Business

Growing up, many of us were instructed not to waste paper - that using too much paper kills trees and harms the environment. Delving into the true statistics behind the state of paper production and use is truly staggering. Far from just being something told to kids so they don’t use up all the printer paper, the paper production and recycling industry is massive and growing (399 million tons of paper and paperboard were used globally in 2020).

What does the term ‘time stamping’ bring to mind? For many, it’s likely a small machine that physically stamps a document or a ticket with a particular date and time, validating the paper document for a set period or indicating the finalized version. But time stamping is in fact very different today. Like many functions and processes in a business context, it has also transformed to be more efficient in the digital environment. However, it still serves a very similar purpose.

Today many of us rely heavily on digital solutions for running our lives, from our daily habits to our finances and our businesses. Companies have access to some truly impressive solutions that enable them to take their processes online and build better workflows, improve efficiency, cut costs, and improve security and compliance. There seems to be no limit as to what processes can be improved by transitioning to a digital form, and there are clear benefits to implementing these solutions across day-to-day operations. Everything from customer onboarding to accounting can be managed easily online with the right tools.

Certain terms find their way to the forefront of the business world and can quickly get to the point of feeling overused - thrown around at every opportunity to show that a business is current and up-to-date. While many of these are short-lived trends that give mundane tasks or events a short lived spark of attention, some stick around and become part of the vernacular. So what makes these terms different from the brief lifespans of the latest business hype word? Arguably, it has to do with what the term refers to, how relevant it is, and its overall impact on businesses. A great example is the term “digital transformation”. It’s likely you’ve come across the word, whether within your own business, another business, or even on an episode of whichever new business pitch competition is available now.

The traditional thin metal filing cabinets with a built-in key lock were the standard for businesses looking to keep their paperwork secure. Additional measures could be taken of course - placing those cabinets behind several locked doors, minimizing the number of people with access to keys, or even installing more heavy duty safes for highly confidential documents. Although there are arguably still reasons to hold onto paper copies of important documents, for the most part, many processes and documents can easily be moved fully online. Digitized documents currently tend to exist alongside paper ones in most companies - though sometimes duplicates, many are used for different purposes.

Now that Taktikal is embarking on a journey to reach new markets and expand our product offerings we decided it was a good idea to obtain an ISO 27001 Information Security Standard certification, so that we can show our customers that we take the security of their data seriously. In order for the company to be able to secure customers' data it’s important that we promote a company-wide culture of security, since every single employee is a potential target for individuals with malicious intent. This involves continually training our employees, so that they are confident in making the right decisions about security.

There are plenty of discussions around the digitalization of workflows - typically on the customer facing side as well as data-driven processes. Everything from new customer forms to insurance claims to bank account applications and more…today there are simple, digital solutions to nearly any document workflow, both internal and external. The move to take employee onboarding online is more than just sitting a new hire in front of a company computer on their first day to read through specifications for their role, company policies, data security measures, step-by-step of setting up their email, calendar, internal communication channels…the list goes on.

In a world increasingly connected, even across long distances, there are situations where we find ourselves far from the ability to appear in person to handle requests or deal with formal documentation. While this might be common in business, it also occurs in our personal lives and comes without the resources often easily at hand when it’s only organizations involved. With relatives and friends living around the world, the need does sometimes arise to get in touch with authorities and get official documents or other important details dealt with quickly.

It’s the digital equivalent of reading the instructions…when learning how to use new software, how many of us take the time to watch or read tutorials while taking notes and then applying what we’ve learned by diligently following step-by-step? In a world where our attention spans are rapidly decreasing, our guess is: not many. However, learning the functions of a new technology or online tool is one thing. Another important element that has recently gained attention is how we interact with others when using these solutions, in other words: the etiquette.

Making it easy to sign. It’s a simple answer, right? And yet how many times have businesses taken the time to create, edit, approve, and send out important documentation and then waited for seemingly ages to receive the signed version back from the signee? Even in a world where companies are working towards digital transformation to stay competitive and improve efficiency, there are still time lags where many might prefer they not exist. After all, we live in a world with immediate delivery and responses through solutions like email, SMS, and even social media platforms. So why is it sometimes different for some documents?

An electronic seal serves the same purpose as a physical seal: it ensures the integrity of a document. A seal shows that the document is fully finalized and that the contents of that document have not been altered since the time the seal was applied. Electronic seals work in the same way, just in digital form. A seal is often used in conjunction with signatures. The identity of the signee(s) should also be verified, and there are a variety of methods to go about this depending on the type of document at hand.

