By Nicole Clark

In an increasingly digital world, companies will do well to adopt digital solutions in their work processes to keep pace. Digital transformation strategies have become a must for businesses to gain an edge over competitors and succeed. Going completely digital is not without its challenges of course, which is why you need to properly plan and determine how to go about it.

Here’s all you need to know about how digital transformation impacts businesses and how you can create an efficient digital workplace.

Improving Productivity, Driving Business Success

Companies on the road to shifting to a truly digital workplace find it an extremely challenging task, with so many factors to think about: employee readiness, device compatibility, budget limitations. Yet they know a digital transformation is something they must do in order to get ahead in the race toward success.

Many companies are already using digital technologies to engage customers, but it’s crucial to use digital solutions internally as well to improve office efficiency and employee productivity, drive innovation and encourage collaboration.

Many digital solutions allow companies to tailor their business processes and practices to ease workflow and get more things done at the end of the day. For instance, automation software takes tedious, error-prone tasks such as manual encoding out of employees’ hands, allowing them to focus on other tasks requiring their expertise.

This boosts employee morale, which has an impact on overall employee satisfaction. A happy workplace is a productive workplace!

Moreover, the use of digital tools allows global companies to connect to their regional offices, enabling key leaders to get together without anyone having to take a long flight just for a meeting. As a result, instead of worrying about the hassle of travelling to another continent, leaders need only focus on moving their business forward.

Satellite-enabled video conferences not only allow participants to communicate and discuss important business matters wherever they are in the world, it also does the planet a favour by lowering businesses’ carbon footprint through reduced travel.

Digital Transformation Tips For Business Success

Creating a digital workplace can only be achieved with the cooperation of everyone in the company, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Take baby steps and adopt digital technologies little by little to get everyone accustomed to a new workplace.

Because it’s a big undertaking, it’s important to have everyone’s support. Get them involved in your planning process, ask them for suggestions for streamlining work processes and operations.

Remember that a digital workplace can only be achieved through dedication, training and teamwork. It’s important to make this clear early on by letting everyone know about your vision for the future–a digital, efficient, and productive workplace–and making them feel that without their cooperation, that wouldn’t happen.

Here are some great ideas on how to create a digital workplace.

Analyse your business processes and practices.

To be able to make a clear path toward a digital workplace, it’s necessary to first take a step back and determine where you are. How digital is your workplace? You’re probably already using a few digital business applications such as email and and online storage, but perhaps those can be improved and streamlined.

Which aspects about your business process can be automated to reduce human error and save on time? Do you use any forms that can be digitised and accessed online? Can you cut operational costs by letting employees work from home? Is your communications infrastructure speeding things up or bogging down the workflow? How effective are your current digital tools in driving your business forward? Are you using outdated workplace management software and is it time to upgrade?

Answering these questions will give you a better idea about which aspect of your business you can prioritise to shift to more advanced digital technology–after all, going digital would essentially require you to change the way you do business.

Set aside a budget for digital initiatives.

Creating a digital workplace means having compatible systems and devices, so tech upgrades and purchasing digital solutions are definitely in order. Investing in equipment and software seems a hefty burden at first, but it will all be worth it in the long run because you’ll be more productive and efficient with the use of those tools–plus you’ll be sure to have systems that are compatible with most of what modern workplace technology can offer.

Conduct training sessions.

Some employees may find the transition to a digital workplace easier that most, while others struggle to find the right key or button to click. To make sure your employees are ready to take on the digital challenge, conduct training sessions that would equip them with the right knowledge and skills so they can use the digital tools you’ve invested in.

For instance, you can provide dedicated training for topics such as using a content management system, email and social media best practices, answering customer queries via live chat and so on.

It may be difficult schedule training sessions for different groups of employees, so it’s recommended to use the latest workplace management software instead. This software allows you to create different training courses and monitor the progress of all participants in your training programme. It’s also fully hosted online, so you only need computers with internet access–and we’re certain your company already has those!

Don’t forget digital security.

A few decades ago when the internet was still a vague idea, one of the biggest threats to businesses is fire, which can quickly consume and destroy important files and folders. With a digital workplace, you won’t have to worry about this if you are using online storage. What you do need to worry about is data breach.

Data security issues are one of the major problems of digital workplaces that rely on cloud computing, online software, social media and other digital technologies.

This is why it’s important to choose workplace management software and cloud storage options that offer advanced data security and encryption, especially if your company handles the personal records of thousands of clients. Since you basically won’t have a business without your customers, give them–and therefore your company–the best that digital security has to offer.

Turning traditional workplaces into digital ones is truly a challenge, but if you get started on your digital transformation today, you’ll gain a clear advantage over your competitors right away.

Sources:

https://www.avanade.com/en/blogs/avanade-insights/digital-business/how-a-digital-workplace-and-diversity-drive-innovation

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/the-right-digital-tools-to-maximize-workplace-innovation/article32595508/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&

https://www.inc.com/disneyinstitute/afshar/hewitt.html

http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/nine-questions-to-help-you-get-your-digital-transformation-right

https://www.forbes.com/sites/boozandcompany/2014/03/31/five-essential-elements-of-the-digital-workplace/#254e37156258