The current situation has forced more people than ever before to work from home. Document digitization best practices make it possible to utilize technology for undisturbed operations but there are still essentials to keep in mind.
According to the latest statistics, one in four Americans can work from home. This became clear while Covid-19 lockdowns lasted.
Many believe that moving forward, the traditional workplace will never be the same.
People are increasingly looking for flexibility. Document digitization makes that possible and the Covid-19 lockdown showed us that many activities within an array of industries can be carried out from a home office.
So, what are the document digitization best practices and other suggestions for making the most of the work from home setup? These are the essentials we will take a look at in today’s guide.
Document Digitization Best Practices for a Work from Home Setup: Go Cloud-Based
While this one is an obvious suggestion, it’s way too important not to be mentioned.
Local database storage at an office or a facility is not going to work if you want to offer your employees more flexibility.
Cloud document storage gives you the freedom and the flexibility to access important information from any location.
There are added benefits of choosing high quality online document storage. It’s a lot more flexible and efficient than putting together another kind of database. In addition, you can assign permission levels so that different people can view only the data needed for them to do a good job. As a result, going cloud-based allows you to protect sensitive information without keeping people from doing their job.
Rely on the Right Kinds of Technology
The right document management system isn’t the only thing that would be needed to adopt the work from home format and ensure a high level of productivity.
Remote workers need several additional technological solutions to stay in touch, enhance collaboration and communication.
At the very minimum, you should be utilizing a good scheduling or project management platform, a video conference solution, some good chat program (some document management systems come with chat and comment integration) and some type of time or activity tracker (especially if you employ freelancers or you work exclusively with home-based professionals.
Needless to say, these additional pieces of technology will vary from one company to another. The good news is that most are affordable and there could even be some free, open-source solutions you can employ in the beginning.
The Importance of Staying Involved with Colleagues
Work from home models can result in some people feeling lonely or isolated. A certain type of disconnect will come at play, preventing employees from feeling like they’re a part of the team and they belong.
Some of the best work from home practices focus on maintaining that team spirit through the utilization of the right digital solution.
A weekly team call is obviously much-needed to catch up with each other and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Collaboration also happens by email, chat and even when document management is being implemented. All of the products you select and the processes you have in place should encourage interactions between team members and departments. As a leader, you should be setting an example of how such regularly scheduled communication should be carried out.
Document Digitization Best Practices for Work from Home Teams: Invest in Knowledge
Document digitization and remote work programs evolve all the time.
Some employees will quickly master these innovative solutions but others will have a harder time.
If you want people to be using all resources at their disposal, organize regular learning sessions, workshops and trainings.
Digital technologies are not static. Many of the solutions that were perceived as revolutionary a few years back have now become obsolete. If people are not familiar with the latest possibilities and their full range of capabilities, you’ll be losing your edge and your competitive advantage.
Each time you introduce a new eCommerce solutions as a part of the digital remote setup, make sure that the entire team knows what to do with the platform. Don’t assume that people will quickly become familiar with the novelty. Proper training and workshops that go beyond the basics will benefit everyone involved, especially your company.
These are some of the essentials pertaining to digitization and working from home. The final thing to remember and to enforce is having a clear chain of command.
Everyone should be on the same page when it comes to hierarchy, the managers that each team responds to and the people they’ll need to get in touch with in the event of an emergency or a problem.
There should be well-defined options for reaching out and connecting with the right individuals. These need to be communicated in advance so that when the going gets tough, people know exactly how to resolve an issue in the quickest and most effective way possible.