Need Help? These Digital Tools Will Help Your Business Survive (and Thrive) in 2022

2021 — one of the most challenging years for businesses around the world and Malaysia — is drawing to a close. But as we approach the festive, end-of-year period, companies are already beginning to plan for 2022, and the challenges that the upcoming year will bring with it. These challenges, of course, are pretty much unprecedented in recent history — the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a drastic rethink of the workplace, HR, and the overall digitalisation of businesses. 

Even now, as workers return to the physical office in line with the National Recovery Plan (NRP) in Malaysia, the importance of digitalisation to businesses cannot be overstated. We’re now moving towards the endemic phase of COVID-19, which consequently means that businesses must continue to stay agile and digital, while adhering to the official guidelines set by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the safety and well-being of employees. 

As such, we’ve compiled a short list of some digital tools that are must-haves for businesses in Malaysia to survive, and thrive throughout 2022 — and beyond.  

Customer Service: Omni Hotline

When companies began to implement work-from-home arrangements back in 2020, one of the obstacles faced by many was maintaining communication channels with customers. However, as the nation (and much of the world) went into lockdown, this became a difficult task to execute, with a lack of hardware and equipment the main cause for concern for customer service teams everywhere. 

To solve this, Omni Hotline is a cloud-based VoIP business phone system that provides all the benefits of a fixed, business landline — from the convenience of your smartphone. This includes landline prefixes for credibility, and even a virtual receptionist to ensure that every customer call is handled with the respect and attention it deserves. 

This cloud-based approach becomes particularly effective when you consider the various lockdown measures implemented across the globe and in Malaysia. Omni Hotline comes with zero required hardware, which means that there is no hassle of installation, no clunky hardware, and generally speaking, it’s very, very simple to install and use. 

Find out more about Omni Hotline here.

Automation: Zapier

In essence, Zapier is an automation tool that is designed to make your — and your team’s — lives easier by seamlessly connecting web applications. By integrating Zapier into your team’s day-to-day workflows, you’ll be able to free up more time for your employees to focus on critical business matters — since they no longer have to worry about repetitive, menial tasks. Plus, automation also saves time compared to manual, human-executed tasks, and you’ll also be able to minimise the risk of human errors in your processes.  

Let’s talk about an example of this. Information can be moved between widely-used web apps such as Gmail, Slack, or Dropbox, so you can use Zapier to automate tasks such as filtering emails by keywords — and then populating this content into a Google Doc or Sheet. You can even link this up with Slack to ensure that you are always updated with real-time notifications, in the most efficient way possible. 

Zapier works with a variety of different apps, too, including CRM and SAP software, so you should be covered for all of your critical business processes. 

HR & Communication: altHR

You also need a HR app to tie everything together — but one that can handle the end-to-end of all HR processes with security and reliability. Enter: altHR, Digi’s HR super app that can handle everything from daily check-ins, all the way to things like leave management, expenses, and other automated HR processes. 

altHR can be broken down into four key areas, ranging from Core HR modules such as the above, to modules designed for Employee Engagement and the Digital Workplace. For the latter, handy features such as the Rostering and Time-Tracking modules play — and will continue to play — a critical role as companies move towards hybrid work models.

With that in mind, altHR has clearly been built from the ground up with a clear intention: to enable businesses to succeed at what they do. Think about it this way: with HR processes and team management handled (and automated), you’ll free up key members of the team to focus on the things that really matter to your business. For example, you’ll even be able to onboard new employees to the team with the Onboarding module — where your new colleague will have easy access to everything that they need from day one. 

All of that, within a mobile app, and one that is used by over 1,500 employees in Digi.