At Informa, we’re excited to share how artificial intelligence is transforming the way organizations manage and respond to handwritten feedback—bringing efficiency, accuracy, and intelligence to a previously manual process.
One of our clients, a major player in the healthcare space, receives tens of thousands of paper surveys each month. These surveys include standard rating questions ("Rank on a scale of 1 to 5") as well as a “Comments” section where patients provide handwritten feedback about their experiences.
While the ratings were easy to digitize, the handwritten comments were a different story. Previously, staff had to manually transcribe these notes into their CRM system—a time-consuming and costly process prone to human variability.
The Solution: AI-Powered Handwriting Recognition and Sentiment Analysis
Enter AI-based handwriting recognition.
Recent advancements in this technology now allow for handwritten responses to be electronically transcribed with accuracy rates that exceed human transcription. For our client, this meant automating the transcription process, significantly reducing operational costs and boosting consistency.
But we didn’t stop there.
Using AI-powered sentiment analysis, the system now automatically evaluates the emotional tone of each comment. From there, actionable tasks are generated—allowing the client to proactively respond to feedback in real time.
The Result: Better Outcomes, Lower Costs
By integrating AI handwriting recognition and sentiment analysis, the client was able to:
Real AI. Real Results.
This is just one example of how Informa is leveraging real-world AI to create meaningful impact for our customers.
Want to learn how we can put AI to work for you? Click the button below or email us directly. We’d love to start the conversation.
Is your school district stuck in the slow lane? Fragmented data, manual workflows, and outdated systems are dragging down performance, wasting resources, and ultimately hurting student outcomes. You're not alone. Our research shows these are common problems facing districts across the country. The good news? There's a solution.
These challenges cripple performance, inflate costs, and ultimately impact student outcomes. Decreased staff productivity, hampered decision-making, and slow data access impede overall effectiveness. Redundant tasks, paper-based processes, and outdated systems drain resources. Delays in interventions and data-driven support potentially affect student achievement and personalized learning.
This is not a distant threat; it's happening right now. Every day these issues persist, districts’ and students' potential remains untapped, valuable resources are wasted, and opportunities for improvement slip away.
Imagine a single, integrated platform that:
Investing in a unified technology platform is not just an expense; it's an investment in your district's future. The benefits are multifaceted:
Investing in a centralized platform isn't just an upgrade; it's a commitment to optimizing performance, maximizing resources, and ultimately, empowering students to reach their full potential.
In the intricate world of education systems, the relentless paperwork around purchase requisitions, PO requests, check requests, and invoice processing can feel like a never-ending jungle. Today, we’ll explore a pragmatic journey inspired by the stories of other school districts, like Palm Beach County Schools, steering through the challenges and rediscovering the true focus: education.
Picture your AP team engrossed in the manual jungle of invoice data, researching issues, and lengthy back-and-forths. It's not just a local woe; both vendors and buyers share the consequences of this struggle. So, what can you do?
Palm Beach County, Seminole County, and Walton County Schools have all walked the talk. We’ll give you a couple of examples:
The Palm Beach County Schools case study isn’t a show-off; it’s a nod to the power of districts finding practical relief in an invoice processing and accounts payable automation solution (see case study) where we now have technology to read/OCR an invoice (Paper or electronic image/PDF) and automatically extract the appropriate information from it (Invoice #, PO #, Date, Dollar Amount and line item details if required) and then kick off a workflow process or match the invoice to the PO and then update their accounting system or ERP. This eliminates manual data entry and labor costs, speeds up the overall process, and helps them to avoid mistakes.
Two different school systems in Georgia, are another example: there we’ve taken paper forms or PDFs and converted them to eForms and have related workflows behind them that automate the process, interact with other back-end systems (Accounting/Finance) and then archive it for future storage and retrieval.
