Workflow and Technology

Technology is quite paramount in today’s world. It would be highly ridiculous not to think “technology” in the world we live in today.

Workplaces are fueled by the many technology tools that have become available in recent years. As technologies continue to advance, they have entirely reshaped modern organizations by making their processes highly integrated, streamlined, and more straightforward to conduct for employees. Technology has come to play a big role in the activities of law firms and courts globally in the midst of the global pandemic.

For this reason, 40% of firms have implemented elements of a digital workplace strategy, and 17% of firms have plans to create a formal strategy in the next two years. These businesses use digital transformation to align technology, employees, and other functions to improve operational efficiency and meet firm goals.

Meant to act as a virtual complement to the physical office space, “digital workplace” is a broad term that includes any device, software, or platform that employees use to execute their jobs.

But what technologies are driving this change? Here are three of the most impactful technologies that are improving employee workflow:

Automation

Automation is defined as the technology-enabled automation of activities or services that fulfil a specific function or workflow. More specifically, workflow automation refers to the design, execution, and automation of processes based on workflow rules where human tasks, data or files are routed between people or systems based on pre-defined business rules.

Automation is used to improve a firm’s overall workflow in terms of achieving greater skillfulness, adapting to changing client needs, reducing human error, and clarifying job roles and responsibilities.

When workflow automation is in place, it can improve efficiency, productivity, and accuracy.

Although automation was once only associated with advanced manufacturing plants full of robotics, that’s far from its only use today. Regardless of your firm’s size, automation can be a helpful tool. Its capabilities range from providing automatic email responses to deploying thousands of bots programmed to automate specific job functions.

 

Cloud

If you’ve edited a document in Google Drive, streamed music on Spotify, liked an article on Facebook, or updated your resume on LinkedIn, you’ve seen cloud computing in action, though you may not have been aware of it.

The cloud refers to software and services that run on the internet instead of locally on a computer. Most cloud services can be accessed through a web browser like Firefox or Google Chrome, and some companies even offer dedicated mobile apps.

Cloud technology is very advantageous, especially where collaboration is concerned. The ability to communicate and share via cloud-based tools can enhance the quality of work produced and decrease the amount of time it takes to complete projects.

Business applications built to run on the cloud makes inter-departmental collaboration simple and efficient.

 

Predictive Analytics

As data becomes more widely accessible and ready for use, today’s firms can use it to their benefit, making business options driven by fact and more strategic. This is highly beneficial for firms of all sizes; in fact, a study conducted by the MIT Sloan School of Management indicates companies that are mostly data-driven maintain 4% higher productivity rates and 6% higher profits.

By using data to drive your online strategy, you can create content, modify a web page, and organize supplementary materials to engage and convert clients. Emerging technologies, like these described in the post, are poised to make a significant impact in today’s workplaces and employee workflows. Many firms have realized this and are making the shift. Very soon this will indeed be the rue “new normal” for firms who wish to compete and stay relevant.

With digital workplaces on the rise, be sure to educate yourself on these technologies and how they can impact your firm.

 

ACKNOWLEDEGMENT:

https://www.integrify.com/blog/posts/emerging-technologies-that-aid-employee-workflow/

By Mike Raia