On an otherwise uneventful evening last spring, I was informed that my son’s school would be shifting to virtual instruction indefinitely beginning the very next day.
“I bet we won’t go back until after spring break. How will we ever manage this???”
Now, six months later, school is still virtual and there is no end in sight.
If you have school-aged kids, then like my family, you were probably operating in crisis mode when it came to the sudden shift to virtual learning. We did what we had to do to get through it. We did the best we could, but it was haphazard at best and as a result, not a great experience.
The news that school would continue to be virtual this fall did not go over well with my younger son. “I can't learn outside of class!” “I miss my friends!” I’m sure, if you're a parent, you know the rhetoric. Working from the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with his Chromebook on a TV tray was no longer going to cut it. We had to do everything we could to equip him for success in a virtual setting. So, we changed his learning environment. We set up a designated area in our office under our big vintage Coke sign, organized his supplies, and made sure he was comfortable but not distracted.
This made all the difference. My son, who had been dreading virtual learning with a passion, was now suddenly excited to get started. He was motivated, and when classes started, he was excited. He is now a few weeks into the new school year. His grades are good, and he is finally happy and engaged with his learning.
My son's experience with virtual learning echoes what I see every day for work
I have spent my career helping organizations automate processes while making sure every employee remains engaged and comfortable in their new situation. Engagement is at the top of my mind for every organization because research consistently shows that employee engagement is closely related to employee productivity. Ultimately, that transfers to business success, and disengaged employees are one of the biggest threats to successful businesses.
COVID-19 has made us all look at our lives differently, both at home and in our work environment. We’ve noticed a lot of our clients understand the need to update their contracting processes to increase their efficiencies and revenue, but few are considering the effect on employee engagement.
If your contracting process is being handled manually or with outdated, cumbersome technology, there is a high chance that your employees are frustrated and disengaged. They may feel as though they are always operating in crisis mode just like my family at the beginning of COVID-19 virtual schooling.
Equipping your contracts team with a modern CLM solution like Malbek will not only streamline your process, but it will lead to happier employees who are more productive. And that will most certainly lead to more success for your business.
If anything, just remember this little virtual math lesson:
