Changing the working environment to a remote work setup is like opening another chapter of history. Because of the recent event the world has had to face—COVID-19—that is still happening, the workforce industry, from small businesses to large corporations, needs to adapt to this "new normal" of Work-From-Home (WFH). It begs the question, does this increase productivity?

Despite its striking resemblance to new office jargon, "digital transformation" is a crucial development that all businesses should consider. This article will explore how efficiency skyrockets due to a remote work setup.

Digital Transformation: A New Chapter for the Books 

Traditional workplaces undergo a digital transformation brought on by the demand for change due to the pandemic. It also shows that riding along with the train of change is the key to not being left behind in the progress of society, indicating that transforming companies digitally is more crucial now than ever before.

63% of the companies that experienced going remotely said to be permanently applying the change in 2021, in addition to the 12% rate already fully remote before the pandemic, shown in the 2021 Global Employee Survey. It implies that the benefit brought by this setup favors the company. If not, remote setup shouldn't be continued.

Because by transforming the traditional face-to-face work environment into online Zoom meetings, it's bringing books to a new chapter.

Remote Work Welcomes Efficiency to the Maximum

Much like going for a visit to a doctor, the delayed check-up is synonymous with companies delaying the integration of digital transformation. They see it with a weird feeling and the hassle of being online, much as patients think every doctor's appointment will be painful.

But when that check-up is finally done, a relief of fresh air is felt—like the ease brought by the boost of efficiency in most companies because of integrating this transformation.

How Can Remote Work Bring Efficiency?

In a nutshell, the effectiveness of digital transformation can often be measured in terms of the degree to which it automates and digitizes processes, the latter of which can free a significant amount of staff members' time to spend on more strategic initiatives.

Businesses need to be able to adapt quickly and readily to new circumstances if they are to continue operating throughout COVID-19. This is the right place where digital transformation comes into play.

What Do Employees Have to Say about Digital Transformation?

Owl Labs' State of Remote Work 2021 has explored the innate feelings of employees in the US on the integration of being online and remote as a working setup for their companies.

90% of the survey is as productive or more productive than working in the office. 84% of these employees are happier with the remote work brought by digitally transforming companies. In addition, 57% preferred to work full-time at home, with 46% willing to take a 5% pay cut just to work remotely. A shocking 71% demands a hybrid or full remote work after the pandemic is normalized or over.

These exciting statistics are backed by Ergotron research involving a thousand full-time employees, of which 56% said their mental health improved because of remote work. This shows that employees favor the work setup because digital transformation brings efficiency to the company and enhances the workforce's mental health. 

Increased Productivity Equals More Profit

It's a no-brainer that when a company or a business is more productive and efficient, more profit from the revenue flows into the business's bank account.

Increasing office productivity is possible through optimizing processes, which can be achieved by investing in technological tools. Because of automation, time and effort formerly spent on monotonous duties within the corporation, such as data entry, can now be put to better use elsewhere within the company.

New Skills Brought by Working Remotely

A digital workplace, on the other hand, encourages workers to acquire new skills to adapt to the constantly changing nature of the work environment. The development of new abilities will result in an overall improvement in the quality of work as well as an increase in productivity.

Because it boosts both efficiency and productivity, digital transformation will automatically increase the bottom line of any business that implements it. The decision to digitalize the industry will prove profitable in the long run, making it more resistant to disruptive events like the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Transforming the business digitally can help future-proof and crisis-proof the company.

Easy-Access Efficiency Solves Security Issues

Digital transformation also tackles integrating paperless documents by making everything through spreadsheets and drives. This efficiency will not only boost access and productivity but also prevent security breaches in important, confidential company documents protected by non-disclosure agreements.  

How Should Companies Protect Data in Remote Work?  

Digital transformations increase the overall security of businesses since they make it easier for different departments to share security intelligence.

Suppose pertinent security information is disseminated across teams and departments. In that case, the team can organize better collaborative efforts to simplify risk investigations and enhance the organization's capacity to respond to, mitigate, and remediate prospective and actual threats. This is because more information is at everybody's disposal.

Maintaining Open Lines of Communication Regardless of Location

Businesses have to make an effort to adapt to the reality that remote work, in some form or another, is here to stay for them to continue to be effective and competitive in a world where working from home is becoming more and more common.

Even if the vast majority of companies have already adopted remote work in some form or another, it is essential to put a plan in place to make the transition as smooth as possible. It is necessary to have a plan to maintain productivity and minimize interruptions if public health restrictions require a lockdown at some places or if specific individuals are required to work remotely due to personal reasons. Both of these scenarios are possible. 

Is Starting Digital Transformation Hard?

Regardless of the type of business, a sizeable portion of the work will invariably be analyzed to determine whether it possesses the potential to be digitized. The answer is typically going to be yes in the majority of cases. If you digitize and automate as many of your duties as you possibly can, you should be able to get a lot more done in a short amount of time with a limited amount of money.

This is of the utmost importance in a time when every dollar counts and human resources are at a premium because of the current economic climate. Here are some questions that guide one business to the online and remote world.

• Can your company improve its most labor-intensive manual procedures by using automation, digitization, or even a simple app?
• Look at the percentage of your company's productivity and collaboration tools stored in the cloud and ask how much of everything is already there; and how much to add more to the cloud.
• Will you be able to refocus your efforts on employing people who best exemplify the characteristics that make digital transformation possible?

Conclusion: Why Bother Doing Digital Transformation?

The fact that digital transformation may be carried out in stages rather than needing to be completed all at once is one of its many incredible things. Almost every business has been going through some digital shift for the past few years, whether they were aware of it. This transition has been occurring gradually.

Many organizations go through a digital transformation each time it adopts a new piece of technology, whether that be updated computer software or an entirely new phone system. The bottom line of efficiency makes productivity a second-hand price by digitally transforming one company.

It may still be a new chapter on everybody's books regarding the workplace, but going through these changes will eventually be a norm. It's just that the business integrating digital transformation is a pioneer in the transformation that everybody aspires to be, making the business future-proof and employee-centric.