Digital Transformation has been an ever-present buzzword since its concept over a decade ago – and with good reason. Businesses across the world are digitising at a rapid rate, so much so it can be hard to keep track of it all. Here, Yohan Lobo, Industry Solutions Manager, Financial Services at M-Files, offers his thoughts about how innovation in the workplace is the way forward.
In the modern era of business, organisations should strive to offer a truly digital workplace, where employees can work from anywhere at any time and have all the information they need at the tips of their fingers. Delivering a holistic and interconnected working environment removes pain points for staff and clients as the upheaval of outdated practices increases efficiency across the board.
However, understanding the importance of the digital workplace doesn’t necessarily equate to success. In fact, recent research shows many companies are still getting digitisation wrong, with 67% of knowledge workers in the UK and US stating they have a better digital experience outside work than inside work.
To avoid becoming a victim of this ongoing trend, businesses must remember that a digital workplace falls to pieces if staff don’t have instant access to the information they need. Choosing the right technology as the foundation for Digital Transformation allows businesses to enable a better user experience through certain workflow automation and ease of use, operating in a modern way that helps maximise the capabilities of staff, including productivity and collaboration.
What has accelerated the introduction of the digital workplace?
The pandemic revolutionised the way companies function, raising standards for digitisation to a level we would never have expected pre-pandemic. Over three-quarters (78%) of organisations now offer hybrid working, which has become a non-negotiable expectation, rather than a nice-to-have, for the modern-day employee.
COVID-19 hasn’t been the only factor in the workplace transformation. Last year it was reported that tech vacancies had risen by 191% compared to 2020, highlighting the importance of businesses going above and beyond to attract and retain top talent. Offering prospective staff the chance to work remotely can be a deciding factor when weighing up offers, which is why some firms have chosen to prioritise the integration of the digital workplace.
Businesses have also begun to better understand the pitfalls of content chaos and have been more proactive in taking steps to ensure they don’t lose important data and adhere to compliance regulations. This has increased advocacy for the digital workplace, with companies moving away from paper-centric practices and introducing technology that gives them control over the information they manage.
So, what steps should organisations take to ensure they run a cohesive and high-performing digital workplace?
System neutrality is key
Users don’t want to be restricted to working in a single system, or to have to ‘lift-and-shift’ all content into a new location. Perhaps an organisation uses shared network drives and folders, file sync and share applications or legacy document management systems.
It shouldn’t matter to the user in which of those locations a piece of information is stored. What matters is that they are able to locate, consume and manage it with the same user experience, regardless of where that information is stored behind the scenes quickly and easily.
A key part of the digital workplace is ensuring that information can be accessed from any system and using any device, at any time. This will prevent people from having to print paper copies to take to meetings with them. Information should be easily yet securely accessible whether the user is working in the office, out on the road using their mobile device or even working offline.
The importance of metadata in the digital workplace
It’s important to consider how digitised information is stored and managed. Folders rely on people knowing where information is stored. While they worked on paper, there’s no reason for using them when it comes to managing information digitally.
Metadata is information that describes content or data. It can be used by businesses to manage information by describing ‘what’ it is, rather than where it is stored. With metadata, you can classify a document as a proposal, relating to a customer, a project or a team, for example. Instead of searching for the location of that document, you or your colleagues can search for any terms relating to that document and there will only ever be one version – the truth.
Leveraging the potential of AI
It’s important that any technology deployed in a digital workplace makes life easier for employees. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to auto-classify information streamlines the process of managing information and improves consistency and compliance across an organisation. Not only will a user no longer have to think ‘where should I save this document’, they will now not even have to think about ‘how should I classify this document’ or ‘what metadata should I apply’ as AI can help automate this process.
Deploying an information management platform may be a critical part of achieving the digital workplace, but the way in which this is approached should be carefully considered to reduce risk, costs and, most importantly, ensure employee buy-in – as without employees actively embracing these systems, they will simply become another failed Digital Transformation project.
Move with the times
The digital workplace is more than just a passing trend, it’s the present and future of the business landscape and will only become more pervasive. As a result, businesses should prioritise the implementation of infrastructure that allows employees to easily navigate company files and systems from anywhere in the world.
If this digitisation is delivered successfully, business leaders stand to benefit from increased efficiency, higher customer satisfaction and a more empowered workforce.