- What is a hybrid work environment?
- What are the benefits of a hybrid workplace?
- The role of document management in hybrid work environments
- Using cloud technology in a hybrid work environment
- How ACI’s Hybrid Workplace Program can help your hybrid workplace
- Why choose ACI for your company’s document management needs?
Hybrid work environments are quickly becoming the norm in the modern business world. Employees enjoy a better work-life balance with a flexible work schedule, increasing job satisfaction. As a result, companies have a happier, stable, and more engaged workforce. However, to fully reap the benefits of the hybrid workplace environment, companies must implement their hybrid model strategically and adopt technology that fosters ongoing collaboration, communication, and productivity.
What is a hybrid work environment?
Hybrid workplaces combine onsite workers with remote workers. In many cases, employees get to choose where and when they work. Some companies require workers to be in the office for a minimum number of days per week or on an as-needed basis, while others give them complete freedom of choice.
Not every industry is suited for a hybrid work environment. For example, skilled trade workers cannot do their jobs remotely. Hybrid work models are best suited for employees who perform most of their duties on the computer.
Although the hybrid environment is a new phenomenon for many companies, remote work has been around for years. Public health restrictions due to the pandemic forced many businesses to buy into the hybrid model quickly. Fortunately, the need came at a time when modern technology could make the transition easier, offering tools that helped keep remote workers connected without hampering productivity.
Some thought remote teams would return to physical workplaces once public health restrictions were lifted, but the reality is that the hybrid office has redefined how we work now and will be with us permanently.
What are the benefits of a hybrid workplace?
After adopting a hybrid workplace model, companies began to see tangible benefits that helped increase their bottom line, such as:
Increased employee productivity
Many companies have seen an elevated level of productivity in their hybrid employees for many reasons, such as the autonomy to choose where and when they work, repurposed time typically spent commuting, fewer distractions at home than in the office, and more focused collaboration when working in the office.
Greater employee satisfaction
Employee happiness and loyalty increase when workers have an optimal work-life balance, which has shown to increase their at-work performance, improve mental and physical health, and reduce the number of sick days taken.
Reduced overhead costs
The hybrid work model allows companies to reduce their costs of energy, office supplies, maintenance, and hiring new workers (due to less employee turnover), or reduce their physical office space or move to a smaller community.
Companies new to a remote environment must adopt new management styles that help preserve employee engagement with the entire team in the absence of in-person meetings. It’s akin to developing a refreshed company culture outside the typical office environment. However, the long-term benefits significantly outweigh the challenges that change presents, especially with the right technology in place that allows for team engagement through virtual meetings and an online platform that makes long-term collaboration easy and efficient.
The role of document management in hybrid work environments
Document management is one of the most significant changes in transitioning to a hybrid office. Invoices, purchase orders, contracts, employee records, and other crucial documents need review by multiple staff, editing, approval, and storage.
In the hybrid model, working with paper becomes challenging because workers are remote and unable to access hardcopy documents for processing. Some companies rely on email for document processing, but even this manual process is inherently flawed and can be unreliable due to missed emails or the lag time that comes from attachments sitting in someone’s inbox.
The answer is a document scanning solution that allows for safe and easy real-time online collaboration from anywhere there’s an Internet connection.
Document scanning offers companies five impactful benefits that streamline document processing and save companies money.
- Better workflow
Digital documents are stored in a central location where workers can access them quickly, improving and speeding up the document processing workflow and increasing productivity
- Improved searchability
With document scanning, documents are indexed allowing them to be quickly retrieved with just a few keystrokes, instead of spending time searching in filing cabinets or rooting through desks.
- Enhanced security
Document scanning offers an elevated level of system protection that safeguards sensitive information from unauthorized access or theft.
- Expanded collaboration
Multiple users can edit digital documents in real-time, helping foster broader collaboration within your hybrid workforce.
- Business continuity
Digital document processing can continue uninterrupted in the event of an unexpected office shut down due to disasters or health emergencies.
Using cloud technology in a hybrid environment
Cloud technology is a crucial productivity tool in the hybrid workplace model, helping businesses move forward by making digital document processing easier than ever. With a cloud-based document processing system, your hybrid team will be able to work more efficiently than they ever could with paper or email. Here are some of the ways cloud-based document management can help your remote employees stay connected, collaborative, and productive:
Seamless document processing
By combining cloud technology with the right document processing solution, users can retrieve documents with just a few keystrokes and edit or approve them in real-time.
