Women in built
NAVIGATING ONGOING DIGITISATION AS THE
WORLD RETURNS TO WORK
By Carrie Peter , Solution Owner at Impression Signatures
Although South Africa faced the peak of its fourth Covid wave at the end of 2021 , news reports show that the country is firmly heading back to business as usual .
While global digitisation was certainly sped up en-masse by the Covid lockdowns and Work From Home ( WFH ) protocols , it is showing no sign of slowing down as many businesses blow the dust off their desks and resume traditional office hours . At the start of 2022 , this was propelled by the President ’ s announcement that the country had moved to an adjusted Level 1 lockdown , creating more freedoms and fewer restrictions , and more recently reports indicate that the state of disaster would be ended all together .
Moving to traditional work environments does not negate the need for digital innovations , such as electronic signatures ( eSignatures ). Over the last two years we have , for example , seen a massive uptake in eSignature solutions . Now , as people return to work , this can offer even more efficiencies and reliability than before . Add to this the move towards hybrid workforces – working both from home and at an office - and digitisation remains an important business success factor .
Those who were “ forced ” into embracing a digital approach to business by WFH soon realised the immense benefits . These business leaders may not have understood the value proposition or were held back by the fear of the unknown . As a result , they were resisting deployment of solutions like eSignatures . Now , having had no other option , they are still reaping the reward for employing these solutions . It ’ s like a genie that has been let out of its bottle – there ’ s no putting it back now .
During the Covid lockdowns and beyond , whether working from home or in an office , eSignatures offer many valuable advantages . From low cost , fast rollout and adoption to operational efficiencies , decreased environmental impact , adherence to Covid no touch protocols , improved audit and data integrity , and enhanced compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act ( POPIA ) – among others . Intense Covid waves may be coming to an end , but POPIA is only really getting started .
Some businesses have taken to avoiding the consent element of any personal information interaction , because it
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can later be revoked . This is akin to playing Russian Roulette because it ’ s exactly the type of oversight that the Regulator is looking out for – hefting substantial fines for non-compliance . From a POPIA perspective , the ability to provide a nonrepudiable chain of evidence , and draw on data from advanced tracking capabilities , eSignatures are giving businesses the opportunity to remain compliant without straining operations . The beauty of eSignatures is that they offer enhanced governance and legal observance from anywhere , at any time .
" Those who were “ forced ” into embracing a digital approach to business by WFH soon realised the immense benefits ."
Dovetailing with this compliance benefit , eSignatures successfully add an element of certainty to remote activities . With advanced tracking capabilities the opportunity for impersonation is eliminated , ensuring that only the actual required signatory can access and sign the document . RACA
The move towards hybrid workforces and digitisation remains an important business success factor today .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I April 2022 41