With the rise of digital, knowledge workers need tools to thrive
COVID-19 has taught everyone around the world one thing: digital processes are essential for organizations to thrive. Organizations have now realized that they need all their data to be in the cloud, easily and quickly accessible, and in an electronic format.
You could not have tested this hypothesis more under stress than the real situation provided by the pandemic. Those close to implementing digital strategies felt the heat move faster, and those who may not have a digital strategy in place needed to find one as quickly as possible.
The shift to electronic documents to replace time-consuming and inefficient paper-based workflows in many industries and businesses was well underway long before the pandemic. However, the restrictions and difficulties related to COVID-19 have provided the necessary impetus to push the digital transformation of industries to the finish line. According to a recent Gartner report, knowledge workers spend an average of 50% of their time at work creating and preparing documents. These workers also reported that they shared at least five to ten documents with colleagues, partners, customers and countless other collaborators every day.
For many employees, the most common document workflow involves the process of filling out forms, creating and sharing documents within the organization, or sending them to third parties for review, fill them out and sign them. PDFs are the electronic document format of choice for many businesses around the world. Whether a knowledge worker is invoicing clients, maintaining client records in a consistent format, sending forms or contracts, or sending essential memos, PDFs come with the technology built in to ensure the right person is viewing the document and will see it as it was intended.
One of the most important advantages of the PDF document format is that it works very well with electronic signatures. In fact, more than 85% of agreements sent for approval by electronic signature are in PDF format. When an agreement in the form of an electronic document is received for signature or needs to be distributed to employees, customers or suppliers, it is necessary to create an electronic signature to seal the agreement. The good news is that with electronic signature technology, creating a secure, legally binding signature has never been easier, more secure, or faster. Electronic signatures are secure and verifiable and can therefore replace a handwritten signature in virtually any process.
Why use an electronic signature?
While it’s very tempting in many industries for someone to scan and upload the image of a hand-signed document and call it a day, this process causes users to miss layers security and authentication essentials that protect their agreements and other signatures. documents. One layer of security, for example, is that e-signature technology contracts come with audit trails and proof of transactions, making it easier to show that they have been legally executed if challenged in court. court.
Besides security, one of the most important benefits of electronic signatures is that they save time, reduce errors and improve efficiency. Over 80% of e-signed deals are closed within a day. Thus, sending PDF forms or contracts to be completed and signed electronically reduces the time spent on the manual process of printing, faxing and sending and makes the process extremely secure and fast.
Electronic signature integration
When an electronic document creation, editing and e-signing solution is combined into a single document productivity application, it is much easier for any organization to automate routine tasks and streamline workflows. to achieve higher productivity. Moreover, it is not a huge learning curve for the employees of the organization as they do not have to learn how to use different apps and open separate apps to perform a single task. This eases the transition to electronic documentation and embraces it in the face of the temptation to print on paper when the new technology is simple, economical, efficient and, above all, incredibly secure.
Some of the critical areas in any industry where automating processes with PDF editing tools and electronic signatures have shown more immediate and lasting benefits include, but are not limited to, sales, human resources, accounting and financial services. Similar to sales, users can quickly close more deals by preparing contracts in no time, sending them out for signature, and tracking the entire process without a single sheet of paper.
Combining the power of a PDF editor and an e-signature solution provides an organization with paperless workflows, intuitive forms, and seamless e-signature experiences. All of this contributes to a more efficient way to hire, retain and manage talent while allowing HR staff to stay productive.
An important note is that in industries such as healthcare and life sciences, organizations can remain HIPAA compliant by protecting a patient’s PHI and PII while sharing their information with third parties using PDF editor features such as redaction, password protection and secure electronic signature.
