In an uncertain and unstable environment, your business may need to reevaluate its priorities to succeed. We can’t know what the future holds, but organizations with money in the bank and resilient processes will be the winners of the next recession.
So, how can your business weather this storm?
Digital transformation is gaining momentum among businesses that are planning for the worst. Remote work, employee retention, better analytics, and automation are the best pivots your organization can make to boost performance during the recession.
- Opt For Remote or Hybrid Work in Lieu of Physical Offices
- Invest in Employee Retention
- Offer Remote Work
- Invest in Mobile Technology
- Train Your Team
- Find Opportunities With Advanced Analytics
Opt For Remote or Hybrid Work in Lieu of Physical Offices
While the pandemic came with its own set of challenges, it did show that it was possible for teams to stay productive while working remotely. Even organizations that were previously against remote work embraced it to keep their doors open during COVID-19. This phenomenon led to a boom in remote work: in 2018, just 5.7% of workers were remote, but in 2022, that figure is 26%.
While many businesses returned to the office after the worst of the pandemic, 40% of U.S. workers report that they’re more productive when they work from home — and 32.2% of managers report seeing productivity increase with remote work. Remote work not only encourages productivity, but it’s also much more affordable after absorbing switching costs.
Invest in Employee Retention
Many organizations have hiring freezes in effect right now. Ideally, you want to keep your team at its current size for the foreseeable future. But to do that, you need to retain the people on your team right now.
Technically, employee retention is an HR issue, but it’s also something that employers can use digital transformation to solve. In fact, digital transformation makes it easier to retain employees because you equip them with the right tools to do more in less time.
Offer Remote Work
Remote work comes with cost savings for your business, but it’s also a necessity for retaining your team during a recession. Sixty-eight percent of U.S. workers would prefer to be fully remote. Plus, employee turnover decreases by 50% and absenteeism drops by an impressive 50%, too.
Invest in Mobile Technology
Sixty percent of employees say they’re happy with the mobile work options available to them. But wearable technology, like smartwatches, can increase workplace satisfaction by 3.5%. Ask your employees if company-provided smartphones or IoT devices would make their jobs easier. If the answer is yes, consider rolling out more mobile technology as part of your digital transformation efforts.
Train Your Team
Employees want to feel competent at work. Many employees will leave their jobs because of a lack of confidence or resources. In fact, just 50% of employees are satisfied with the resources their employers provide to help them learn new technology. Take the time to train your team. This will increase the adoption of your digital transformation strategies and boost employee retention at the same time.
Find Opportunities With Advanced Analytics
COVID-19, broken supply chains, tight labor markets, inflation — your business has been through a lot. While your business couldn’t have predicted all of these disruptions, the right data could help you lean into the curve more easily.
Resiliency is the key to business growth during a recession. If you want to thrive through a recession, your business needs to go all-in on digital transformation and analytics.
The key is to go with an analytics platform that provides enough information without crippling your team with data overload. DTI’s reports and dashboards platform balances data with decision-making.
Eliminate Manual Work With Technology
The pandemic made businesses realize just how important technology is for productivity, especially in a remote environment. Recession or not, technology can help your business find greater efficiencies that save both time and money.
Since digital transformation spending will soar to $2.8 billion globally by 2025, this is a trend that your organization needs to embrace to stay competitive. Automation can help your business:
- Decrease unplanned downtime by as much as 20%.
- Increase satisfaction by as much as 25%.
- Save money. Sixty-nine percent of organizations save money with AI solutions like chatbots.
- Increase employee productivity by 40%.
It’s no wonder why 83% of businesses say AI and automation are their top priorities for this year. Many businesses see it as an opportunity as well as employees. In fact, 70% of U.S. workers are optimistic about using more automation at work. Instead of replacing employees, automation will free up employees’ time to focus on more valuable tasks that machines just aren’t equipped to do.
Automation is beneficial, but it’s best to use it for the areas of your business with repetitive and predictable tasks like invoicing, credit checks, or data entry. For example, DTI automates accounts payable, accounts receivable, and human resources workflows, to name a few, which reduce the time your team spends on manual tasks. Automate invoicing, approvals, and even payments without any human intervention. DTI also uses robotic process automation (RPA) to perform tasks on behalf of your team. This reduces operating costs, scales your capacity, and makes your business more agile.
Download the Full Whitepaper
You've just read an excerpt from our whitepaper on recession-proofing your business with digital transformation. If you would like additional details, stats, and steps to build a more resilient business, you can download the entire guide here.
