We are experiencing an unprecedented impact on our personal and working lives as a result of Covid-19 and measures taken by governments to tackle it. Customers, suppliers and employees were, and still are, being driven towards digital channels.
“In 2021, at least one third of European information workers will work mainly from home, compared with 4% in 2019….in 2021, every company will focus on technology-fueled experiences, operations, products, and ecosystems” (Forrester Research: European Predictions 2021, published 2020).
The first wave of digital transformation was needed overnight and led to smart working from home, where possible, and remote interaction with customers and suppliers. This involved mostly office automation, collaboration tools for communication and mobile apps for customer interaction and fulfilment. Change which was expected to take place over 3 to 5 years was ushered through in 3 to 5 weeks.
In the same report Forrester states that: “Digital leaders will drive double-digit growth in 2021.” To achieve this second wave of digital transformation will require focus on elevating the human experience for all kinds of business application.
Elevate human experience in Professional Services Automation
Human experience in an evolving digital world consists of the customer, employee and user experience. Take for example a professional services organization like a marketing & design agency. The agency in question is technologically advanced and employees are used to collaborating and interacting with customers on their projects through technology. Yet on average 5 to 8 applications are used to exchange project work. And e-mail is used to exchange information, which is sometimes prohibited because of a customer’s or supplier’s privacy and data protection policy, and an audit trail is also missing. Switching between applications with ‘copy and paste’ reduces individual and team productivity. Taking a people-centric approach for customers, suppliers, employees, management and other stakeholders, puts the user at the center of the digital experience for professional services.
The marketing & design agency mentioned above looked at how team productivity, and thus business performance, could be improved. This was achieved by making sure that customers, suppliers and employees are supported by a project management system to plan activities, measure progress, keep informed and share information in real time. Reducing the number of applications and optimal data integration with salesforce automation, human capital management and financial systems, creates informed and empowered users. When something goes wrong in a project it is almost always down to communication and how people collaborate. Technicalities are seldom the cause.
Investing in core business system innovation pays off in terms of digital leadership, so timing is everything. And in the current circumstances, it is the most viable option for growth. A modern software platform for professional services automation like Kairos Software improves the human experience, productivity and business performance.
