Balancing the demands of highly customised services and new channels of communication with cost minimisation and greater efficiency is so important for successful organisations no matter what sector or industry. But while we’re all driving to the same end-goal each department is facing different (and function-specific) pinch points to deliver documents more effectively.
Customers, employees and suppliers are all demanding personalised communications that can be accessed instantly when they need it. But across the organisation there will be departments communicating in different ways, using different systems, which creates a very fragmented process, inefficiencies and additional costs.
Document automation tools can help control the production and distribution of digital and printed communications, enabling your department to become more efficient and productive.
Here we break down the challenges faced by different departments and show how, by using smart document automation, specific needs can be addressed by one seamless foundation.
The challenge for Finance: You need faster payment of invoices from customers and suppliers to help increase cash flow within your organisation. But, while your first thought may be to change from sending these critical documents via traditional print and post to online channels, you find you’re often limited by legacy systems which restrict data output and are unable to provide secure, traceable communications.
Success with automation: Document automation tools can easily work with your existing systems to produce and output print and online time-critical invoices and statements with speed, accuracy and consistency. With the ability to combine information and billing from different data sets across the business, invoices and statements are accurate and comprehensive. The result: debt days are reduced and cash flow increased. With the added ability to track time-critical documents throughout the process to ensure compliance and security is met.
The challenge for HR: Providing an excellent employee experience is just as important to your organisation as customer experience is. Just as the development of technology is enabling a more mobile and dispersed workforce; employees are looking for engagement and communication to be immediate, digital and accessible across a number of devices and channels.
Success with automation: Document automation solutions can output communications securely across multiple channels so that all employees (including contract or remote working staff) can access personalised HR and reward information easily and effectively, whilst increasing engagement.
The challenge for Operations: Having the right level of resource to manage fluctuating volumes of documents can be challenging; leading to over stretched teams or under used equipment. Processing, outputting and tracking documents accurately is vital for you to meet legal or regulatory deadlines.
Success with automation: Whether its 20 or 2,000 documents a day, document automation can not only control and output documents efficiently, but also improves accuracy. It removes the need for expensive printers and infrastructure and you’ll no longer require multiple suppliers for your print and online document output. You can also add controls to validate information before despatch to improve security and group letters in the same envelope for the same person to reduce costs.
The Challenge for Customer Services: Excellent customer experience is demanding highly personalised, targeted multi-channel communications with immediacy and accessibility. The challenge is synchronising data and information from different legacy systems.
Success with automation: Document automation solutions can take data from multiple systems and file formats for output across print and digital channels. Ensuring your communications are streamlined, consistent and always have a personal touch.
The Challenge for IT: Effective and efficient business is underpinned by the integrity and security of customer, employee and supplier data. You’re increasingly being asked by colleagues to help deliver digital transformation projects, but legacy systems are holding you back. And you also need to ensure any new process doesn’t compromise security and compliance.
Success with automation: Built for strict adherence to data protection and IT security requirements, there are flexible and secure software-as-a-service applications available that remove the need for large scale system changes. They give you the ability to rapidly deploy digital projects and respond with agility to technology developments.
By understanding and addressing the different challenges faced across an organisation, document automation not only unifies your processes but also your workforce. To find out how to implement successful document automation in your organisation read our blog ‘Document automation and change management’.
