The pandemic accelerates the dematerialization of processes

According to a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for publisher ServiceNow, the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of all industries, prompting companies to rethink their working methods and digitize their processes.

advertiseWakefield Research for ServiceNow conducted a global study called “Work Survey” that emphasized the impact of the health crisis on the company’s digitalization. Accordingly, the majority (92%) of senior managers and almost the same number of employees (87%) recognize that the pandemic has forced their companies to rethink the way they work by adopting new methods and eliminating certain processes. Both types of interviewees also emphasized the accelerated impact of Covid-19 on this transition in similar proportions.

However, the survey shows that there is still a long way to go to achieve process digitization. 91% of managers admit that they still have a non-paperless workflow, especially in document verification (51%). More surprisingly, they also mentioned the reporting of IT security incidents (45%) and the handling of support tickets (42%). In addition, 60% of executives and almost the same number (59%) of employees stated that their company does not have an integrated system for managing digital workflows in a unified way. Finally, respondents are generally less confident in their organization’s ability to adapt and set up other workflows in the event of new major events that affect it, depending on their profession. Although more than 60% of IT respondents said they are confident, the proportion is just over 40% in terms of finance and slightly less than 50% in terms of human resources.

Working remotely, despite some fears, it is still worthy of appreciation

If the changes implemented are generally welcomed by employees, 60% of people do not want to go back to the old way of working, while this is rare among senior managers, and 47% of them want to go back to the old way of working. Overall, employees appreciate the flexibility provided by telecommuting: 55% of people believe that the company should retain the flexibility of working hours and the possibility of working remotely. However, both employees and managers raised concerns related to telecommuting. Among senior executives, the main concern is related to delivery delays (54%), while employees are concerned about the impact on collaboration (48%).

Finally, the study asked respondents the best way to redistribute operating costs saved during the pandemic. For 57% of managers and 44% of employees, these amounts must be reinvested in digital transformation. The second is the struggle with new entrants, followed by R&D and customer acquisition actions (marketing/advertising).