How Digital Signatures Can Help Businesses with Remote Work

More people are facing the potential of weeks or months under lockdown due to the coronavirus. In addition, most businesses are shifting their activities online to try and cope with the situation. The shifting of business processes is creating a huge prospect for employees to work from remote locations. Research estimates that telecom traffic has increased by at least 90% because of the pandemic. Remote working can be beneficial for employees thanks to the greater flexibility. For businesses, remote working provides new grounds for them to explore. These businesses cannot carry out their work as they used to. That is why they are relying on technology to realize their objectives and streamline operations. With the right technology, remote working is more productive for both individuals and businesses. In this article, we will look at how digital signatures are enabling businesses to proceed with their operations.

What Are Digital Signatures?

Digital signatures refer to a demonstration of a person's willingness to enter into contact. These signatures are like traditional ones only that they are in an electronic form. They not only increase the efficiency of a firm but also cut on time wasted in preparing and distributing manual paperwork for signing. Digital signatures arose from the need to make consent collection more effective. Digital signatures or eSignatures have been with us for decades. In the year 2000 eSignatures gained the same legal standing as physical signatures. Despite the legal status, lots of lies surround these signatures. Debunking the eSignatures myths is critical to increasing their acceptability. Today, many industries are using digital signatures to drive their business processes remotely. Below are some use cases:

1. Healthcare Industry

In the healthcare industry, the use of manual forms and signatures is prevalent. This is only increasing their cost of operations and undermining their profit margin. For instance, a study by Harvard established that 34 % of all medical costs in the USA stem from the hefty paperwork. Storing all these paperwork in a secure and searchable manner only complicates things for the healthcare industry. To tackle this problem, remote employees are turning to digital signatures and forms. The technology assists in converting the existing paper forms into digitally signable ones. Workers can then send these forms to patients all over the world just by clicking a single button. Besides, the digital format compresses the files which makes it quite easy to store. The use of digital signatures and forms in healthcare is reducing the time for performing administrative tasks. It is also improving the customer experience. Patients do not need to trouble themselves coming to the hospital physically to sign documents. Digital signatures and forms are making hospitals more efficient.

2. Banking Industry

Banks spend a lot of time chasing customers to provide consent on physical paperwork, but both agents and customers have limited patience for this. When banks present paperwork that requires multiple signatures, they face longer turnaround times and abandonment rates. Digital signature solutions are changing this. Remote employees can utilize digital signatures to increase the rate at which customers on-board. Customers no longer need to endure long queues at the bank just to sign papers. Additionally, digital signatures allow remote employees to capture customer consent via the mobile. Because of this convenience, the conversion rates and sales are improving. The operational costs are reducing as well. This is due to cutting down on the time wasted by agents filling and signing manual paperwork.

3. Insurance Industry

The success of an insurance firm depends on three key areas. These are the insurance applications, renewals, and claim processes. Streamlining these activities is paramount (FNOL). Unfortunately, insurance companies waste valuable time chasing clients for documents and policy approvals. Remote workers are realizing that digital signatures can help smoothen this process. Digital signatures enable remote insurance employees to get consent in a moment’s notice. The remote employees will guide the client through the sign-up procedure. This is key in enhancing customer satisfaction when getting their consent. Streamlining the digital signature process affects expediting the sales and claims processes for the insurance firm. However, when adopting digital signatures for insurance, there is a need to build a fraud-proof system.

Embrace Digital Signatures

Digital signatures have evolved and are becoming mainstream in most industries because of their ability to make operations more efficient. Remote working has served to highlight the spot on this fact and increase its awareness. As more businesses adopt digital signatures, they should only go for what works for them. For instance, mobile-optimized digital signature solutions can collect forms, documents, and consent from the customers in real-time. Lightico's digital solutions offer the next generation of digital signatures. Our solutions are flexible, customer-centric, and compliant with the relevant regulations. Visit lightico.com to learn more about digital signatures and related capabilities.