Regardless of the benefits, going digital can seem like a daunting prospect. But while there’s no denying digitization requires investment, time and patience, I’ve witnessed how even the short-term benefits far outweigh the initial outlay.
In a rapidly evolving business landscape, the question for the hospitality and QSR industry shouldn’t be, ‘can we afford to go digital?’ but rather, ‘can we afford not to?’
For our purposes, when I say digitization, I’m talking about not only having digital processes replace all paper ones, but choosing a piece of software that can unify all your data streams in one platform and structure this data as digestible business information.
This is a wholistic digital solution, which can be expanded and integrated for almost any business need.
There are several reasons why firms may be reluctant to make the digital leap, but the cost is often the primary concern. The initial price, plus subscription or development fees can make the real cost opaque and the electronic devices needed for implementation don’t usually grow on trees.
But these are drops in the budgetary ocean when you consider how expensive mistakes can be. In 2021, several major retailers received fines in the millions for out of date food on the shelves and some caterers found themselves on the wrong end of viral social media stories.
It’s not just money and reputation that is at risk, but people’s safety: Natasha’s Law has now been implemented across the food and drink industry to better protect customers against allergens, and we have all had to adjust to the new mandate.
Going off these examples alone tells us all that even large well-established companies with solid processes can be caught out because compliance is both complex and ever-changing, and it’s this that makes a digital solution essential.
Your head office and your teams on the ground need clear visibility of these processes and the data in real time to ensure and demonstrate best practice.
Having a digital solution that’s configurable will also make it far easier to implement new guidance or legislation.
Mobile workflow systems such as mpro5 make health and safety checks much easier to manage. Digital logbooks, for instance, are date and time-stamped, meaning staff cannot miss crucial checks that could result in breaches like those mentioned above. And, unlike paper logbooks, digital records can’t be falsified or misplaced.
If the decision is between paying for a digital solution or risking a serious incident, I certainly know which one I’d choose.
Moving to a digital platform does require plenty of planning and it’s also true that changing the attitude and behaviour of staff can be a challenge.
But there are steps you can take to help make the roll-out and adoption process much smoother. As I discussed in my last post, understanding the end user and finding the most effective training technique is key to increasing employee engagement.
Disruption can be minimized if you have clear goals and work with a software provider who can implement digitization gradually throughout your business, starting with one or two problems and expanding from there.
I’ve already discussed how a digital solution can help to prevent costly health and safety breaches, but the benefits don’t stop there. Digitization has many other advantages, including:
Ultimately, it’s the businesses that adapt and embrace technological change that will thrive in today’s digital landscape. Digitization may seem daunting, costly and non-essential, but with the right provider, clear goals and careful planning, all of these problems can be mitigated. What’s more, a fully digital platform will ensure compliance on all processes, empower your employees and transform your business through greater visibility that enables better decision making.