Improving Processes through Information Technology

In both the inefficient processes for which the company has sought out consultation, the key will be removing the paper component and instituting an electronic process in its place. This will allow for faster file transfers between departments, greater information security as the company’s existing technology most likely involves regular backup equipment and procedures that are superior to paper systems and higher rates of worker efficiency. However, both the issue in the human resources department and the concern with accounts receivable are not without their complications.

Human Resources

It is unclear from the information available whether human resources, as a department, is set on continuing to only accept paper applications for job positions or whether the department might be open to converting this to an electronic process. The advantages of setting up an electronic application on the company’s website—assuming the company has a big website, which it ought to in this day and age—are many. Addressing the primary concern of processing time taking too long, a system can be developed whereby applications or even attached resumes are scanned for certain keywords chosen by human resources as being relevant to the open position. If the type of online application system that is created allows for drop-down menus and fillable fields for information such as level of education and number of years previous work experience in a given field, the process can become even more automated in that the information technology devised might only need to look at those particular fields to weed out the unacceptable candidates. In regards to talent analytics, this would save human resources a great deal of time, as the applications that finally reached the department’s eyes would only be of the highest quality, representing only the most suitable applicants. So much time might be saved by such a method that one of the other advantages of the system could be explored, which is that it allows the company to reach greater volumes of applicants because web searches will lead directly to the application process without there being any possibility of potential applicants getting frustrated by the paper process and applying with a competitor instead.

If the human resources department is not interested in moving away from paper, however, at least some of the problems could be addressed similarly with the aid of a scanner and a text recognition program to convert the paper applications to digital documents. These could then go through some of the similar screening processes as described above. A paperless system is still superior, however, and is also exactly what accounts receivable needs to adopt as a method.

Accounts Receivable

In accounts receivable, the problem is similar to that in human resources, though not identical. Again, the use of paper as a medium of carrying information has caused delays which have even led to financial penalties. The ideal solution would be to educate all staff who might need to create an invoice in how to do so in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) program. If this is too difficult, it might be possible to create a simplified worksheet or template for invoices in the system in which those who are less experienced can be trained to use more quickly. The other half of the problem, of course, is getting these invoices to accounts receivable, but now that they are in electronic form, this should be practically instantaneous; they can simply be shared over the business’s existing network or at the very least emailed between relevant parties. It might even be possible for the program to directly pull information from the template into real-time data calculations, but this would involve a greater investment in outside information technology specialists to establish. Simply eliminating unnecessary paper should do most of the work.

Conclusion

For both problems, paper is the culprit and paper must go. Whether human resources can completely let go of their attachment to paper might remain to be seen, but hopefully, in the long run, the company will come to be managed by those from an era when paper seemed archaic and the necessary changes will take place. Until then, even the stopgap measures proposed here should help streamline the company.