The High Price of Digital Disconnection

Spreadsheets are great – until they’re not.

Duplicating tasks. Manual data entry. Manually checking data transfers between systems. Multiple systems and processes to achieve a result.

If you’re doing any of these things, rather than utilising automated solutions, they could be impacting your business’ ability to achieve better business productivity and overall performance. And that could impact your future growth and even viability.

Read more about integrated software solutions and their potential impact on your business.

Feeling digitally disconnected? Software integration is the answer.

Learn more from our latest article published by Australian Mining.

Digital disconnection occurs when there is a lack of integration between different software, systems and processes. And when it comes to your business, you could be missing out on incredible opportunities because of it.

In fact, research forecasts a $10.5 billion gain for the Australian economy if small and medium enterprises embrace more and better digital technologies. And it’s your business that will be missing out on a piece of that pie if you don’t embrace the future of digitisation.

So how does digitisation (or a lack thereof) impact your business? And what can you do to better embrace software integration in the future?

How does digitisation (or a lack thereof) impact your business?

Research shows that digital disconnection can seriously impact business productivity and overall performance. In fact, research commissioned by MYOB and undertaken by Forrester Consulting shows that employees are wasting 12.5 hours each week because of ineffective digital solutions. That’s one and a half days per week per employee. This translates to a huge $2.7 million in annual losses for each business employing over 100 people.

In addition, without efficient and connected digital tools, businesses are forced to make decisions without full visibility into their operations. Workflows are bottlenecked, and operations are managed without insight into the business as a whole. Most importantly, businesses cannot maximise productivity because precious time and resources are spent managing the disparate processes of these ineffective digital solutions.

What are ineffective digital solutions?

But what are ineffective digital solutions? Often it may be difficult to recognise which solutions are simply not working well for your business. But they generally include duplicating tasks or wasting time by undertaking manual tasks rather than utilising automated solutions (nine out of 10 businesses are victims of these behaviours). They’re also needing to manually check data when transferring it between systems (six out of 10 businesses are still doing this). Additionally, they’re when you are using many different systems and processes to achieve a result that could be managed by one integrated solution (seven out of 10 businesses are managing an ecosystem of disconnected business tools).

And any of these could be impacting your business’ ability to achieve better business productivity and overall performance.

Embracing software integration

For any business, it’s tremendously easy to fall victim to an underperforming solution, especially if it’s part of the status quo. Research shows that business owners and managers often feel that making the change will cause more disruption and profit loss than simply dealing with the system as it is. Sometimes they feel that the technology is too costly. And sometimes, there is a lack of leadership support (perceived or actual).

It’s also sometimes difficult to understand what the right solution is. You might know that a particular process isn’t working well – perhaps it’s your rostering or maintenance scheduling. But you may not know whether a new solution is a better one simply from looking at it from the outside.

Taking a step back and looking at how a new system could fit into your business' workflow will help you to find a solution that will become a benefit as you build out your digital transformation strategy. It isn't about over-engineering your process or trying to digitally automate every aspect. Instead, it's about connecting the dots between important processes and then finding ways to execute them well enough to become efficient tools.

Benefits to software integration

As compared to inefficient digital solutions, well-crafted software that seamlessly integrates across your business is vital to success. In fact, MYOB research shows that businesses using ‘future-fit platforms and practices’ grow over three times as fast as their competitors.

This is because modern, integrated solutions are more iterative and agile. Businesses can make quicker and more informed decisions and changes. They can embrace new revenue opportunities, improve productivity and increase profitability. And they are better able to attract new talent and grow into the future.

Example: Workforce mobilisation management

Let's examine workforce mobilisation management processes. An employee will often be asked to travel to remote job sites in a heavy resource industry- such as mining services. In that case, managing that ‘mobilisation process’ involves sourcing, compliance and qualification review, validation,  rostering, travel, site access, payroll and timesheets. Each of these systems is based on worker data, and that data moves between the systems to allow them to operate effectively.

To control these processes manually would mean updating massive spreadsheets and traditional workforce management software while attempting to safely store certificates and required training in unsecured folders. However, implementing an integrated onboarding, roster and mobilisation system would significantly streamline this process. And that would save time and resources for the business and create future growth opportunities.

Systems such as MyPass Global can simplify the management of a workforce, reduce risk and decrease operational costs by up to 70%. This is an excellent outcome on its own. But imagine how powerful that would be when integrated with an intelligent rostering system, such as CRU Rostering, and a travel partner, such as Fly2Work.

CRU Rostering can make managing the rostering process for this industry far more efficient. And Fly2Work makes the booking of FIFO workers’ travel easy and automated. However, the true benefits come when both are also plugged into each other and then into payroll, human resource information systems and systems like MyPass Global. In that case, workers can be on-site faster and more smoothly than ever.

While not all three software offerings are the same, they integrate and communicate with one another. This eliminates the need to re-enter worker data when mobilising a worker. It prevents double handling and errors from manual data entry. And it allows these types of businesses to embrace the tech today that will allow them to grow into the future.

How to feel digitally connected

If your digital technology, and your software integration, isn’t top of mind, it might be time to reconsider. You certainly want to embrace the gains that technology is set to earn for your business. And you’ll want to ensure that your business embraces technology for efficiency and growth.

IIf you need some advice or assistance, get in touch. Our experts can help you consider how best to connect systems AND what processes to digitise in order to thrive.

About CRU Rostering
Time-saving, intelligent automated rostering software that can manage workers from anywhere. Rapidly create rosters in minutes. CRU Rostering can manage an entire workforce roster from a single platform, no matter where workers are located. CRU Rostering helps the most complex businesses simplify the rostering process and focus on growth.

Click here to learn more about CRU Rostering.