How moving away from an analog approach is easier than it looks.
In workplaces around the world, the digital revolution is well underway.
In most workplaces, that is – as we explored in an earlier post, many organisations are still hesitant to embrace change. Instead, they’re opting to hold onto hard copies, jot down notes, and share information ‘the good old-fashioned way’ rather than work with digital files or foreign concepts like the cloud.
Given it’s easier than ever to go digital, what’s stopping so many from making the switch?
Outdated systems are struggling
Digital is increasingly seen as the smarter choice: the cost, efficiency, and productivity benefits can be astronomical. Yet even with the evidence mounting, it’s still difficult to convince some organisations to make the change.
Why? It’s complex. Some are stuck in their ways, while others have been left largely misinformed. If you’ve kept up with the headlines in recent years, it’s easy to see why. News of data breaches, cyber security risks, and costly technology is enough to keep anyone clinging to the familiar.
The issue with this approach is comparatively simple: analog and, in turn, paper was never designed to deal with the stresses of the modern era. Consider for a moment the sheer amount of information that passes through your workplace on any given day. The edits. The revisions. The last-minute changes and updates.
Modern organisations need to be agile, but analog is anything but.
These decades-old processes are starting to buckle under the pressure, in the same way desks creak under the weight of all of those documents. Whether you’re an accounting firm sending sensitive information, an enterprise trying to manage its board meetings, or a small business trying to get up-to-date marketing material to your sales team, familiarity comes at a cost.
Inaction can prove costly
Many organisations these days find themselves stuck in limbo.
On the one hand, it’s clear that the costs associated with analog are simply unsustainable. On the other? Digital solutions have historically proven difficult to implement, hard to use, and costly to maintain.
So organisations are stuck, at times even confused. Change is difficult. Ted Schadler, VP at Forrester said as much just last year when the team surveyed businesses and IT decision-makers across Europe and North America:
“That it’s taking so long is just an indication of just how hard it is for companies to change how they operate. But hard <> impossible, and we think companies could exert a little more willpower using technology to do a better job for customers.”
Walking this fine line can prove tricky, as half-measures often put businesses, organisations, and enterprises at greater risk. The spot where old meets new – where outdated processes are met with ineffective, stop-gap digital solutions – is often costly, and non-secure.
Thankfully, alleviating these issues is simple if you know how.
These 6 tips make it easy to transform the way you deal with documents, digitally
Transitioning away from a reliance on analog processes and shaky digital solutions can be a boon for business. It’s also never been easier! With the right solution, you can seamlessly transition to a system that allows you to embrace the security, productivity, and workflow of a cloud-based environment.
1. Audit processes, data, and documents
How are documents currently shared, stored, or kept secure within your organisation?
…or not, as the case may be?
Assessing internal policies and procedures around the creation, storage, and sharing of documents is a critical first step in determining both the size and scale of the task at hand, as well as how best to kick-start the transition to a wholly digital working environment.
2. Bring employees up to speed
Analog processes become well-entrenched over time, so you’ll need to account for lead time for training and bringing employees up to speed, as well as equipping them with compliant laptops, phones, and tablets.
With the right solution, the process can be completed with minimal training or downtime.
3. Get clients on-board
Depending on the sector, clients may or may not be hesitant to transition to a digital environment.
Clients within the legal or financial sector, for example, may hold reservations about compliance and security issues. You would see a similar trend around Boards and board management software. However it’s important to highlight that going digital actually alleviates these issues, providing much greater control, visibility, and security.
4. Start digitally signing documents
Fewer people carry a pen these days, yet many businesses & boards still require physical signatures for the likes of NDAs. While it may be a small step, cutting out the need to send, print, scan, and then return signed documents as part of a paper-driven process can save a lot of time. Board management platforms often include a e-signature feature.
5. Maximise the use of templates
Transitioning to a digital environment can take time, but the ability to create, edit, and re-use digital templates that can then be shared and customised on the fly saves time and countless photocopies.
6. Reduce the reliance on paper
Old habits die hard, so removing the ability to fall back on familiar habits by limiting access to analog-based processes is an easy way to encourage the use of digital documents, instead.
With a cloud-based solution, the transition is seamless
Software has become a mainstay in the business world. Mobile Apps are used for stock-take in stores, for example, while accountants rely on the likes of Xero and other software in order to make their lives easier. So…why not documents, too?
Lengthy set-up processes, costly pricing structures, and the need for a million and one different software packages for each individual task has, up until recently, made the switch an arduous process.
This is why Stellar has always been a massive proponent of cloud-based, all-in-one platforms that act as a central hub for each and every part of the process.
There’s no need for a range of standalone software packages, each with their own quirks and training requirements. Instead, you can rely on just the one, simple solution that’s accessible anywhere, any time, on any device.
Whether you need to deliver sensitive data to sales people out on the road, share and set the agenda for a board meeting through the board management platform functionalities, or collaborate with other staff, a cloud-based solution cuts the costs – and the downtime – of dealing with analog processes while making it easy to create, store, and share, securely!