Why e-signing is a good step toward digital transformation

Digital signatures are all the rage these days, and with good reason: compared to paper forms and so-called “wet” signatures, e-signing can save companies significant time and money. But one mistake many companies make when switching from paper forms to digital is that they don’t take the opportunity to update their processes at the same time. In this blog post, we’re going to explain why updating your signature processes is just as important as digitizing your signature processes in the first place.

Why use e-signing

There are many benefits to e-signing, including saving time and money for example using Adobe Sign you can:

• Speed up cycle times by up to 28x
• Save up to 125 hours per user per year
• Save an average of $6 per document by reducing reliance on paper and shipping
• Realize an ROI of 420% over three years – the majority of which comes from time savings

The problem for many companies is this: instead of reviewing and updating their processes as part of a switch to e-signing, they instead try to digitize their existing processes. This approach likely still yields benefits, but not as much benefit as it could. So here are some ways to get even more value out of e-signing processes.

The importance of processes

In SoftwareOne’s (formerly Crayon’s) recent survey on the state of hybrid working, we learned that the biggest challenge of using document management tools is “processes”, meaning updating processes to maximize the value of the digital document management tools.

While adopting digital tools is a good first step towards a larger digital transformation, it’s also not the end of the road. Digital transformation isn’t just an operational change, it’s a cultural change as well. It’s a chance to improve not just your tools, but your processes.

Imagine you have a document that needs to be signed by five different people. If you are lucky enough to have all five people in the same room when you’re ready to collect the needed signatures, great. You print out the document and pass it from person to person to get it signed.

But if your five signatories aren’t in the same room (a very common scenario in these post-COVID days), what does the signing process look like? Probably something like this:

1. Create the form, adding any specifically required information.
2. Print the form.
3. Mail the form to the first person for signature.
4. Wait for them to return the form.
5. Mail the form to the next person.
6. Wait for them to return the form.
7. Mail the form to the next person.
8. Wait for them to return the form…

…and so on. A process like this is hard to speed up and requires significant waiting time as the document travels from one person to the next. And if one person is away from the office, on vacation, or otherwise unable to sign the form in a timely manner? Add even more waiting time to an already drawn-out process. Paper forms are also much more likely to be lost or damaged, which extends signature cycle times even more.

Digitizing this process can reduce waiting times. But if you’re still passing the form from one person to the next, you’re not realizing the full benefits of e-signing — and still spending a lot of time waiting for people to get back to you.

Instead, a fully updated and digitized signature process could look something like this:

1. Create the form, adding any specifically required information.
2. Send the form link to the signatories.
3. Wait for all five signatories to sign the form (you can check the status from the dashboard or set up notifications to alert you when the form is signed).

One big advantage of digital forms is that they can be sent to many people at the same time. You don’t have to wait for one person to sign before passing it on to the next person — unless there’s an important reason to do so. This one difference between physical and digital forms can save you a lot of time and effort — but only if you adjust your signing process to fit the new tools and features at your disposal.

Because the form is sent digitally, it can be sent to (and received by) signatories no matter where they are, which means no more waiting for people to get back from a vacation or business trip before they can sign the form. And if the form needs to be signed in a specific order, you can automate the process, making sure that the request for signature automatically goes to the next person on the list once the previous person has signed — with no extra waiting time for your employees.

How to optimize your signature processes

To achieve the maximum value from your digital transformation efforts, it’s important to continuously update and improve processes. If this hasn’t happened in a while, adopting digital signatures is a good opportunity to take a look at your other file management processes and see how they can be optimized.

A basic formula for reviewing and updating your business processes could look something like this:

1. Document the existing process (the “as is” process). Who works on the process, when they work on it, what tasks they perform as part of the process, etc.
2. Identify areas where you think the process could be streamlined or improved.
3. Design the new process, verify it, and then execute it.
4. Monitor the new process to see if it achieves better results than the old process. You may want to focus on specific metrics like productivity, efficiency, or cost savings.
5. Continually review and optimize the process to make sure it’s up-to-date.

Optimized business processes help companies maximize productivity and value — so it pays to review your business processes on a regular basis.

Are e-signatures legally binding?

Before switching from manual to digital signatures, many companies want to make sure that digital signatures are as legally valid as their paper-and-pen counterparts.

So: are they?

Yes, e-signatures are legally binding in almost every instance in every country around the world, barring a few specific locations and situations like marriage licenses and death certificates. So, in almost all business situations, e-signatures are legally binding.

In Europe, e-signature compliance is governed by the EU policy called eIDAS:

“The eIDAS Regulation:

• Ensures that people and businesses can use their own national electronic identification schemes (eIDs) to access public services available online in other EU countries.
• Creates a European internal market for trust services by ensuring that they will work across borders and have the same legal status as their traditional paper-based equivalents.
• Only by providing certainty on the legal validity of these services will businesses and citizens use digital interactions naturally.”

On a national level, each country has their own specific regulations. eIDAS ensures that people accessing services or signing forms across European borders can do so safely and legally.

How SoftwareOne and Adobe can help streamline your e-signing

If you’re looking to purchase e-signing software like Adobe Sign, SoftwareOne can help you rightsize your licensing and find the best solution for your company’s needs. But we also offer consulting services: helping you set up and customize software so that it does exactly what you need it to, in the simplest way possible. If you’d like to learn more about Adobe licensing or consulting services, please visit this page.