If your business struggles to efficiently accomplish tasks and goals, you’re not alone— companies on average lose 20 to 30 percent of their annual revenue due to inefficiencies in their work processes. For a long time, physical workflows were the optimal solution for many companies, as they helped team members organize, standardize, and communicate each step of the process to complete their tasks. In fact, many organizations still use manual workflows by documenting workflow operations on papers and forms. However, emerging business technology that seeks to close that 20-30% inefficiency gap begs the question: is there a way to accomplish work that is more simple, secure, and ultimately more effective? One answer for many is a digital workflow process.
Why Digitize Your Workflow?
For businesses that already have a system in place to complete their work, switching workflows to a digital platform might seem like a time-consuming and overwhelming transition. Small businesses, where tasks are executed by a select, limited number of people, may also struggle to see the benefits that new digital systems can offer. But when implemented properly, the positives far outweigh any potential negatives. Digital workflows provide a central location for storing any data needed to complete assignments, while manual systems often parse this information between paper documents, spreadsheets, and emails. Collecting and organizing this information is no longer a hassle when it’s been digitized on an easy-to-locate drive on your computer. Once this information has been stored in your digital workflow, you won’t need to copy or duplicate it to complete your work, which can help streamline your work processes.Physical workflows often leave a paper trail, meaning you will have to invest in document storage space, which eats up room in your office and requires sensitive document shredding to ensure security. Digital workflow systems, conversely, help you more efficiently store information so that it’s searchable and easy to locate without compromising confidential company documentation. This is especially valuable for your organization’s recruiting and human resources teams, who tend to work with sensitive employee information on a daily basis. Perhaps the most impactful difference between physical and digital workflows is the ability to automate with certain online tools, such as . Automating helps alleviate your teams’ workloads by performing repetitive or monotonous tasks, which gives everyone more time in their workdays to address any issues or high-level projects. Workflow automation subsequently reduces the amount of potential human error, as your teams will no longer need to manually populate repeated information that is necessary to proceed in the workflow.
