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Enterprise Automation – 6 Ways Technology Is Improving Company Culture

 
 

These days, everyone seems to be talking about company culture. While enterprise automation may seem unrelated to company culture at first glance, we believe that technology is indispensable for those who are looking to improve their corporate culture.

From Google to Netflix, we’re seeing that companies that are experiencing the most growth are using their budgets for improving company culture. Or perhaps it’s the other way around: the companies that have the best culture are those that will experience the most growth. Or maybe it’s a little bit of both – a beautiful cycle where we all come out on top.

In short: Tech enables culture, which enables corporate growth.

Isn’t it amazing what technology can do?

Today we’ll take a look at how enterprise automation software can put you on the fast track to having a good company culture and can accelerate your growth.

Prioritizing Company Culture

In the talent recruitment game, culture is king! It's what new recruits are looking for. Culture is often the deciding factor in which job offer a person will decide to accept. 

enterprise automation improves company culture - king

Unemployment is low, and this new generation of business leaders and innovators has some prime choices. How are tech companies trying to get a leg up and recruit the best of the best? By focusing on culture and awesome benefits!

And they’re paying people specifically to improve their culture!

“Things like employee well-being, diversity and inclusion are fast becoming a priority, and this is reflected in the rise of a number of new, hyper people-focused roles within the tech industry.” (Forbes)

Your Culture – Before Enterprise Automation

There’s a marked difference between a company with automation and a company without automation, and not just because of the automation itself. It goes deeper than that. There’s a correlation, rather than a causation, where we see the difference between a culture that thrives on change an innovation vs. a culture that is stagnant.

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Company Culture Wastes Away Without Regular Injections of New Ideas and Technology

Imagine, for a moment, a company where the workforce never changes, the processes never change, and the tools they use never change.

This company keeps doing the same things, the same way, forever. And there’s a better way! They may even know this, but they’re hesitant to change. They don’t want to leave the comfortable, safe way of doing things manually, by hand, on paper.

Reports are filed with the file clerk’s own two hands in a physical file cabinet. Emails are typed manually to remind people of their deadlines, over and over again.

When a document goes missing, it’s tediously recreated, and maybe later found under the desk or in the wrong file.

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Data is typed into excel spreadsheets or databases, manually, over and over again, in each system that needs to hold the information.

The company doesn’t grow because, frankly, it can’t support the growth. Things take too long, and they can’t handle any more work. Because the company isn’t growing, people aren’t getting raises, and they feel stuck.

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Enterprise Automation Kicks Company Culture into High Gear

Want to know how to prevent your workplace from becoming the sad office described above? It’s simple – just do the opposite.

Create a culture of change. (We know this is easier said than done, but that’s no reason not to try.)

Leverage technology to make work easier on your team.

6 Ways Enterprise Automation Makes Company Culture Better

As you read about the 6 ways enterprise automation can upgrade your culture, keep in mind that this is coming from the voice of experience. At DocuPhase, we’re not just an enterprise automation vendor. We also use our own product.

Yeah, we’re sipping the Kool-Aid. You’d better believe it.

So, all of these things are results that we’ve seen here in our own office, as well as in the offices of our customers. You can check out their case studies here if you want more details.

1. Freedom and Flexibility

What if we said you can work remotely or on-the-go, from any device?

enterprise automation improves company culture - any device

Because that’s what we’re saying.

With the right technology – enterprise content management and enterprise automation software – the world is your work station.

Waiting to board a plane?

Need to stay home to teach your cat how to flush the toilet? (That's a real thing.)

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Whatever your needs may be, enterprise automation software enables you to work from anywhere with an internet connection.

Document management allows you to access all of your files online, whether you’re in a meeting, at an airport, or at home sitting on your porch with a cup of coffee in your hand.

And it’s not just documents that you can access. It’s work queues, too. Your whole team can see what their responsibilities are, in order of priority. You can complete work on-the-go, and push the process along to the next step when you’re finished.

2. Less Repetitive Work

We all know that repetitive work sucks. It’s a drain on you, mentally and emotionally. Not only that, but it also contributes to high turnover rates.

The stability of your workforce depends on a number of things, including stress levels, repetition of tasks, and skill requirements.

Studies show that the highest turnover rates are in stressful and underpaid jobs. (source)

Not surprising, right?

