How the Digital Transformation of Contractor Management Will Lead Us to the Next Normal
As organisations start to reopen and enter the “next normal” phase, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to significantly affect the global economy and how organisations resume business. For many, managing this new business environment will require examining their contractor engagement and safety plans, finding ways to minimise risks, increase efficiency and ultimately decrease operational costs. Re-thinking operating models and merging technology with consulting expertise will become more important than ever. The digital transformation of contractor management programs will play a major role in how organisations move forward.
Embracing Digital Transformation
Given today’s uncertainty, many organisations may feel hesitant to make major changes to their operations. Often, operating with a business-as-usual mindset can feel safer, but digital transformation is exactly what can help businesses navigate these challenging times as it can help them accomplish goals, with fewer resources and, in many cases, less physical contact.
With digital transformation, organisations can automate and streamline their engagement processes while reducing their reliance on spreadsheets and introducing automation into their contractor management programs. This allows organisations to efficiently and cost-effectively manage the growing burden of compliance from any place and at any time, which is especially important as more employees and contractors are working remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
What will the Next Normal look like?
Before organisations can invest in digital transformation, it’s important they take into account what the next phase will look like to properly adjust their contractor compliance program. Currently, many employees continue to work from home, travel restrictions between states remain in place, workforce reductions are a reality, and budgets face greater scrutiny given the economic environment and a looming recession. For the time being, organisations should expect these factors to affect contractor management in the near term.
Ensuring contractor safety will also be a major consideration. Social distancing recommendations are expected to last, and while many employees will remain remote, the vast majority of contractors will need to be on-site, requiring close interaction with each other and potentially a skeleton crew of your employees. As such, organisations need to prepare a strategy for keeping those contractors and employees safe.
To manage some of these challenges, offering work flexibility will be especially important. With remote work, everyone needs access to technology to work efficiently, while leadership needs access to data from anywhere to monitor program performance. Organisations also need processes and tools in place to remain agile in such an uncertain environment, empowering them to make the right decisions at the right time, ultimately reducing risk for the business. Fortunately, investing in digital transformation can help you create a flexible and nimble workplace for all contractors and employees alike.
How Are Organisations Embracing Digital Transformation for Contractor Management?
In particular, organisations focused on effective contractor management can benefit from digital transformation when it comes to compliance. Now that organisations can efficiently collect contractor data, they can better track compliance gaps as well as the trends that start to show over time, allowing them to address any potential issues. By using a digital contractor compliance solution to manage engagement requirements, organisations can easily keep track of what has and hasn’t been completed and can quickly get visibility into the overall compliance status of their contractors.
For more information, call +61 2 8883 1501, visit www.conserve.com.au or email enquiries@conserve.com.au