The corporate productivity gap: using technology to improve experience

With many workplaces permanently shifting to remote or hybrid ways of working, how to maintain employee productivity is high on the agenda. As workers settle into home offices and organisations reduce their office footprint, innovative digital solutions have emerged as the key to keeping workforces connected, engaged and able to do their jobs effectively.

Businesses have been quick to adopt new ways of working and employees want access to innovative tools that increase the speed at which they make decisions, share resources and communicate from anywhere in the world, at any time.

With this in mind, businesses need to be able to provide their workers with the tools they need to achieve that productivity.  

So, in an increasingly digital world, how do e-signatures fit into the equation and how are they helping boost productivity in remote and hybrid working arrangements? 

Read on to find out more.

To learn more about the evolution of working anywhere, read DocuSign’s whitepaper on Getting customer experience, innovation and security right

Speeding up business as usual

Digital tools such as video calls, team collaboration platforms and e-signatures have become the norm for day-to-day operations, such as recruitment and onboarding, reaching new clients and being able to perform management duties from afar. They are also speeding up manual tasks by almost 50%.

According to the DocuSign State of Electronic Signature 2021 study, the ability to work remotely is one of the top three benefits of adopting e-signature technology. Businesses who have already started sending documents electronically for signing reported back that e-signature is 45% faster than manual signatures. 

Because a digital solution like e-signatures eliminates the need to print, mail, check and send signatures back to the signer, it makes it a highly effective way of scaling operations and reducing overall running costs. Not only does it free up time for employees to spend on business critical-matters, it offers an additional layer of security and transparency throughout a document’s journey.

Employee satisfaction equal productivity gains

The good news is there are already gains in the corporate productivity gap because of the shift to hybrid and remote working.

Employees are giving it the thumbs up and the daily commute is a thing of the past, with many people showing a strong preference to continue working from home. One Bloomberg study showed that 39% of adults would rather quit their job than work in an environment that isn’t remote-friendly, which includes having the digital tools they need readily available.

Research from e-signature platform Docusign shows home office and use of digital tools, including e-signatures, have had a significant and positive impact on productivity. In Australia, 33% of workers think electronic signatures are beneficial in helping their business manage external suppliers or customers. Seven in 10 agree that digital contract management tools help their business be more efficient.

In addition, nearly half of Australian workers feel that they are more productive when working remotely compared to working in the office. In New Zealand, the figures are even higher, with 66% of people working at home full-time reporting feeling more productive than when they are office-based.

The bottom line is e-signatures are just one of the many digital tools that businesses can no longer afford to operate without if they want to remain competitive, productive and attractive to employees in this new digital world.