Remote Working: A Post-Pandemic Implication
When the COVID-19 pandemic globally occurred a few years ago, we could barely travel anywhere, even to the office. Consequently, organizations were forced to shift from on-site to work-from-home mode to stop the spread of the virus. Interestingly, work-from-home—or so-called remote working mode—has continued to rise even after the pandemic has passed. Today, some organizations are continuing to implement remote working or, at least, hybrid mode.
As a result, remote working has transformed how people in an organization work. For instance, employees utilize web conference tools to conduct a meetings with their managers instead of in-person meetings. They also share project updates with their colleagues through work apps so that they can update anywhere. In this case, remote working has some advantages for employees and organizations. Employees can enjoy the privilege of working from anywhere without being worried about relocation expenses. Similarly, organizations can reduce expenses related to office management. They can shift to a smaller office to cut operational costs. They also can hire a candidate by focusing on their qualifications instead of their current location.
The Rise of Document Management System
Some challenges may arise because of implementing remote work-setting. Communication is a common and main challenge that arises because of remote working. Although organizations have provided sophisticated tools for employees to interact with each other, some employees found that it is challenging to collaborate with others.
According to a survey1, about 50% of remote workers found it difficult to communicate and collaborate with others. They also found that it is challenging to utilize technology effectively and find information, respectively about 40% and 30%. Interestingly, those challenges are marked as the top three challenges among remote workers.
Shifting back to on-site or hybrid may not solve those challenges. In-person collaboration is sometimes not effective enough to streamline communication and information in the organization. Andy (not a real name), for instance, found that sometimes it is difficult for him to just have monthly one-on-one with his manager. Although his workplace adopts on-site mode, his manager is sometimes busy attending back-to-back meetings. Documentation is also managed scatteredly. Consequently, he could not align goals with his manager on the ongoing project. He rather makes some assumptions rather than data-driven decisions on the project.
So, organizations can keep implementing remote working mode. However, they must invest in a sophisticated tool which can streamline information exchange and management. Document Management System (DMS) enables them to create a centralized information management system at the workplace. Moreover, it can streamline information effectively, even in a remote work ecosystem.
How DMS Key Features Facilitate Remote Workers
Choosing the right Document Management System (DMS) can facilitate remote workers in daily business operations. Some of its advantages include enhance seamless communication, manage information effectively, and integrate in various business functions and tools. However, have you ever wondered how DMS features can facilitate them in daily operations? Let’s look on how they can help remote workers day-to-day.
Integration
A centralized document management system (DMS) integrates information with other business functions and tools, such as project management and procurement. Document containing information is combined with other functions or tools to shape information network at the organization level. Remote workers particularly can obtain relevant information quickly because of the integration.
Let’s take an example of DMS integration with project management tools. The integration between those tools triggers DMS to perform various information related with project management task. This includes manage project proposals and plan. Your team can also store information which relevant to your projects. Finally, you can just refer to a single platform to obtain updates related to your project.
Information Search & Retrieval
Have you ever spent hours just to find a piece of information? With search and retrieval feature on document management system (DMS), you can save much time in looking for information.
This feature possibly provides you with information quickly by sorting the information by its category, directory, or folder. For instance, you can obtain information by viewing the document through the document directory. You can also input a certain keyword to find information through a quick search or search for advanced features. Whether you are working at the office or remotely, having this feature will save much of your time just to obtain a piece of information. Now, you can put more focus on more important tasks.
Security
Remote workers are highly relying on cloud-based media information so that they can access information anywhere and anytime. However, do you ever imagine if you store information, but unauthorized people can easily utilize it? As a remote worker, you must feel worried because your organization’s secret may be breached, mustn’t you?
With a document management system (DMS), you do not need to worry about information security breach issues. DMS allows you to assign a role to documents’ visitors—such as edit, view, and manage roles. Additionally, you can store and manage information securely by setting up security levels for the documents. Security encryption on DMS helps your organization to prevent any data security breaches and data loss.
Workflow Automation
Have you experienced where you urgently need a document, while the document owner was on different time zone? Well, a centralized document management system (DMS) can help your urgent request in no time anywhere.
DMS can streamline the document approval processes by combining with workflow management for document release approvals. Streamlining the document approval process can help users reduce manual approvals and make the processes even faster. Furthermore, you can obtain the required information faster without delaying the other tasks.
Workplace Collaboration
With a document management system (DMS), you can collaborate with your colleagues through documents while working from home. DMS allows you to edit multiple formats of documents virtually through office functions—such as Word or Excel. You and your colleagues can also edit the same documents conveniently. On top of that, you can respond to others’ documents as well as set reminders for others to reply to your documents. It also enables you to customize document templates to enhance standardization at your organization. Furthermore, it helps your organization to avoid silos and miscommunication at the workplace, even when you’re not seeing each other.
Conclusion
Remote working trends have been emerging since the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic has gone like today, some organizations prefer to remain work remotely. It is because implementing remote mode has some advantages for them on how they run their business operations.
However, working remotely may bring some challenges for both employees and organizations. It has been found that communication has become the main challenge for remote workers and organizations. This is when the organizations need to invest in the right document management system (DMS). DMS can facilitate daily business operations for remote workers. Through its features, it allows your organization to store, gather, and share information under a centralized platform, even in a remote place. With multi-level security features, your organization can also store information without being worried about the unauthorized person. Furthermore, it can help you to streamline information sharing, communication, and collaboration, despite being separated from your colleagues.
Stay tuned on our website and social media for more exciting updates!
______
1 Flores, M. F. (2019). Understanding the challenges of remote working and it’s impact to workers. In International Journal of Business Marketing and Management (IJBMM) (Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp. 40–44).
