Author, Alyssa Burley, Partner, Media Communications & Client Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Imagine you are working in a highly productive organization. Over many years of trial and error, the team has streamlined their operations to the point of a well-oiled machine using good ol’ paper and spreadsheets. Then, your insurance broker offers a digital risk management solution and you are faced with the prospect of transitioning your manual processes to a digital platform. This is the scenario that many Rancho Mesa clients have faced and successfully overcome.

Mobile applications have become an integral part of daily life by streamlining everything from banking to finding a ride in the city. Manual tasks can now be completed easily from a mobile device. So, why haven’t most businesses implemented this mobile technology into their daily operations?

Planning & Support

Transitioning a manual process, like the administration and documentation of toolbox talks, safety trainings, jobsite inspections, and other risk management activities, to a digital platform does not have to be a daunting task, though it may seem that way at first. With proper planning and support from those who have helped others digitalize their manual processes, you can significantly increase the chances for success. Utilize resources like Rancho Mesa’s client services team to provide best practices for each manual process that will be replaced by a digital platform.

Where to Start

Once an organization has decided they are ready to make the move to a digital platform, they often ask how they should begin. It is a best practice to start digitalizing a process that has few barriers to implementation, yet will still have a significant impact on operations. Therefore, utilizing digital toolbox talks (e.g., tailgate talks, safety meetings, and the like) is typically the best process to tackle first.

Next, review your existing toolbox talk process and document the steps. It may be helpful to ask the following questions:

• Who decides which topics will be used each week?

• Where is the content sourced?

• How is the topic content distributed?

• Who administers the toolbox talk (e.g., tailgate talk, safety meeting, etc.)?

• Where are the toolbox talks performed?

• How are employees tracked who participated in the toolbox talk?

• Where is the documentation stored?

The answers to these questions will help you identify who will need access to the toolbox talks in the digital platform, whether through an administrator website or a mobile application.

Then, identify one to three people in the organization who are excited about being an early adopter of the new technology. They should be excited at the prospect of streamlining the manual process of getting the toolbox talk content each week, performing the safety meeting, passing around the sign-in sheet, and making sure the signed paper makes it back to the office and in the correct file cabinet. These early adopters could be an administrator, foreman, supervisor, or safety manger, depending on who is responsible for performing portions of this task.

The early adopters will function as the organization’s initial testers, cheerleaders, and then coaches for the rest of the team. They will test the digital process by accessing toolbox talk content and documenting the meeting attendance with both pictures and signatures from their mobile devices. They will report back to their organization’s leadership on how the new process is working. This gives the organization a chance to work with their insurance broker’s client services team to offer suggestions for minor adjustments to the new digital process. Meanwhile, the early adopters will naturally promote the new technology to their co-workers and get others excited for the launch of the new process.  

Once the new digital toolbox talk process is tested and adjusted as needed, it is ready to be released to the rest of the organization. There will be a learning curve, but the early adopters will be familiar with how the streamlined digital process works and will act as informal coaches for new users of the platform. 

Benefits

Changing a well-established process can cause some people within the organization to question why the change is needed in the first place. So, be prepared to explain the reasoning behind the transition. Explain the benefits that will be felt by both the employee and the organization.

Employees will spend less time on paperwork, so they can get back to their other job responsibilities. No longer will a supervisor have to worry about where the sign-in sheet went from yesterday’s safety meeting. All the documentation is digitally uploaded to the cloud and instantly accessible to those who need it.

The organization can ensure compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) safety meeting requirements and eliminate lost paperwork. No longer do organizations need file folders full of sign-in sheets with, unfortunately, illegible signatures. Digital records are easily accessible and filtered by date, project, topic, etc. in order to streamline the process of retrieving data.

All of these things save time, effort, and increases compliance, which ultimately translates to reduced costs.

If your organization is ready to make the transition from paper to digital, contact your Client Technology Coordinator for more information about Rancho Mesa’s proprietary SafetyOne™ mobile app and website.