Automation – SmarterBusinessProcesses

Smartsheet Helps the Sony HR Team Turn up the Volume

Julie Harris — Mon, 10 May 2021 20:58:37 +0000

Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets.

The Challenge

As part of their recruitment process, the HR team at Sony have to manage and administer extensive lists of questions. These range from standard procedural questions to technical, more role-specific ones. These “question lists” are tailored for each role.

When Sony approached us, they were already using Smartsheet to select and input their lists of questions, but were having to then put together each questionnaire manually, as there was no way to usefully format the list of questions automatically. Copying and pasting dozens of individual questions by hand was time consuming and prone to errors. They were looking for a way to automate this part of the process and transfer the list of questions to the relevant manager.

The Solution

We provided a two part solution. We created a link to a webform that the interviewers can access live, quickly and efficiently during each interview. This form gives the interviewers access to all the questions they need in one simple click. Using this form, the interviewers can submit their evaluation of each answer from the interviewee and provide an overall recommendation with comments. These responses are then sent directly back into the right place in Smartsheet.

At the same time as the link to the webform is created, a PDF of all the interview questions is emailed to the Hiring Manager and attached to the relevant row in Smartsheet. This gives the interview team the option of printing out a PDF if they prefer not to have a screen in front of them during the interview process.

Testimonial

Smartsheet has been instrumental in streamlining processes, manage projects and programs successfully online and from an operational standpoint has allowed us getting requests out of email to collaborate more effectively and in turn increase overall productivity.

When we first approached Smarter Business Processes to share the pain points we were facing with the interview evaluation process and the desired solution that we were looking for, Dr. James Harris quickly understood our requirements. He then developed a solution for us that was beyond our expectations. Because of his brilliant work and product, we can now effectively streamline and automate a very human process that was very manual before, which will improve the team’s productivity and allow them to focus more on tasks that truly matter to us – internal and external customer satisfaction in the electronics and entertainment business.

Alexandra Waltz – HR PMO & Talent Insights – Sony Corporation

The post Smartsheet Helps the Sony HR Team Turn up the Volume appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

5 Brilliant Tips to get Productive

GwenR — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:03:03 +0000

The latest figures from the ONS indicate that UK economic growth continues to be slow. Improving the nation’s productivity remains a hot topic as the UK tries to catch up with France, Germany and the US.

At Smarter Business Processes, productivity has always been a key focus for our clients. We know that common unproductive tasks can lead workers to spend less than half of their time on their main jobs and research suggests that in an eight-hour day, the average worker is only productive for around four hours.

Here’s a look at five time-wasters that are draining your team’s productivity and taking time away from creative and innovative work, and what you can do to help them get more high-value work done.

Constantly checking email

Is your team spending more time than you think on email? Harvard Business Review reports that the average professional spends 28% of their workday reading and answering email, with the average full-time worker spending 2.6 hours and receiving 120 messages per day.

Still, email doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. According to the State of Enterprise Collaboration report, despite the rapid adoption of collaboration tools, 58% of IT decision makers have seen increased email usage at their companies.

It’s unlikely your team is trying to waste their time in email. Maybe they’re worried that someone might need something from them and they don’t want to leave anyone in the lurch. Or they are waiting for information from someone else, so they keep checking back. Or perhaps you’ve set the expectation that you can immediately get a hold of them through email. Fretting about email isn’t always a productive business.

We can resolve this issue by building you a collaborative workspace. It makes for more productive employees. We can either create this for you using Smartsheet’s PMO template, or we can work with you on a productive, customised solution. Either way, reduce reliance on email, and manage projects by giving teams a space to organize and manage their work outside of their inbox.

Unproductive meetings

How much time does your team spend in ineffective meetings? You know the kind. Everyone gets into a room to discuss what they’ve been working on, where they are on a project, and what they’re going to work on next, while taking time away from actually doing the work. Too many meetings can make you less productive in the workplace.

