How digital tools can visualize challenges - and solve them!
There are two areas in particular, where digital tools can help solve challenges and create more efficient workflows - and at the bottom line, none of them has to do with technology! It is about:
1. creating greater transparency in what a large organisation does and 2. ensuring that the workload does not increase when implementing new working methods or new tools.
Digital tools create greater transparency
In a conversation with our Customer Success manager Ellinor, we realized how much we appreciate our efforts of what we are doing! And we are not talking about technical features or cool layouts - but about how our app can visualize challenges that businesses have not been aware of before. We are proud of that.
Many of our customers realize the main challenges they have in the organisation when they start documenting and following up with digital checklists. Why is this? Well, today's digitization creates a new type of transparency that has not been available before. You can quickly get an overview of what hundreds of people have done, without long Excel lists and many hours of editing - or even doing this by handling information on hundreds of papers!
You also get to know which tasks are performed too many times, or maybe not at all. Of course, this applies not only to us but to all types of new digital solutions that gather information about all areas of activity within, e.g. personnel management, operation, sustainability - all that needs to be done by someone somewhere and followed up by someone else.
If you know what does not work, you can prevent and correct.
We started to discuss this when Ellinor said;
"It's one of the best, if not the best thing about my job, to be included and solve real challenges that someone has been struggling with for years. It creates consensus, transparency and in some cases, we have been able to identify the challenge, and come to the solution in a few minutes! But, of course, this can also be painful, since reality can be difficult to face. However, it is always better to be aware of the challenges. Knowing what does not work makes it easier to prevent and correct".
Mainly, it is about follow-up or numbers that are needed quickly but can take a long time to spread around the organisation. Or information that everyone needs to take part of - but how do you know that it is getting done? Today, you can get proof with an image even if you are in Gothenburg and follow up staff in Norrland - without having to spend a lot of time yourself.
Increasing documentation requirements do not have to imply a greater workload
We have previously written about how digitization spells 15% technology and 85% change in working methods and leadership - and this is true!
In DN Debate 2017-09-28, Patrik Hall writes about the public sector; "Despite the "paperless society", today we see strong growth of documentation requirements. More and more people are spending more time designing documents about what others are going to do and how to control this activity, rather than performing the business itself."
Hall brings up other issues as well, but the core issue is that regulatory requirements, documents, governance and follow-up require a larger staff at the head office. At the same time, many feel that they are losing control of what is happening in the business and this is not only true in the public sector, but in most major organisations where daily operations "on the floor" constitute the core of the business. A society that requires a high pace of change creates a great need for constant reorganization and implementation of new tools and working methods, which, in turn, often causes more tasks and more control - not less, as may have been the idea from the beginning.
By being agile and able to change without a need to increase workload, you can always find ways to make work easier. The idea of digitization is not to increase the workload by creating new workflows - but to make time-consuming tasks easier to make more time for the core business!
Many digital tools can entirely change work processes and communicate to all parts of the business what is applicable and what to do - if done correctly! Check here to learn more about how we can help to simplify documentation, operations and business requirements through simple follow-up and execution. Search the web (or ask us!) if you are looking for another type of digital tool. There are professionals on digitizing scheduling, cashier systems and anything else that takes a lot of time from your core
