Digitalization is the future. If you’re not working on it already, it’s time to get started. Digitalizing means changing your business processes to digital technologies. It is a transition from analog and paper to software and the cloud.
The move to a digital business is important in many ways. It allows you to store information online, where any authorized personnel can access it from anywhere around the world; it streamlines your processes and makes them more efficient; and perhaps most importantly, it reduces error.
It offers helpful solutions such as:
Meeting Deadlines
Deadlines are part of all businesses, but they’re not necessarily easy to meet. The larger and more complicated your company and processes, the more difficult it becomes to do things on time.
Significant challenges include coordinating various employees and their tasks and timelines. If one team member’s task must be done a few days before another person’s task, timing matters.
A digital technology platform puts these various timelines together in one tool. Users can see a graphic representation of the order of tasks and the deadlines for each stage in the process. This makes it easier to coordinate and ensure everyone sticks with a deadline and that you avoid delays.
Send Notifications
Of course, using a tech platform that streamlines and organizes your processes, tasks, assignments, and deadlines only works if all team members are looking at it. Is it reasonable to expect everyone to look at the digital process timeline daily? Hourly? Multiple times per hour?
It’s not reasonable at all, which is why you need notifications. Most platforms allow you to change the settings to ensure all team members get notified in advance of due dates and other important reminders. They get the information they need in an email or banner and don’t need to waste time scanning the platform for what they need.
Customization is key here. Every employee should be able to set their own notifications, so they don’t end up bombarded by notes that have nothing to do with them. This only wastes time and defeats the purpose.
Require Information
The right technology platform will allow you to customize the digitalization of your business processes. For instance, you can ensure that one team member completes one task before they or another person can move on to the next one. That critical bit of information must go into the system before it can proceed. With this kind of customization in place, you can be sure the process isn’t missing any steps or information.
Another aspect of individualizing your platform is limiting your team member’s options. Ensure they complete tasks the way you want them to by offering dropdown boxes with limited choices. Instead of a free-for-all, you get a tightly controlled process with fewer errors.
Automate Processes
Ultimately, digitalizing helps you automate processes as much as possible. This increases communication between team members, enhances productivity, and improves efficiency. Automation frees up employees to do more creative tasks and problem-solving.
For example, instead of creating a new social media calendar every month, use a template. A tech platform provides the standard for a content calendar, which you can perfect once and adapt as needed.
Update the calendar monthly to make necessary changes and to include new and relevant content. By automating as many aspects of business processes as you can, you avoid inevitable human error. It may not eliminate all mistakes, but it avoids many of them and gives employees a chance to devote time to other tasks that require more creative thought and collaboration.
Stronger Updates
Updating and changing processes has a huge potential to increase error. Employees needed to get messages via memos, mail, phone calls, or in-person meetings to make these updates in the pre-digital world. Today, with digitalization, updates run much more smoothly. Every employee or team member has access to the platform that includes updates.
You can set notifications to remind them of these changes and explain what needs to be done differently. This type of updating keeps everyone informed and reduces the chances of misunderstanding, which inevitably leads to mistakes. The platform should allow you to select which team members need to receive specific updates and to create instructions in an easy-to-read format.
Don’t Miss the Boat on Digitalization
The world is going digital. It is inevitable, but there is no reason to drag your feet on this transition. Digitalizing your business can be simple with the right tools, and it will help you run your company more efficiently and profitably.
