These two years the Spanish business ecosystem has learned a lot about how should it be articulated in the future to survive and grow with their business models. And for this, the main change that they have perceived as essential to settle in this new scenario with solvency is digitization.
Before the pandemic, the most expert voices warned of the need to switch to the online and digital environment to obtain competitive advantages. But that obligation changed the verb tense to go from talking about the future to positioning itself in the most immediate present. Surviving or not was about taking measures that always had new digital tools at the forefront.
«On a day-to-day basis we see how SMEs are losing their ‘fear’ of this digitization, but we are still facing some more traditional sectors that do not quite believe in this change, especially because they think that digitization means losing the deal human with professionals, but this is incorrect”highlights Yoann Artus, country manager of PayFit, the startup dedicated to the digitization and automation of tasks in the Human Resources area, and recently named technological unicorn.
From this situation, Spanish companies (more than 99% small and medium-sized) learned the lesson and took a step forward. According to a study conducted by GoDaddy, the 76% of SMEs already have digital environments (being 28% digital pioneers, 26% digital settlers and the remaining 22 initiated).
How should the digitization process be?
For those companies that have to make changes in their structure, these must be implemented in a certain order and, without a doubt, the Human Resources area is an absolute priority to articulate any changes on this department. Even more so if it affects the entire staff and their way of working. “Digital transformation in the workplace and HR involves a process of improvement and optimization of processes that does not require us to give up human treatment”affirms Yoann Artus.
In addition to having this clear, each company must carry out a introspection exercise to assess where you should carry out this transformation. Each SME has needs and not all sectors require the same tools to make these changes. “Once the company knows its priorities and needs to be optimized, it can begin to investigate which digital tools are going to help it make this change. Currently there are all kinds of software: to manage professional expenses, stocks, treasury… Our advice is to start with the most important for your business”continues analyzing the country manager of the company.
In fact, for the startup of French origin, all this change must be carried out taking into account multiple factors that go beyond the organizational one. Therefore, they point out that it is necessary that “SMEs detect the need to optimize their Human Resources department, that is the first step. A human resources software serves both to optimize the management of personnel issues and to increase employee satisfaction”.
On the other hand, they warn as a priority the economic aspect and market research to know the different providers that exist. “In a short time, SMEs realize the comfort it brings and the benefits compared to their previous way of working”specifies Artus from the experience of the thousands of clients that his company has.
In this sense, the main change must be in the mentality towards the solutions that the digital environment can provide us. A change that cannot be made only by the board, since, without involving the entire workforce, it will be doomed to failure. Only in this way will companies optimize the most mechanical and repetitive processes to maximize their business model and achieve greater profits.
