Traveling? Check out these solutions that keep your workflows on the move!

In 2020, total global business travel expenses were reduced by 52%, while managed corporate-travel spending in the United States plummeted to 71%. Much has changed since then. 67.4% of the world’s population has received a minimum of one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine whereas 12.45 billion doses have been administered globally, and 5.98 million are now administered each day. Herd immunity and rising vaccination rates have ameliorated some of the travel anxiety.

Holiday travel and tourism have also witnessed a steady increase in the past quarter. The U.N. reported that international arrivals increased 3 times in the first quarter of 2022. March 2022 produced the healthiest results since the start of the pandemic, with arrivals climbing to nearly 50% since 2019. The U.N. World Tourism Organization predicted that these could rise to as much as 70% compared to the 2019 arrivals by the end of this year. Most countries are also lifting travel restrictions making it easier for tourists to make their holiday plans. As of June 2022, the CDC has withdrawn all COVID-related restrictions. It no longer requires passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight.

With the travel and tourism industry finally recovering and as restrictions and health concerns abate in most parts of the world, the lines at departure gates are getting longer. Whether it is for business or pleasure, people who have been trapped in their homes have now started taking the brave step of getting on that bus, train, or flight and re-starting their connection with long-haul travel. In fact, there has even been a term coined for the frenetic pace of increasing travel across the globe called ‘Revenge Travel’.

More travel is directly related to more tools for smoother remote work and work-from-anywhere functions, especially with remote work becoming the norm. Unquestionably, the future of business is highly autonomous, agile, and integrated – bringing to the fore the need to digitize and automate.

Research says that 70% of the time people rely on others to get their work done.

The virus broke through cultural and technological barriers that have prevented seamless remote work in the past. It is interesting to note that with travel back in full swing several business functions that were adopted during the pandemic have made their mark. For example, business processes or workflows are managed completely differently compared to pre-pandemic times. While physical presence and impromptu drop-ins were a norm before, almost all of our workflows have been made remote and we have technology to thank for that.

68% of employees waste an average of 305 hours a week waiting for information from team members and colleagues.

There are many advantages to digitizing your workflows. Moreover, if traveling is a part of your profile, it adds a whole slew of complications, especially when it comes to document signing and handling. It creates unexpected bottlenecks in the workflows, eventually affecting your success rate and reputation. So, what keeps your workflows on the move when you’re on the move? The answer is digital tools and solutions that help you run things smoothly and give you the flexibility of working from any location.

Advantages of automating workflows:

• Avoid miscommunication and confusion
• Reduce manual errors
• Eliminate procedural bottlenecks
• Save time by automating recurring tasks
• Streamline daily functions

What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation enables businesses to automate their processes by performing a series of related tasks that can be executed in a sequence. It gets the data from the right person in real-time and simplifies decision-making. In addition, every task involved within the workflow can be tracked anytime.

With a million tools and solutions to choose from, how does a business choose the right ones? Just googling the best digital tools for your business is a sure-fire way of going down a dark rabbit hole that leaves you more confused than informed. So we decided to do the digging for you. Here is a look at some of the best tools that can make any business workflow remotely functional and streamlined, be it a small or medium-sized business or a large corporate.

Solutions that keep your workflows on the move, even when you are!

• Dive efficiently through the emails – yes, you are not the only one!

You read that right! You are not the only person who feels queasy at the thought of going through a 1000 emails while you are traveling. Let’s not forget the dreaded ‘Your inbox is full’ message that pops up if you are away from your mail for even a day. Inbox flooding slows you down and increases the chances of an important email slipping through the cracks.

On average, an employee spends 28% of work time sorting and reading emails - McKinsey Global Institute

Many people spend a lot of time drafting an email and creating filters to sort through the emails. Emptying the inbox may also seem daunting, in case you end up deleting an important mail by mistake. Fortunately, artificial intelligence has come to our rescue to finally get that coveted zero inbox. However, if you are traveling for work or are on a vacation and suddenly something important comes up – you can’t afford to spend hours sifting through the mail to reach important communication. Take help from tools that ease your job even if you are out of the office – tools that will sort, triage, and answer emails.

