A few weeks ago, I created a post called the “8 ways to use technology to be more efficient“. In that post, I outlined some great places to focus your energy to begin making your business more efficient through the use of technology. Taking a little more time to explain the specific uses may really help to allow you to take steps in this direction.
The first use that was outlined was the use of technology to improve paperwork processes. Many companies have processes in place that made sense in the past that cause paperwork to be passed around the building. This is a great place to focus analysis to see if automation can help.
What do you mean?
One of my previous clients had a process like this to get checks created and sent out. An associate would fill out a sheet of paper with all of the information. That piece of paper would then be passed through at least 1 or 2 supervisors (depending on the amount of the request). Once that paperwork was signed, the requestor would take the paperwork down to the treasury department which also had a chain of a few signatures (again depending on amount) before it would be entered into the check writing system. When the request was entered into the check writing system, it would then be sent to the scanning department to be scanned and placed in the document repository. Because of the overhead of this system the company was moving in a direction that would electronically route the request through each department and into the check writing system and document repository. By utilizing this electronic method, the paper usage, time, and overhead of the process would be greatly reduced.
How does it help?
The key to this type of efficiency gain is to first fully understand the current process. From there, a project team can create an efficient solution to allow the information to be electronically routed through the necessary hands. By creating an automated process solution you can see many benefits including:
1. Efficiency gains
By only requiring employees to review what is necessary to them and then electronically submitting items, it allows them to focus on other tasks unless something directly needs their input. Because items are routed electronically, there is no need for people to follow them or transport them through the process. Also, because the systems can manage the flow of the requests, the request doesn’t get lost on someone’s desk or in their inbox. The system will verify that the request moves through the process in a timely manner.
2. Tighter process control
The entire process will be created to meet the businesses specific needs. By doing this it will create a framework for tighter control over processes without providing the ability for certain requests to bypass the process. In addition each of the process steps will be saved to allow for further auditing to occur to verify the use and success of the process.
3. Easier auditability
Because each step is logged and each user is authenticated in order to utilize the system, each step can be audited to verify compliance. This makes verifying compliance easier and also creates an audit trail should issues occur. It makes sure that the specific business process is working correctly and provides a double check.
4. Automatic decision making
With intelligence built into the process it will allow the system to make decisions without manual intervention. As an example, if a request over a certain amount requires a higher level of approval, the request would automatically be routed to someone who could provide that approval. This allows the requests to flow more efficiently through the business and limits the distractions to the employees to the requests that they will have direct authority over.
5. Support for virtual employees
Any process that requires the use of paperwork causes real issues if you try to virtualize your office. Remote employees have much more difficult time of getting the requests created, signed, and routed. Also, it is difficult to receive approval from someone who is remote in that circumstance. With an electronic solution, it is just as easy to request, approve, or route the request for in office employees as for remote employees. By utilizing this type of solution, it makes it significantly easier to support this emerging way of doing business.
Take a step
Automating paperwork processes is a terrific way to help business to be more efficient. It provides a huge number of benefits to businesses of all sizes. When the time and energy is spent up front to understand the process and then spent on creating the right solution to meet the business needs, the end result can truly make your business better.
Are there processes in your business that could be made electronic?
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