Work smarter thanks to digitised processes – 3 tips

Productivity is declining – but digitalisation can reverse the trend

Research shows that productivity worldwide has decreased continuously since the 1960s and right now we find ourselves at a point where we have practically never been less productive. Perhaps it's social media stealing our attention, perhaps it's the temptation to do our weekly shopping online, or perhaps it's something completely different.

Fortunately, there is hope. Experts believe there is great potential for our overall productivity to increase and we find this hope in digitalisation. We'll give you three tips on how digitalised processes can improve your and your company's productivity and how you can achieve the most effective digitalisation journey possible.

1. Continuing education as a strategy

We constantly hear how AI and robots are going to take over countless jobs. However, while many jobs are already disappearing, new jobs are also being created, so it’s not at all clear how AI and robots will really change our economy in the future.

But there are things companies can do to prepare for the shift the new technology will bring. While those commonly known as "digital natives" or "digitally fluent” – in other words the generation now between the ages of 18 and 35 – often have the skills the more advanced digitised jobs require, it’s sensible to also include the rest of your workforce in these changes.

You may think your company would do better to hire new talent and invest in their skills, but everyone else thinks that too, which has led to competition for this new workforce being very tough. It also often costs much more to employ a new person than it does to train an existing employee, because the latter already have good knowledge of your systems and ways of working.

During the digitisation process, your company needs a strategy to get the most out of these streamlined processes. Invest in a strategy where you use existing staff and you will see exactly how productivity increases.

2. Let digitisation spread throughout the organisation

It’s important that digitisation applies to everyone. We often see how business leaders speak warmly about digitised processes, but still use post-it notes and paper calendars themselves instead of the tools digitisation has given them. And we understand why. It’s easy to get stuck with old habits and it takes a lot of effort to learn new ways of working. This is precisely the reason why successful digitisation offers a competitive advantage: not everyone can do it effectively.

Digital transformation affects all companies, whether or not they jump on the train. True digitisation only occurs when all parts of the business are moving in the same direction, which means that it’s important for everyone to be on the same page when it comes to digitisation. It isn’t easy to get everyone working together with digitisation, but there’s a lot of research on change work that’s well worth studying.

3. A smart digitisation strategy

It's important that you have an overarching strategy for digitalisation. All changes made, all further training conducted and all work you invest in your changes must be done based on a clear strategy.

Studies show that twice as many of the best performing companies had a clear connection between their general strategy and their digital strategy. Furthermore, it turned out that those who performed best had implemented changes in their general strategy after or during the implementation of digitalisation.

Having a bold strategy often proves to be what makes a company stand out. You have an excellent opportunity to introduce such thinking whilst implementing your digital transformation journey. Contact us at Nordlo and we'll discuss what your digitalisation strategy could look like.