If you’re having your team spend an hour getting updates on things that may or may not be relevant to the work they’re doing, it’s time to reconsider your approach. A work execution platform like our Smarter Dashboards tool can help show the status of every element of the project in one place, without gathering everyone for a stand up. You can also use this tool to automate status updates, and create reports to show stakeholders that your projects are on track.

Chasing deadlines

Are you or your team members spending time reminding people of upcoming deadlines? Do you keep checking in to make sure work is on track? Not only does this contribute to the volume of email, but it’s also not a very productive use of your time. In fact it reduces a team’s productive capacity if chasing becomes a major activity.

There is a way to help your team and cross-functional collaborators stay on top of their deadlines. With automated workflows you can create automated reminders based on the milestones or due dates laid out in your project plan. For example, you can have Smartsheet automatically send a reminder to those responsible and accountable for a task three days before it’s due, and another on the day it’s due. It makes for more productive days all round.

Searching for information

Searching for the information they need to get their work done can be a significant time-waster for your team. Workers on average spend 36% of their day looking for and consolidating information, according to CMS Wire. But 44% of the time, they can’t find the information.

There is a way to get all of the information everyone needs to complete a project or manage a process in one place. Simply synch your cloud storage with your Smart sheet data. It can make you very productive. We can work with you to connect to Google Drive or Dropbox cloud storage and sync Excel files or Google sheets to and from your Smartsheet environment. This will allow you to automatically integrate supplier price lists, customer event schedules, logistics, anything that can be saved in a spreadsheet and accessed by cloud storage. It also further helps to reduce time wasted searching for attachments in email.

Reacting to interruptions

According to the American Psychological Association, “even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40% of someone’s productive time.” Some of these interruptions might be of a more social nature, but they often take place in the form of a search for information, project status update request, or an attempt to track down approvals to keep a project moving forward.

By automating repetitive, manual tasks such as approvals, status updates, and reminders, your team can become more productive by cutting out unproductive interruptions. People can respond when they have a moment, without being actively interrupted. You may also want to establish and communicate “interruption-free” blocks of time with your team so they can have some time that’s free from interruptions for deep work.

Create more time for high-value work

We can improve your team productivity today. Talk to us about your Smartsheet Workflows, Tracking, Automation and Integration. Arrange a free consultation – we’d love to hear from you!

3 Major Long-Term Benefits of Automation

GwenR — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 16:12:50 +0000

The short-term benefits of automating repetitive, manual workflows are well known: saving time, saving money, and increasing efficiency. But there are lesser-known, long-term benefits of automation, too, and they can have a profound and lasting effect on the success of your business. Here are three ways in which automating processes can transform your business for the long haul.

1. Focus Employees on Innovation

One benefit of automation that’s often overlooked is the ability to free up time for employees to focus on innovation by automating manual, repetitive tasks.

More than 40% of information workers said they spend at least a quarter of their work week on manual, repetitive tasks; 59% say they could save six or more hours a week if those tasks were automated, according to the Smartsheet Automation in the Workplace Report.

Over 75% of respondents said automation will free up time for more interesting, valuable assignments — work they are eager to tackle. Imagine what employees could use those six hours for if low-level tasks were taken off their plates.

2. Reduce Risk

Automation can also lead to greater accountability and fewer errors, improving accuracy and reducing risk for your organization. By automatically capturing information and tracking changes to information, employees eliminate errors caused by data entry, and can even see when information was added or when changes were made and by whom.

3. Make Better Decisions

When information is automatically captured and saved to one place, everyone has easy access to accurate, real-time information. This, in turn, enables employees at any level to make better decisions, faster, and gives your organization unprecedented accuracy and agility.

Once information is entered, captured, or imported into Smartsheet you and your team can automatically pull information into dashboards or portals to surface key metrics and milestones for stakeholders, including executives.

Automated reporting provides accurate, real-time information for executives and other decision makers to make better decisions, faster, without having to worry about outdated slide decks and delayed reporting.

Downstream Effects Drive Business Value

Though the immediate benefits of automation — time and money saved — are significant, these three downstream effects are what drives the real business value of automation: increasing the speed and accuracy of decision-making, reducing risk for your organization, and empowering workers with the time and space they need to innovate.