Why Do So Many Businesses Settle for Sub-Optimal Systems and Double-Handling?
According to an August 2022 study by the Harvard Business Review (HBR), the average office worker toggles between applications, double-handles, and manually performs what could be automated tasks up to 1200 times per day.
The question is: Why do we still settle for manual and tedious processes and continue this antiquated approach to our workday when the technology is there to solve the problem?
How Manual Tasks Impact Productivity
It’s true that businesses often need several different websites, apps, and systems to work effectively. However, working with those different systems in an ineffective way has a huge business impact. One thousand two hundred automated tasks a day may seem like a negligible amount of time for the highly efficient and speedy worker, but what about when you account for your entire workforce? The HBR study reports that double-handling, switching between applications, and labour that could be automated add up to four hours a week for the average worker. That’s 10% of the working week, or four and a half weeks, every single year. Times that by tens or hundreds of employees, and it’s an astonishing loss. There’s a strong likelihood that everyone spends 10% of paid working hours doing things that could be automated and that’s probably a conservative figure.
Now, for employees, that’s kind of disheartening; for employers, it’s plain terrifying. WalkMe’s State of Digital Adoption 2022-2023 report highlights why approaching this issue seriously is important, citing that an average of 76 employees (year-on-year) were leaving big companies due to “technology frustrations” due to tasks that were menial, enabled human error, or simply didn’t function as intended. This frustration was further exacerbated by having multiple systems that were not integrated or, simply put, did not “talk” to each other.
The Risks of Using Multiple Programs and Applications
- Data Inaccuracies – Due to human error and not having a single source of truth.
- Time Delays – The double-handling of transactional information can cause significant delays, impacting customers, employees and the business.
- Cost-Inefficiencies – Paying multiple subscriptions, none of which can provide the all-in-one, comprehensive solution you’ve dreamed of, is incredibly inefficient.
- Security Gaps – The movement of data between different platforms and applications and varying security offered by cloud vendors can create security concerns.
- Siloed Working – Collaboration becomes difficult when data has to be moved between multiple applications and windows and systems don’t talk to each other.
Strategies to Effectively Manage Business Workflows
According to Forbes magazine, in a 2021 case study, several strategies that can be used to effectively manage business workflows and solve some of the problems we’ve touched on. These strategies include the following:
- Identify Repetitive Tasks
- Prioritise Areas to Automate
- Digital Transformation
These strategies may be more relevant for organisations that are growing, and have over 20 or even over 50 staff, but even so, the repetition of inefficient manual processes poses a huge threat to business growth
Fortunately, there’s a way to at least cut down the amount of double-handling, human-error-enabling and menial processes that your employees are engaged in each day. Custom software solutions can enable all of the strategies listed above, and save your business time and money in the long run.
How Custom Software Can Help You Solve the Problem
Custom software can pull many processes together and enable your employees to manage many different functions within one application. Whether it’s sales, marketing, customer relationship management, invoicing, or more, with custom software development, you can create a bespoke solution which you own.
Investing time and money now could mean gaining back at least 10% of your daily productivity. That’s 10% that compounds daily, then weekly, then annually. What would that look like for you? Could those hours compound into more revenue, less staff attrition due to fatigue, and more efficient work practices? Or could it reduce stress, security risks, and inaccurate reporting or even provide an avenue for growth that you didn’t even know existed?
With a custom software solution that meets your unique business needs, you can realise your visions in a timely, consultative, and cost-effective manner. It just takes an initial consultation. At Intergy, we offer bespoke custom software solutions that can scale to meet your business requirements. What’s more, we provide maintenance and support services for as long as you want and your software solution is 100% yours; we give you the IP, not your competitors.
