How do you walk the halls for approvals and signatures when you or your colleagues are all working from home? Businesses have lost opportunities, suffered time to market delays, and incurred penalties because communication has been interrupted by a lack of physical proximity and availability. This challenge has existed for some time with the distributed, global workforce, but the sudden office ghost town brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has taken it to the breaking point.
Gone are the Days of Walking the Halls for Approvals and Signatures
How do you walk the halls for approvals and signatures when you or your colleagues are all working from home? Businesses have lost opportunities, suffered time to market delays, and incurred penalties because communication has been interrupted by a lack of physical proximity and availability. This challenge has existed for some time with the distributed, global workforce, but the sudden office ghost town brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has taken it to the breaking point.
Many workers became remote overnight, and while some are slowly beginning to return to the office, the timeline for a “full return” is uncertain at best and unlikely at worst. Remote work is not going away, and it poses a problem for ordinary processes powered by the “sneaker net” like approvals.
Further, remote work is not just like being in the office from 8 to 5 only in our own homes. While it is a good practice to establish work hours and a structured work environment, life still happens. The kids, the dog, and the spouse are also living/working from home. The new reality is that workers need to run to the grocery store, go to the doctor, and take the kids and/or the dog to the park.
It is not realistic to expect workers to shut out the life around them, but there is a lot of idle time in these tasks that can still be used to communicate while standing in line or waiting on Fido to sniff every blade of grass. Your workers need to be able to get work done from their home offices (a.k.a. the dining room table) and on the go.
Remote workers simply do not have the luxury of getting everyone’s attention while they are in the office. Workers need to share information and get approvals from wherever the audience is located whether they are on the other side of the city or in another time zone.
This is where Microsoft’s Power Automate, part of Office 365, can help. Using Power Automate, a tailored approval workflow can be quickly assembled and mobilized. Here is what a hypothetical approval might look like.
Note: In the use case below, the names are fictional. Any likeness to real people or companies is purely coincidental.
It is near the end of the month, and Little-Wunder Co. is rushing to complete a last-minute order. If the order is completed by the end of the month, not only does the company boost their numbers for the month, but the customer has also agreed to pay a 20% premium. To meet the goal, Roger, an associate in supply chain, must quickly get approval to purchase $700k in raw materials.
Roger is working from his home office where he fills out the approval request form and attaches the supporting documentation from his laptop.
- Power Automate first emails the request to Lilly, the supply chain manager.
Lilly is watching her dog, Biscuit, run at the dog park when she receives the email. She opens the email, reviews the documents, and approves the request on her mobile phone. Meanwhile, Biscuit has nearly tired himself out playing with all the other dogs.
Lilly’s approval authority is only sufficient for amounts under $500k.
- Power Automate proceeds to the next approval authority.
Rory, a Vice President at Little-Wunder Co., is running errands in preparation for a family camping trip that weekend. From the local sporting goods store’s parking lot, he reviews both Roger’s and Lilly’s comments in addition to the attached documentation before approving and electronically signing the requisition on his mobile phone.
- Power Automate then archives the signed and approved requisition to the system of record and sends a copy to Roger.
Roger does not waste any time and executes the purchase. Consequently, Little-Wunder Co. completes the order before month end earning the 20% premium from the customer.
Like the fictional Little-Wunder Co., your approval process can be untethered from the office using Power Automate. Approval authorities can approve not just from the brick and mortar office but also from home, the park, a grocery store, airport, and more.
The approval process is just one example of a struggling process made more difficult with the increasingly remote workforce. There are likely other processes at your company that are powered by the “sneaker net” which are also now flailing. With hundreds of third-party connectors and new connectors available all the time, Power Automate can address those hurdles too.
As Power Automate is included in the Office 365 subscription, your company likely already has licenses that are going unused. Taking advantage of those licenses would further leverage your Office 365 investment.
Alitek has been helping companies tackle their most challenging Enterprise Information Management problems since 2005. Our consultants average 15+ years of experience. For more information on how we can guide you through the process of automating your “sneaker net” and empowering your remote workforce to jump on the next business opportunity from wherever they are located, please visit our website at www.alitek.com.
About Alitek
Alitek is a leader in information based digital transformations. We help organizations improve business outcomes, increase efficiency, and reduce risk, through better management of information. Our experienced team works with you to build a unique strategic plan based on your specific needs, no matter the size of your company.