While there’s more involved in the big picture, it’s a known fact that certain industries have a higher turnover rate, and those tend to be the industries with repetitive tasks that are less rewarding than other types of work.

For example, the repetitious nature and low pay found in fast-food jobs gives quick-service restaurants the highest turnover rate of all.

enterprise automation improves company culture - high turnover

Retail jobs come in at 2nd place on the list, again featuring a ton of repetitive tasks.

For these types of jobs, where there’s a revolving door and nearly the entire staff is replaced on an annual basis, enterprise automation could be the light at the end of the tunnel. Automation tools may hold the key to reducing a high turnover rate, by minimizing employee burnout.

How is that possible? Because enterprise automation tools can assist with some of the repetitive tasks that have workers heading for the door. For example, bots (that’s what we call the robotic assistants that help you out with your work) can enter data, share it with your other systems, file documents, send notifications, and more.

Learn more about how enterprise automation can reduce employee burnout.

3. A Culture of Change and Innovation

Like we said before, embracing new technology is easier said than done.

In fact, most CIOs see their biggest problem as resistance to change. That’s why it’s important to prepare before making a change.

It’s key to find change champions within your organization, and to find a software vendor that will forge a partnership with your team and support you along the way.

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Because, like we said before, the companies experiencing the most growth are the ones with the best culture. And a great culture is one that embraces change and growth.

4 – Grow, baby, grow!

Enterprise automation creates capacity for growth.

We know, we know – this was supposed to be about culture, not money. But consider what you can do with a little more funding to your corporate culture goals.

With enterprise automation, you’re looking at more parties, better morale, more flexibility, all good stuff.

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Here’s what enterprise automation can do to help your company grow:

When paper-based companies (like the scenario we talked about before) experience growth in demand and customer base, they hire extra people to take on the extra work. There’s simply no other way to manage the daily demands.

In contrast, when automation-based companies grow, the team can to continue operating as normal, as the automation software takes on a lot of the extra workload. There are no mounds of paperwork to be processed, tediously, one page at a time, as your team builds up fingertip callouses from all the 10-key data entry. No way!

With enterprise automation, there’s no reason to fear growth. After all, business growth should be a good thing for all of us, right? It’s what we’re working for!

enterprise automation improves company culture - growth is good

Enterprise automation relieves the pressure of an increased customer base, and lets you and your team keep right on rocking.

Find out how enterprise automation is better than point solutions.

Want to see some real growing pains and how enterprise automation helped? KnowBe4 is a great example! You can read their story here.

5. The Millennial Invasion

Look around you. Millennials are invading the present-day workforce. And do you know what else? They need this new technology – like really, really bad.

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Seriously though – it’s important to take the time to understand who Millennials are and what they’re looking for in a career.

Consider how you can make your workplace more Millennial-friendly.

Some of the top things Millennials are looking for include:

  • An emphasis on culture
  • Rewarding work
  • Flexibility

To learn more about how to prepare your business for the influx of Millennials, take a look at this article: Preparing Your Business for the Millennial Takeover.

6 – Money Savings, in the Long Run

We’ve already talked about several ways that better culture and enterprise automation can save your company money. You can reduce turnover and better position your company for growth.

A healthy company culture also increases productivity, and it can even enable you to increase your prices in the future.

Happy employees = Company growth

“Companies with a healthy corporate culture gain a positive reputation among potential workers, which may attract talented and skilled workers to the organization. In addition to attracting high-quality workers, a well-regarded business reputation allows the company to charge a higher price for products and services and increases the value of the company in the financial market.” (source)

Your Culture – After Enterprise Automation

When you prioritize your company culture, your team is recharged. Morale goes up. Productivity goes up. You gain a competitive edge over your competition.

Your company is able to grow, which helps give your team the flexibility to grow in their personal careers.

Nervous about Change?

If you’re worried about how your team will react to changes in culture and the influx of new technologies, you’re not alone.

Check out these 10 dos and don’ts for CEOs who are ready to kick off their company’s digital transformation.

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Steve Allen

Steve Allen is the founder and former CEO of DocuPhase, a best-in-class, browser-based software that delivers unmatched efficiency to companies around the world by automating core accounting processes. He drives the innovation and product vision of DocuPhase to develop solutions to simplify the workplace.