
Finally, I will explain three points for increasing IT literacy.
- Sharing the risks of low IT literacy
- Exposure to tools related to DX
- Hold seminars and training
In order to increase IT literacy, it is first necessary to make employees aware of the risks associated with low IT literacy. This is because no matter how much we explain the risks in classroom lectures, if employees do not view risks as their own, there will continue to be risks that will eventually cause major damage.
One way would be to have employees come into contact with DX-related tools and get a feel for their usefulness and necessity. Additionally, if you are unsure about your internal resources or knowledge, you may consider bringing in an external consultant to conduct training or seminars. First, start by making employees aware of the risks within your company, and actively consider holding seminars and training as necessary.
summary
In this article, we have explained about literacy and IT literacy. Literacy refers to knowledge and understanding of specific things, and IT literacy refers to literacy related to IT. If IT literacy is low, there is a risk of damaging a company’s brand and increasing security risks.
To prevent these, why not share the risks of low IT literacy and hold seminars and training as necessary?