For many businesses, before the events of 2020, electronic signature options were rarely necessary. Some companies had already started to adopt e-signing options as part of a general digital transformation plan, while new companies were looking to implement them as part of a process from the start in order to appeal to an increasingly digital target audience. It all depended very much on the industry, the demographics of the customers, and even the ambitions of the founders. But the pandemic turned that all on its head when almost every company was forced to reconsider how they managed traditional processes such as collecting signatures.

Building software solutions is not too dissimilar from physical building work…if you don’t take the physical part into account. Otherwise, the right solution - like the right construction project - identifies a need, determines who and what is required to get the job done, and eventually creates a space that meets the needs of those using it - virtually, that is. Much like a building, software can be used to meet a variety of needs. We’ve had eye-opening conversations with businesses looking to use digital workflows and/or electronic signatures in ways that solve problems we hadn’t previously known about in ways we couldn’t have planned for - but that provide exactly what is necessary.

If you’re running a business, you’re likely handling sales of one form or another. It could be you personally nurturing leads and bringing in new customers, or it might be an entire department of staff working hard to follow up and secure the sale, moving the customer to the onboarding process. Whether your target market is individual consumers, other businesses, or even regulatory or governmental offices, managing the sales is a major consideration for the success of a company.

What’s most important in interacting with companies in an online environment? From payment transactions to signing up for a service to accessing an onboarding form, it’s impossible to deny that today, one of the primary concerns for customers and businesses alike is: trust. In this case, digital trust. More than one of the more recent buzzwords being used in the tech and corporate world, digital trust is already proving its longevity through its inherent importance in how we navigate online space.

It would be difficult to argue that digitalization has not had a far-reaching effect on every aspect of our lives as individuals. For businesses, it’s no different. With the rapid changes required when it became clear that the pandemic was not going to be a short-term blip, digital transformation became more than just a future goal but a necessity for surviving a time unlike any we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. While newer businesses often had digitalization at the forefront of their operating model, larger, more traditional businesses and industries faced serious challenges when it came to moving their day-to-day work to an online environment.

While the legal industry is highly traditional, in previous blog posts we have touched on the fact that there is one area that is experiencing bigger, faster changes when it comes to digital transformation in daily work: legal departments within companies. The driving force behind this is also clear - keeping costs down. But ultimately, that is the result of another main reason behind digitalization of legal work processes - the client. Today, when junior lawyers are making 6-figure salaries, clients are seeing bills add up quickly. To keep lawyers and clients happy, companies are looking to other ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Routine can seem mundane, but in a workplace it can also be a great backbone of productivity. However, with routine can also come some negatives - an over-reliance on how things are done, an attitude that the established ways are the best ways…basically, a resistance to change. It’s more obvious in some industries than others. We’ve taken a look at the insurance and legal industries in previous blog posts a little more in depth, identifying the obstacles that these fields face in the digital transformation journey.

There’s been a lot of discussion about Artificial Intelligence (AI). From sci-fi movies of robots that are too smart for their own (or humankind’s) good, the reality of advancements in AI technology has had some clear impacts on our lives and is expected to continue to change the way we live and work. Many worry and argue that AI is taking jobs away from people. This is certainly true. But it is far from a new phenomenon. Advancements in technology and automation have long affected humans. Whenever a new solution is introduced, it causes a certain amount of displacement on workers who previously filled the role.

Onboarding. For companies, a never-ending quest to figure out the best balance between meeting customer expectations and providing a great experience while ensuring that all necessary details are gathered, managed, and stored accurately and securely. Not to mention doing so in a way that can help save employee time and cost. There are many resources available online today all promising to give companies the best possible onboarding template. The issue is that customer onboarding is unique - companies dealing with cryptocurrency will have different anti-money laundering (AML) / know your customer (KYC) needs than will a bank or an insurance company. But it can often go even beyond industry differences to even distinctly different company needs and requirements.

In our increasingly technical world, we have access to so many options for keeping track of our lives. From how many steps we take, to the real-time location of our family members and friends, to all of our spending habits. Why should it be any different for documents? Businesses often deal with seemingly endless paperwork - whether it’s involving internal processes such as employee contract signing and onboarding, or external processes, such as customer onboarding and partner agreements.