4 factors for a successful digitalisation strategy

1. Laying the foundations. What does a digitisation strategy involve for SMEs?

A digitisation strategy for SMEs does not develop overnight, as nice as that would be. Many companies had to learn this the hard way when they were forced into home office and remote work by the pandemic. The most important factor in a successful digitisation strategy lies in the foundations. You can tackle digitisation steps in the short term, but you should ensure you are building a base that can be easily expanded. It is worth thinking holistically here. Because alongside simple, ad-hoc processes in communication (web meetings) or training (e-learning), you should primarily focus on technically complex processes such as accounting or document management. Digitising these creates relevant added value and frees you from unnecessary paperwork.

A relevant starting point for a digital strategy is to begin with the processes at the very beginning. That may sound simple, but it is often completely misinterpreted. Digital processes or documents have the advantage that they can be implemented regardless of location and that automations can be connected to them. For example, if invoice data is available digitally, it can be automatically transferred to accounting tools. However, if invoice data is not digital, but rather exists as analogue paper mail, the described processes cannot be digitised. A digitisation strategy should therefore start with analogue and paper-based processes first.
With the CAYA Document Cloud, for example, you have the option of having mail you receive digitally read and the data made usable. In the case of incoming postal invoices, for instance, the relevant invoice data is extracted and can be transferred to other software such as DATEV and similar. The CAYA Document Cloud thus serves as your document hub, from which you can manage all your documents and link them to other solutions. You can find an example of how digitised mail supports further digital processing in our case study with McMakler.

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The CAYA tip:

It is worth approaching digitisation from the back end: a digital inbox, for example, creates the foundation for inputting received documents into accounting tools and customer service software.

2. Higher quality: developing employees through digitisation

You also have to be truly committed to driving digitalisation forward. Particularly with remote working, many companies are tempted to view digital solutions as more than just a temporary fix. An optimised digital strategy can create a future-proof working environment. Away from monotonous tasks. With digitised physical mail, office management can handle post remotely just as easily as marketing manages campaigns from home. The goal must be to work efficiently from anywhere. The true cost of a non-digitised work environment is often hidden: more time is spent on simple activities. Repetitive tasks fray your team's nerves and drain resources that you need for your core business. By partially automating monotonous tasks, such as scanning or distributing physical post, you free up time for higher-value activities. It's important to remember: employees are not being replaced; rather, their tasks are being redirected. Whereas staff previously spent time scanning incoming mail, they can now dedicate themselves to tasks such as handling customer enquiries more effectively.

Furthermore, never underestimate the power of clear communication. Resistance within teams is often the greatest hurdle to successful IT projects. This may be because staff worry that advanced technology will make their roles redundant, or because they fear changing familiar habits. Users are often slow to adopt new processes and technology. Clear communication is essential to prepare employees for business changes. Be sure to listen to our podcast episode on communication strategies for digitalisation as well.

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The CAYA tip:

The impact of digitisation is easy to estimate: just calculate how many resources you could save if you no longer had to manually transfer invoices, but instead had them appear automatically in your accounting system as extracted data.

3. Finding, linking and gradually introducing suitable software solutions

There is no one-size-fits-all. All companies have different requirements and needs. It is important to find software solutions that fit the company and are actually needed. After all, it is possible to develop a kind of over-digitisation and acquire software solutions that do not pay off. Here, you must keep an eye on which processes you should tackle first. Many tools are now so flexible that they can be easily integrated with others. It is often possible to handle several tasks with one tool. An overview of smart processes and automation options can be found in the recorded discussion round from our own digitisation conference.

Companies sometimes shy away from a "restructuring" through digitisation because it is interpreted as a costly and drastic undertaking. However, with digital transformation, the rule is often: slow and steady wins the race. By achieving gradual successes, you are better able to convince your employees to use new software without overwhelming them immediately.

Sometimes subtle changes have a greater impact across your entire business than you might expect. You should therefore roll out software projects in multiple phases to ensure that each stage goes live without errors and without overwhelming users. Naturally, we do not recommend dragging projects out well beyond their deadlines, but we do believe SMEs achieve better outcomes when they avoid rushing to implement multiple platforms in a short space of time. Are you an advocate of greater digitalisation facing internal pushback? Read on to discover the exact methods you can use to win over your team step by step for digitalisation projects.

The CAYA tip:

Communication in particular offers so many tools that it can be difficult to keep track of them all. We have compiled a curated list of tools to facilitate digital communication (especially when working from home) for you here.

4. Dare to experiment & train best practices for software usage

Not every attempt will go perfectly right away. Digitisation is not a one-off action. Creativity and experiments are important to keep the digitisation strategy up to date and to adapt it if necessary. You need patience and the aforementioned mentality to enable your company to transition into a digitised future. Perhaps you will take matters into your own hands and become the next company with an innovative digital product that makes digitisation easier for others? If you are already looking into new software solutions, be sure to listen to our podcast episode on best practices for software implementation in SMEs. Because choosing software is only half the battle. Important and often neglected is the introduction of software in relation to predefined processes for efficient use. We are deliberately leaving a technical introduction out of this. That is almost always necessary. However, once introduced, software can also be used in different ways. Due to often intuitive interfaces, many companies develop their own understanding of optimal use. Yet, best practices for software usage can be planned to increase your efficiency.

One thing is certain: digitisation is a competitive advantage. The future is digital, and future-proof companies are definitely one decisive step ahead in the battle for the trust of potential customers and the best talent.

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The CAYA tip:

There are many ways to stay up to date with the latest developments in digitalisation. For example, you can attend webinars or read the blogs and white papers offered by many experts.

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By the way, modern digital business processes are based on the principles of the 'Office 4.0'. The term 'Office 4.0' is an analogy to the four industrial revolutions. With the range of software functions available today, which allow document-based processes to be automated using artificial intelligence, a more agile and efficient way of working has emerged. This relies on your documents being digitised. It enables working from anywhere at any time and allows processes to be automated. You can find out how we at CAYA define Office 4.0, the steps to get there, and how to achieve greater digital efficiency in our Office 4.0 guide.