The users access the forms in a form library within a browser/portal to kick off the process, and include financial, personnel, contracts, and new hire forms), such as:
Financial:
Personnel:
Contracts:
New Hires:
As we navigate our everyday paperwork chaos, let’s not think of tech solutions as an ad but as practical tools to help you tackle your district’s unique challenges in an efficient and cost-effective way. It’s about finding a breath of fresh air amidst the paperwork turmoil and getting the support you and your team need to steer toward a reality where education is the focal point, and not just a byproduct of never-ending administrative tasks.
Interested in learning how we can support your school system?
Navigating the ever-changing tech waters can feel like a high-stakes adventure, especially when you're dealing with the complexities of document management. As a CTO, you've likely grappled with a few nautical nightmares:
1. Resource Drought: The dread of lacking the internal manpower to execute a seamless integration journey.
2. Complexity Storms: Navigating the turbulent waters of integration complexities without a seasoned guide.
3. Risk Reef: Worrying about potential disruptions and bottlenecks that could steer your business off course.
Hold tight, brave captain of technology, because expert integration support is your compass to guide you through these choppy waters!
Picture this: you're at the helm, steering your ship, and an experienced navigator appears by your side, guiding you through every twist and turn. That's the power of external integration support. By enlisting the aid of experts, you're embarking on a voyage that not only guarantees a safe journey but also promises to uncover hidden treasures along the way.
Are you sailing on the high seas of inefficiency, wasting precious time and resources trying to navigate integration complexities? External support comes to the rescue, turning your skeleton crew into a powerhouse team of integration virtuosos.
With experts at your side, you can expect streamlined workflows that rival the precision of a Swiss watch. Say goodbye to the days of lost documents and hello to an era of seamless document processing that frees you up to focus on charting your business course.
Integration challenges can feel like a tempest that threatens to capsize your ship. But with external support, you're gaining a crew of skilled sailors who know these waters like the back of their hand.
From system compatibility to data synchronization, the experts have seen it all. They'll help you navigate through the stormy seas of complexity, ensuring your integration journey is smooth sailing from start to finish.
Ahoy, risk-averse sailors! Worried about hidden reefs that could shatter your integration dreams? Expert integration support is your trusty treasure map, guiding you away from potential pitfalls.
Our seasoned navigators have encountered treacherous waters before and know how to steer clear of disruptions. With their guidance, you can be confident that your integration voyage will reach its destination safely, with minimal risks and maximum rewards.
Now, you might be wondering, "Okay, but how does expert integration support truly steer my ship towards business success?"
External support bolsters your team with the expertise needed to execute a flawless integration. You'll witness a boost in productivity and efficiency, without straining your internal resources.
Say goodbye to sleepless nights spent worrying about integration hiccups. With experts by your side, you can confidently navigate through the complexities, ensuring a seamless and stress-free journey.
Time is money, and expert support accelerates your integration timeline. This means quicker returns on your investment, as your business reaps the benefits of enhanced efficiency and streamlined processes.
It's time to hoist your sails and embark on a journey of business brilliance. Expert integration support is your ticket to sailing through the integration storm with confidence and precision.
With boosted efficiency, conquered complexities, and minimized risks, you're not just steering your ship – you're navigating it towards the harbor of success. Embrace the magic of external support, and help your business achieve new heights of efficiency and prosperity! ⚓?
Are you ready to revolutionize your business operations and unlock the path to success?
It's time to bid farewell to tedious paper-based processes and embrace integrated, end-to-end automation. We know closing loans remotely, quickly, and effectively while reducing errors is the ultimate goal, and we have just the solution for you.
Join us as we dive into five paper-based processes totally worth automating, and discover how this transformative shift can bring better business results. Let's get started!
Processing loan applications can be a daunting task, filled with paperwork and manual data entry. Automating this process eliminates the need for physical documents and enables the seamless flow of information. By leveraging intelligent data capture systems, you can extract key data points, verify applicant information, and accelerate the approval process. Say goodbye to mountains of paperwork and hello to a streamlined loan application journey!