Pro-Tip: Clariti, Shift, Mailbird, and Front are a few of the email management tools that will keep your mail and travel plans sorted for you.

• E-sign – Seal the deal!

Documents are the most indispensable part of any business. Every department and process including human resources, marketing, sales, production, and inventory management, is incomplete without relevant paperwork and documentation. Managing a manual paper-laden process could lead to missing out on important deals, client follow-ups, etc. Moreover, if a business representative is traveling and needs to send/receive documents for signing on an immediate basis – you are in big trouble! Business does not wait for anyone and nor does revenue. You need an effective solution that will help you sign and store important digital documents even on the go. Digital signatures are the answer to your documentation problem. Though the benefits of using e-signatures are well-communicated, people often have numerous apprehensions about adapting to the technology. The most perennial doubts are: Can documents be signed from anywhere without the constraint of security or access issues? Are e-signatures legally binding? Are electronic signatures legal? Is it safe?

The one eternal answer to all these questions is – Yes! E-signatures are totally safe and easy to use, legal, secure, and can be used from anywhere, anytime.

Pro-Tip: With tools such as DrySign, you can e-sign your confidential documents with ease from anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

Also Read: The ways Electronic Signatures are driving ROI

• CRM – Serve customers on the go!

Your employees may be working really hard, but if your customers don’t get the right kind of service, all that hard work is not going to matter. Customer service teams and sales representatives strive to keep in touch with the customers to answer questions, fulfill customer needs, take orders, and strengthen the connection between your brand and company, no matter where they are. When your sales representatives are on the field or traveling, they need valuable and updated information such as promotional pricing offers or product details, handy. They might also need inventory details such as product availability or shipment location to make reasonable delivery commitments. One can’t afford to surf through a folder full of documents while traveling or sift through an inbox full of spam emails. CRMs are a savior in such situations. You can easily access the mobile version that gives you a solicited view of your product information, delivery status, customer communications, and more. With a good CRM, you can:

• Access historical information for future reference.
• Based on the purchase history, offer similar or complementary products.
• Place an order and generate an invoice on the go, without any additional paperwork or time.
• Provide product information with ease.
• Answer client queries easily and promptly without having to wait to get back to the office.

Pro-Tip: Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and Monday.com are a few top CRMs that will help you remain productive even when you are traveling or out of the office.

• Poor communication – no more!

You are blessed to have the most dedicated teams, but poor communication is leading to a low growth rate? For many, it’s a challenge to efficiently communicate with colleagues or clients – it can create more chaos when you are traveling or working remotely.

Every year around $37 billion is lost due to poor communication.

Every team and employee has a different way of communicating – on a call, email, chat, meetings, and so on. For internal communications, you can always take the help of Google calendar to set up meetings, or Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Webex for chat or calls. Calendar management tools can also work wonders by simplifying schedules for you.

Pro-Tip: Meetingbird, Calendly, and HubSpot are a few prominent names that allow you to add more visibility and block out days to avoid setting up meetings while away.

Conclusion

Today’s fast-paced world has brought many challenges for employees and organizations. Sustaining and keeping workflows rolling while you’re traveling or on the move is one such challenge. There could be many who don’t have access to the essential data, some don’t want to surf through dozens of emails or documents on the road, and many may be finding it difficult to communicate with customers or colleagues while traveling. However, there are still ways to navigate your way smoothly through this! Technology has made our lives simpler, and so the above-mentioned tools will keep you moving ahead regardless of your location (as long as you have an internet connection). E-signature solutions have a big role to play in such situations – bet you wouldn’t want to miss out on a deal just because you are traveling and unable to physically sign a contract! DrySign makes it possible to sign important documents online from any location, from any device. Start DrySigning now!

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for general information purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Laws governing the subject matter may change quickly, and Exela cannot guarantee that all the information on this site is current or correct. Should you have specific legal questions about any of the information on this site, you should consult with a licensed attorney in your area.

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