Enhanced flexibility
Cloud-based systems and document processing software offer real-time collaboration tools that help your hybrid team complete tasks quickly and easily.
Elevated security
Robust authentication and encryption controls allow you to choose which remote employees can access, view, and edit documents containing sensitive information stored in your cloud-based system. Partnering with the right service provider will also boost overall security, protecting your system from cyberattacks.
When moving to a cloud-based document processing solution, it’s always recommended to work with a company that specializes in helping organizations set up and manage their new hybrid system and trains your employees on how to use it. Ash Conversions International (ACI) is a premier choice for businesses needing a tech-based solution to streamline their operations.
How ACI’s Hybrid Workplace Program can help your hybrid workplace
Transitioning into a hybrid workplace might sound daunting, especially if you try to go it alone. ACI’s experience, expertise, and technology help simplify the process with its Hybrid Workplace Program that focuses on everything your company needs to succeed.
Our step-by-step strategy makes business process automation effortless, allowing for business continuity and zero interruption to your team’s productivity during the transition.
Basic cloud document conversion and retrieval
Start with these three services to begin enjoying the benefits of the hybrid office quickly with the help of cloud-based technology:
Document Conversion
A remote workplace staple, converting paper documents to digital forms the foundation for any hybrid office transition. This solution involves scanning hardcopy documents to digital format and establishing a central content management repository in the cloud for quick and easy access through ACI’s FileManager™ solution. Digital documents such as AP invoices, AR remittances, bills of lading, and human resource records can be retrieved and processed using strict access protocols to maintain security. ACI arranges document pickup and transportation to our secure facility for scanning, saving your team time and effort.
Mailroom Conversion
Move closer toward a streamlined digital workplace by automating your mailroom. Digital mailrooms operate the same way as document conversion, with the added benefit of ACI picking up your physical mail from a secure lockbox and converting it into digital documents at our secure facility. This allows hybrid workers to quickly read and address incoming mail from any connected device.
Remote Deposit Capture
ACI’s convenient Remote Deposit Capture Lockbox solution helps streamline your AP processes and protect your cash flow by automating the capture and deposit of all your cheque remittances. We’ll collect the cheques on your behalf and deposit them electronically into your account at your preferred financial institution. All captured data is available for you to load into your finance system for complete, transparent payment tracking.
Advanced cloud business process automation
With the basic digital document processes in place, you can complete the transition to a fully hybrid workplace environment with business automation solutions that allow some of your key departments to run smoothly on a digital platform.
Accounts Payable Automation
Automating your AP department helps free your staff from repetitive manual processes such as mail handling, data entry, and hardcopy approvals while increasing efficiencies and cutting costs. Review, approve, and pay invoices faster than with manual processing with ACI’s AP Assistant™, helping you strengthen supplier relationships and prevent penalties from late or missed payments.
Travel & Expense Management
Enhance the employee experience and minimize corporate risk with ACI’s Travel & Expense Management solution, a valuable extension to AP Assistant™. Allow your employees to quickly and easily submit their expenses remotely while eliminating hardcopy filing, long delays, and policy compliance errors. Managers can immediately review, approve, and reimburse expenses and access reports that allow them to quickly review spending, identify trends, and use that information to negotiate discounts.
Accounts Receivable Automation
ACI’s AR Assistant™ helps companies improve cash management by making the payment process fast, simple, and stress-free for their customers, enhancing their experience and resulting in repeat business. You’ll also get real-time snapshots of your customers’ and partners’ payment habits, helping you learn more about what’s happening financially within your company.
By implementing these automated solutions step-by-step, you’ll have a hybrid workplace environment that will help you streamline processes, reduce costs and improve long-term profitability.
Why choose ACI for your company’s document management needs
For over 40 years, ACI has helped companies transform their daily tasks with efficient, cost-effective document scanning and Business Process Automation (BPA) solutions. Our solutions are customizable to meet your needs and delivered with a customer service experience unparalleled in our industry.
Click the button below to learn more about how our Hybrid Workplace Program can support your transition to a hybrid office model and help make your business more profitable today.
