What does your average work day look like? You probably wake up, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, dress up and prepare to leave. Then you spend time getting to your workplace. That’s where you spend up your nine-to-five and do all your tasks in front of the computer. After it all you get stuff together and go back the same way you came here. Do you see the problem hidden in this process? Wouldn’t it be possible to save time spent on rides and do everything from the comfort of your own house?
The pandemic has already proven that remote work can not only be possible, but even more effective than a typical workday. This trend keeps on going even after the covid restrictions. What’s more, recent studies are expecting it to stay this way for good. What is a popular Digital first, remote first mindset, then? You will find out in the article below. Enjoy.
What is Digital First, Remote First Workplace?
Digital first, remote first is a term appearing more often and often every day. But what does this even mean? Behind these words there is a change in the entrepreneurs mindsets when it comes to organizational management.
The meaning of Digital first, Remote first
Digital first, remote first is a way of managing a company where everything is centered around the virtual world. According to this concept, all ideas, solutions, products and processes should be designed from the online usage point of view. Only after that can we start elaborating on a traditional form of sale.
Any business taking its beginning steps in a Digital first, remote first world should design the following from scratch: customer experience, way of working, processes, information flows, used technologies and the rest of the company, creating space for employees to communicate and work more effectively in a repetitive and measurable procedure.
Understanding the post-pandemic reality
Why is it so important? Mainly because most of our audience can be found on the internet. Even better, the majority of transactions and first contacts with companies are also happening there. This relation can vary depending on the industry, but no matter if you own a restaurant or metal warehouse, your clients will be looking for you through Google, social media or review portals. There is a reason behind the phrase “if you are not on the internet – you don’t exist”. Your company can spread around hundreds locations and grow, yet it still won’t reach the potential available with internet and electronic solutions. Only with them can you reach the peak unreachable before, thanks to the effect of scaling. Before the pandemic this trend was getting stronger every day, but currently it has become an obligation for most of the businesses and it’s most likely not going to stop.
Prioritize freedom and flexibility
Not only your audience will benefit from the online interactions. For years now companies have been more actively swapping their stational desks into virtual ones, where you can work from anywhere. Pandemic only sped up this process. Naturally you don’t need to reorganize your business for remote or hybrid to live Digital first, remote first. Working in offices should also be centered around electronic solutions. By that we mean transferring processes and information to the web. It correlates with plenty of advantages, which is described more widely in the article: Benefits of an electronic workflow.
The most important benefits are making work easier, more effective and secure. Electronic tools don’t mean no complications. We don’t have to equip every program there is. Usually one or few is just enough to handle the entire corporation.
Continue to value in-person connections
Let’s not forget that Digital First, remote first doesn’t mean leaving the outside world behind. It’s quite the opposite, actually. No electronic initiative can replace real life experiences. You should never forget about customers preferring this way of contact. These actions should also be considered and treated with equal precision. Maybe it’s the first step for a new customer or finalizing a transaction. However, an electronic environment can help you strengthen your relationship with the audience or better understand them. In the online world it’s still possible to remain honest and empathetic. Current technology allows us to reach new opportunities to work with customers that were previously unavailable to us. One of the examples can be creating interactive ads that build more intense engagement. What’s even more, thanks to Digital first, remote first, we can gather absurd amounts of data helping us increase our overall productivity as well as customer satisfaction. Never underestimate the role of listening to your audience. Try to understand them, listen to what they have to say and learn from it.
Another way to boost human relations is a personalization possibility. Your website can be designed to match your customers. Your system or application can contain different information to visitors based on their interests. Your younger customers can be transferred to more kid-friendly pages. Options are unlimited, guaranteeing a more pleasant journey for everybody who deals with your brand.
Digital Is the Default Mode
Many companies from different sectors have proven that Digital first, remote first thinking should be a default way. Even when your products are traditional forms of communication you can support them with online solutions. Books or newspapers, for example, may be sold and read through the internet without any paper involved. Customers will be looking for you on the web. Why not control what they find? Let’s help them contact your company easily through forms, chatbots or internet forums, where they will exchange their opinions no matter if you want it or not. Having your brand exposed on the web also means better control and security when handled correctly. With a trusted profile you can prevent situations in which someone from the outside would impersonate you.
Get to know more about Electronic Workflow, AI, Business Intelligence and No-code applications in NAVIGATOR system
Strategies for Creating a Strong Digital-First Work Culture
Big changes in organization need to start with understanding why they should be implemented in the first place. When it comes to projects as big as Digital first, remote first, you have to be 100% committed to the decision. This transition is not only a market requirement but most of all allows for more convenience for everybody involved and higher profits in the long term. Benefits coming from Digital first must be also communicated to your employees, since they will have plenty of worries related to upcoming changes and they are totally understandable. It is recommended to conduct training and continuous conversations with your employees, to show them that their position is not in danger, new exciting chances are being created and that the online work doesn’t mean sending thousands of mails and non stop boring zoom meetings. Go ahead and find out what your teammates are expecting, what they need and how you can make this process easier for them.
Starting a company transformation process it’s crucial to remember that how your business will look in next years is based on the amount of work you put in during the transformation. It would be a disaster to not cover every aspect possible. It’s also one and only moment to fix problems that your company may have had for a long time.
Most of all, our goal is to create an experience for the audience on our own rules. Current technology allows us to design every step of the customer path. It is important to focus on unifying this experience both for customers and employees, no matter which browser, device or software they are using. The new transaction needs to be similar to the previous one. Don’t make it harder than it should be, because otherwise you may lose customers.
Get to know more from following articles:
-7 reasons why it is worth implementing a system for document workflow
-Why are we living in the era of automation?
-How to improve business processes effectiveness in a company?
Marketing Intern, especially interested in SEO and SEM.
Right now is beggining to write his master's thesis in Informational Management at Jagiellonian University. Michał loves playing billiards, board games and is a huge e-sports fan.
