Workflows should benefit people, not devices
Despite the hype around automated technologies and their ability to take on tasks and free up employees to add more value, businesses need to be aware that not every task is suited to automation.
It is important that, in digital transformation journeys, managers remember technology should complement, rather than overtake, employee talent and skillsets.
Managers should ensure digital services such as print and document management, and scan workflows, are designed to work with people, rather than other machines, according to Y Soft.
Simple and positive user experiences are a major factor in the overall effectiveness of new workplace technologies.
"Scan workflows and new technology need to suit all people who might use them throughout the organisation," says Y Soft Australia and New Zealand managing director Adam O'Neill.
"It's important for managers to recognise that many MFD users will come from different departments, with different needs, and different ways of doing things."
Y Soft has revealed three ways personalised and people-designed scan workflows benefit organisations and employees:
- Unique workflows - Personalised workflows for each employee, workgroup, and/or department saves users from needing to scroll through MFD menus. Organisations can have dozens of different scan workflows. With the appropriate settings already determined and saved for users, employees can immediately and easily use scan workflows when and where needed.
- Departmental variance - Different contexts require different scan workflows. A scan workflow that routes packing slips received in a warehouse's shipping department, for example, will be different than one needed for processing resumes and staff intake in the same company's HR department. Scan workflow environments need to cater to diverse contextual needs. This also means managers can rest assured that one scan and document management solution is enough to successfully service the entire organisation.
- Authenticity and accuracy - Organisations can improve their information security by ensuring scan workflows deliver data to the right people when intended. Quality scan workflow solutions will also require user authentication, meaning information can only be accessed by verified personnel. Workflows modelled around individual users are far more likely to keep information and documents secure than workflows with generic and unclear scan and delivery options.
"When new technology and processes are built to cooperate with, and complement employee needs, organisations see the best outcomes," O'Neill adds.
"It's essential that new technology, digital services, and devices don't leave employees confused, frustrated, or losing time as they try to navigate complicated settings. Managers need to prioritise user-friendly workflow technology, so employees boost their efficiency and productivity with personalised, appropriate support."
