I know it is becoming tedious referencing any change in the way we operate our businesses back to the lockdown, but hey, at the end of the day, we are certain to be stuck in this low-touch economy for some time to come, so why not!
Whilst employees may be transitioning back to work, I really don’t think they are going to be in a rush to welcome service providers back into their environments, so we can only assume this will apply to B-BBEE consulting and scorecard verification as well. And so it should. Really, the days of driving to a client to collect files, conduct interviews and review evidence are so over.
It is encouraging to see that some verification agencies are using 3rd party solutions to, at the very least, digitise the submission of data and evidence.
Companies embracing digital B-BBEE compliance management want more. They want their data, scorecards and evidence all in one place, safe and secure. They want their data, scorecards and evidence to be seamlessly transferred to their VA, and they want consistency in the interpretation of B-BBEE calculations. They want to alleviate the tedious process of re-submitting data or evidence throughout the verification process.
Some verification agencies are now giving their clients free access to a B-BBEE compliance management system to prepare for their scorecard verification. This way, the verification agency receives data, scorecards and evidence via a single, secure app, and the VA gets to deliver a really compelling value proposition for their clients, that will no doubt return each year for a similar experience.
The problem is, most solutions used by, or developed by verification agencies don’t allow for a true digital experience, but if this is the way the world is moving, why wait to be disrupted when you can be the one disrupting?
Mpowered acknowledges some VAs are content using spreadsheet solutions, so we have introduced the Mpowered Digital Audit Partner program. The program limits the anxiety and disruption of a VA switching to a digital, cloud-based back office solution. And, it offers a gentle start towards a journey of digitisation for delivering a better customer value proposition. Because after all, it’s all about the client, isn’t it?
Author – Bruce Rowe, 15 June 2020