Are Paper-Based Processes Damaging Your Business Productivity?

Could you be saving time, cutting costs and boost efficiency by switching from paper-based processes to technology-driven productivity solutions?

From HR to facilities management, and from lead capture to visitor registration, there are countless processes within an organisation that are still being managed using paper forms and manual entry spreadsheets. But by the same token, many businesses are looking to save money and increase productivity.

This is just why making a move to digitally-driven processes has to factor as a vital consideration, especially in the current economic climate where savings count more than ever.

Both in the office and in the field, the use of paper forms for data capture and manual entry spreadsheets for management is inefficient and costly. The margin for error is also high, and meeting compliance requirements is a major challenge.

So, what’s the answer? In a word, technology.

Does technology hold the answer to your productivity challenges?

Workflow technology allows organisations to reduce costs and risk whilst boosting productivity. By putting real-time access to information and documents right in the hands of employees, courtesy of productivity software or apps designed for that specific process.

Let’s explore a typical scenario.

A maintenance company receives a request for a service visit. A field technician is despatched, but lacks background information on the issue. They spend time assessing the problem, then searching their van for the part they need, only to discover they don’t have it. They contact the office to find out if the part is in stock, and wait whilst a physical search is made. All the while, the customer is without their machine, and the technician is getting behind on other visits for the day.

Digital workflow technology avoids this type of situation courtesy of smarter inventory management. An app or web portal is used to log the initial service call. A standard set of questions must be answered, capturing useful information for the technician ahead of the visit. The system automatically checks for the required parts and ensures the technician doesn’t leave base without them. This results in a higher first-time fix rate, improved productivity by average visits completed daily, better service level agreement compliance, and enhanced customer retention rate.

This type of scenario could easily apply to any business process. It could apply to business processes in your organisation. When you start to think about how much you could be losing out just by overlooking the benefits that digital workflow technology could offer, it makes you think.

“57% of office workers spend an hour a day searching for documents”

Switching from paper forms and manual entry spreadsheets to automated productivity solutions offers a host of benefits.

A survey by Developing People Globally revealed that 57% of office workers spend an hour a day searching for documents. A digital productivity system makes finding the right document for the right job simple. Authorised users access the system anytime, anyplace via an internet enabled device to find precisely what they need, when they need it.

A digital workflow connects separate processes, so everything works together. For example, a new employee is entered on the system, and an automatic notification is sent to IT to supply and set up a workstation; another to HR to organise an induction, and another to admin to issue security passes and allocate parking.

Aside from the everyday productivity and collaboration benefits, digital workflow solutions empower more strategic business decisions by providing clearer insight into business operations as a whole, thanks to the rich data they provide.

How to choose the right digital productivity solution?

Traditionally, there have been two choices, one being off-the-shelf, the other custom software.

Off-the-shelf solutions are pre-built products designed for a mass market. As they are generic, they may lack the specific features you need. You may also end up paying for functionality that you don’t actually want. This results in having to adapt processes to fit the solution, rather than the other way around.

Custom software is built for purpose. So it only carries the functionality needed for the process. However, whilst this may sound ideal, the fact is that custom software is often out of reach of most businesses costs wise. It also takes many months of development work, and sometimes the developers fail to translate business ideas into system functionality. What’s more, when a business evolves and new features are needed, it can be costs-prohibitive to redevelop the software.

So, it would seem going digital could leave you between a rock and a hard place. Up until Microsoft introduced its flexible software development platform, Power Apps, that is.

Microsoft Power Apps makes it possible for businesses of all sizes to create the digital solutions they need to resolve their everyday productivity challenges. Delivered on an affordable subscription basis, it provides that much-needed middle ground between off-the-shelf products and custom software development.

The bespoke applications created via Power Apps are able to digitise existing paper-based and manual processes. So they deliver all those benefits we explored earlier, including faster collection of information from front-line workers and transfer to decision makers in a concise format.

Power Apps productivity solutions empower users, removing repetitive and time-consuming manual activities, which boosts employee satisfaction. In many cases, businesses would never be able to build productivity apps like this without Power Apps, because they simply wouldn’t have the budget.

Power Apps offers scalability, flexible pricing, custom functionality and full integration with all your favourite Microsoft products and some third party products, as well as regular updates to ensure your solution is working on the latest features.

The average cost to develop custom software is 74% less with Power Apps, according to a Forrester report. Additionally, the effort to maintain code and manage applications is less.

At ClearTec IT, we offer a full Power Apps development, support, subscription and management service, helping you create your very own affordable digital productivity solutions that will have you standing out amongst your competitors.

To learn more about how MS Power Apps from ClearTec IT could transform your business productivity, please get in touch.