Most people are familiar with the term customer experience. They understand it is customers’ attitudes towards a company based on interactions with their products or brands. Employee experience is the same. It is what determines an employee’s engagement with their employer as a result of their experiences within the organization.
Information overload degrades the employee experience. Not only is there too much information, but much of it is irrelevant. That includes reviewing forms for completeness, skimming emails for pertinent data, or searching through files for information. None of these activities are conducive to a positive employee experience.
Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) is one way to combat information overload and improve the employee experience. Its ability to ingest structured and unstructured data means information can be digitized for faster access. Data from forms can be placed into databases. Content can be extracted from documents for improved search capabilities. IDP can reduce the time employees spend on routine tasks, allowing them to pursue more meaningful endeavors. Here are four ways that IDP contributes to a positive employee experience.
Greater job satisfaction.
Researchers have tried to apply different theories such as Maslow’s pyramid or Herzberg’s 2F theory to determine employee satisfaction. But, job satisfaction is far more complex. Employees look at an array of factors when assessing job happiness. Among these factors are:
- Challenging work
- Convenience
- Appreciation
- Career Growth
It’s no wonder that IDP improves the employee experience. It removes many mundane tasks such as checking forms or validating data, leaving more time for challenging work and career growth.
For example, a clerk has worked for a company for three years. In the beginning, the position was a perfect entry-level job with a path to more meaningful work. Despite working more hours, the clerk has had little time to do more than enter data and check forms. The job’s repetitive nature has the clerk looking to change jobs.
Deploying an automated solution with IDP gives the clerk more time to pursue the original career path into customer support. Instead of losing an employee, the company has gained a potential customer support agent. The business saves hiring costs, and the employee’s experience improves.
Improved collaboration.
Innovation requires collaboration. Unexpected connections appear as people work together to solve a problem. IDP encourages collaboration by freeing employees from routine tasks and making information available across an enterprise.
IDP, when combined with machine learning or automated workflows, can overcome those “black holes” where requests seem to disappear. With IDP, documents can be digitized so workflows can use them to complete processes such as authorizing vacation requests. The automated system eliminates the need for an employee to follow-up when no response is received or resubmit because the request was lost. These simple adjustments reduce frustration, save time, and enable collaboration.
When IDP is combined with other solutions such as knowledge management, it can facilitate collaboration. Employees can search for information that expands on their ideas. They can tap into the hidden experts who have tacit knowledge that can move an idea along. Having a positive relationship with co-workers is another way to improve the employee experience.
Better onboarding.
Traditional onboarding comes with forms to complete, manuals to read, and notes to take. If companies want to establish a positive employee experience, they should start with onboarding. It’s the first time new hires get to see behind the curtain. If that first glimpse is mired in time-consuming, repetitive tasks, they may become disengaged before they’ve finished the first day of work.
IDP can help by extracting information from resumes and interview forms, so standard paperwork can be pre-filled. The employee verifies information, adds missing data, and signs off. A quick and painless process compared to the multiple forms of traditional onboarding.
Then, there are the company manuals that need to be read. Instead of employees reading multiple documents, why not show them how to access the information online through an enterprise search capability? Employees can query the system whenever they have a question about policies or procedures. The data is available when employees need it because IDP made the documents searchable.
More upskilling opportunities.
With more time, employees can take advantage of growth opportunities. Whether it’s taking online classes or attending a boot camp, employees feel they have the time to acquire new skills. As more organizations achieve a digital transformation, employees will need to develop skills to use advanced technologies. Today’s workforce is well aware of the need for upskilling if they want to grow in their careers. Ensuring employees have access to growth opportunities adds to a positive experience.
IDP can help create those educational opportunities. By turning hard-copy information into digital form, IDP enables companies to use training solutions to create in-house growth opportunities. Making the training available online means employees can access the training anytime. They can learn in the flow of work as they experience situations where a new skill is required.
Positive employee experiences.
Improving employee experience increases engagement, which increases the likelihood that an employee will remain with a company. Adopting IDP technology can contribute to a better experience. When used with artificial intelligence, IDP can reduce the time employees spend on routine tasks, giving them the opportunity to accomplish higher-value work.
IDP consolidates information into a digital format that allows for easier search capabilities. Employees do not have to spend hours trying to locate a file or an email. Instead, they can query a knowledge management system or a helpdesk that has accessed the IDP converted data. Quick access to needed information reduces frustration and improves productivity. When information can be quickly accessed, teams can share data and discuss its implications without contributing to information overload.
IDP can also help with employee training. It can process structured and unstructured data to produce a dataset that can be used to create in-house training. Whether it is onboarding or new product training, IDP can digitize the information, making it accessible for in-person or remote training.
Intelligent document processing reduces information overload and contributes to job satisfaction by digitizing data for use by other systems such as robotic automation processing, knowledge management, or helpdesk systems. Incorporating IDP into the technology stack can improve employee experiences.