intellectual property workflow
intellectual property workflow

Workflow of the Week: Hardware Doesn’t Have to be Hard

Emily Bogin |

Even in the World of Hybrid Work

IT leaders know more than anyone that remote work can be more productive than trekking into the office, but that it also involves duplicating certain parts of the job. For instance, hybrid work doubles the workspaces that each employee depends on: the home office and the real office.

What gets doubled besides the number of desks per employee? For starters, when employees bring work home, data access points increase, leading to new and more expansive risks. In addition, as workplaces proliferate, employees need more access to materials, both in the cloud and “IRL,” whether it is access to a particular software or the tools they need in order to record videos for marketing or training purposes.

So it’s no surprise that as we head into 2022 that hybrid working environments are pushing IT leaders to think creatively about the way things work. Harvard Business Review notes that “more than 90% of employers are planning to adopt a hybrid working model for their knowledge workers in 2022” but also explains that this trend is likely to winddown, as some companies are finding it difficult to handle the doubling processes we’ve outlined above.

TAP Workflow Automation Accelerates Efficiency

Automated processes are more efficient, accurate, and cost-effective.

With employees signing into remote offices from around the globe, it has become important for them to have a central location where they can work with IT to be given the opportunity to thrive in their roles. On the flip side, giving IT a central repository of employee information, and past requests lends to a consolidated approach to managing those requests. They can then better manage the employee experience – by finding gaps in training and equipping employees with the knowledge to self-serve.

Streamlining communication between departments

In order to smoothly handle requests for employees to get the right access to the tools they need, streamlined communication is key. In the “before-times” getting IT to sign off alongside HR on new hardware requests could be messy, but there was momentum that made sure requests went through.

Today, without automated workflows that route requests to the right people at the right time, with customized, built-in reminders and escalations, it can be a huge pain for employees to be granted access to the materials they need. Whether it is larger requests for recording materials like video cameras and recording studio software, a new laptop, or even small requests like keyboards and mice, automated routing is a must.

Hardware requests have the added complexity of needing to be shipped in order for the request to be completed. After being shipped, information on what has been sent where, needs to be tracked and added to a database. Eventually, these materials may need to be returned, setting off a whole host of additional requests, updates, and confirmations.

Leveraging technology to automate away inefficiencies

The good thing is, collaboration across departments has never been easier to automate. Even when departments move to remote locations, it’s easy to stay in close contact through Slack, Teams, email, and a myriad of other collaboration softwares. When the requests are no longer one-offs but start to feel repetitive, manual, and prone to error, that’s when it’s time to lean and no-code platforms to design pathways that keep these requests moving–without you driving them. Workflow automation platforms are a lifesaver in the hybrid workforce world, because they streamline communication and reduce and resolve blockages between departments, ensuring that your end user get the right access to the right hardware quickly.

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