I recently read an article in Forbes written by Jacob Morgan titled “Five Trends Shaping the Future of Work.” The Morgan details these five points:
changing behaviors which are being shaped by social media entering the enterprise
new collaborative technologies
a shift to the “cloud”
millennials soon becoming the majority workforce
mobility and connecting to work.
We are currently witnessing a both a generational and technological shift in our workforce. Social media has had an inestimable impact on our society and how it functions today. A large part of the success of social media is thanks to the popularity with the millennial generation that the collaborative benefits of technology. As many of our jobs have shifted to the digital world, the way that we work and process information has become more like the interactive and collaborative world of social media. So it should come as no surprise that the millennial generation is embracing these shifts in workflow.
We are seeing much of what Morgan wrote about in our own clients. More and more organizations are using nontraditional working environments with more people working from their homes. This allows companies to utilize the most qualified employees available without regard to geography. For companies that service clients throughout the United States, this provides an additional bonus. Having employees in all time zones makes servicing a diverse geographic client base easier.
However, the benefits are not just limited to companies who have clients across the country. Even if your workforce is all located in a single geographic area having a flexible workforce provides other benefits. Infrastructure costs can be greatly reduced when people work outside the traditional brick-and-mortar office. Executing on this plan can be difficult unless you have the proper infrastructure in place. This includes having the appropriate document management and workflow tools to create efficient and easy to use environment for all of your workforce.
A growing number of our clients are embracing “transformational solutions” within their workspace. This plays into Morgan’s five points as well. As baby boomers are quickly being replaced by millennials, today's workers expect to have information available anytime and anywhere. Where we previously may have seen some reluctance to the use of the cloud for document management and workflow, many clients now require it. A true document management solution should provide secure system access from anywhere, regardless of the device you are using. Collaboration through the use of e-forms and workflow is more pervasive, as companies look for push beyond the traditional accounts payable and hiring workflows to address all types of process improvement. Making staff more efficient and accountable is a major benefit of using an ECM solution. In addition, the structure that these tools provide make, training quicker, work more accurate and overall results more consistent with a company’s vision.
The smartphone phenomenon has changed our expectations of how we receive and disseminate information. In addition to having an app for everything, we are now programmed to use that device to obtain answers and communicate to others. Does your document management and workflow solution have an app? It should, as we see more individuals use these devices to retrieve information, communicate with clients and approve and redirect workflows. The days of having your PC act as a ball and chain are gone.
As our workplace continues to evolve, and expectations increase, we need to deploy solutions that will remove barriers for our workers. Empowering them with the right tools helps to build a transformational working environment for both employees and businesses.
Interested more in what a cloud-based system can do for you? Check out our website for more information.
Has your business benefited from one of the technologies we mentioned today? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to subscribe to our blog!
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