Verifying documents manually is time-consuming and prone to errors. Embrace automation by utilizing document verification tools that employ optical character recognition (OCR) technology. These tools can extract relevant information from documents, cross-reference it with existing databases, and flag any discrepancies. With automated document verification, you can ensure accurate and swift processing, minimizing the risk of errors and ensuring compliance.
Determining the creditworthiness of loan applicants is a critical step in the lending process. Automate credit scoring using advanced multi-source data analytics that provide answers in minutes! These tools can help you analyze vast amounts of data, including credit history, financial records, and market trends, to generate accurate credit scores. By automating credit scoring, you can make informed lending decisions quickly, minimizing manual effort and increasing efficiency.
Navigating the complex landscape of compliance regulations can be a challenge. Automate compliance management using dedicated software that monitors regulatory changes, updates policies, and performs real-time compliance checks. This ensures that your loan processes adhere to industry regulations and mitigates the risk of penalties or legal issues. By automating compliance management, you can stay ahead of the game and focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Gaining actionable insights from heaps of data is no small feat. Automate your reporting and analytics processes using business intelligence tools that can integrate to the systems your business already has. This will help you aggregate, analyze, and visualize data in real-time, providing valuable insights into loan performance, customer behavior, and market trends. By harnessing the power of integrated reporting and analytics, you can make data-driven decisions, identify opportunities for improvement, and drive business growth in minutes!
And there you have it: automate these five paper-based processes and you’re on your way to success.
Let the revolution begin!
In today's fast-paced world, where speed and accuracy rule the roost, digital loan closings have emerged as a game-changer in the consumer lending industry.
And yes, we understand the challenges you face when unraveling the mysteries of closing loans digitally, so buckle up as we guide you through the trickiest part of the loan processing process and equip you with the skills to ace it. Are you ready? Let's dive in and crack the code of digital loan closings!
The Challenge: Quick, Effective, and Error-Free Digital Closings
Closing loans digitally presents its own unique set of challenges. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the process remains swift, effective, and error-free. When you're operating in the digital realm, the key is to embrace innovative tools and techniques that streamline the process, eliminate bottlenecks, and minimize the risk of errors.
Say goodbye to mountains of paperwork! Digital document management systems are your trusty sidekicks in the battle against administrative chaos. These platforms provide a centralized hub for storing, organizing, and sharing loan documents. They enable you to track document progress, flag missing pieces, and ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page. By harnessing the power of digital document management, you can bid adieu to paper-based headaches and soar towards error-free closings.
In the digital realm, automation is your superpower. Embrace workflow automation tools that help you streamline repetitive tasks, such as data entry, compliance checks, and document verification. These tools not only save time but also reduce the risk of human error. By automating routine processes, you can redirect your focus towards value-added tasks and deliver faster, more accurate loan closings.
Compliance officers, assemble! Compliance is the bedrock of the lending industry, and digital loan closings demand extra vigilance. Equip yourself with powerful compliance tools that integrate real-time monitoring and flag any discrepancies or potential red flags. These tools are your trusted sidekicks in battling fraud, ensuring regulatory compliance, and maintaining the integrity of the lending process.
In a digital world, effective communication holds the key to success. Embrace collaboration and communication tools that enable seamless interaction among all parties involved in the loan closing process. Whether it's video conferencing, instant messaging, or project management platforms, leverage technology to foster real-time communication and swift decision-making. Remember, clear and timely communication is the secret sauce that keeps the wheels turning smoothly.
In the digital universe, collaboration and training are your dynamic duo. Encourage collaboration among team members through virtual workspaces, shared document repositories, and online forums. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning, where loan officers, processors, and compliance officers can exchange insights and stay up-to-date with industry trends. By leveraging the power of collaboration and training, you'll be well-equipped to tackle any challenges that come your way.
So, congratulations to all you, digital lending heroes! You've unlocked the secrets to successful digital loan closings. By embracing digital tools, optimizing communication, leveraging automation, and prioritizing compliance, you can conquer the trickiest part of the loan processing process.
Remember, you are the architects of a new era in consumer lending, where loans can be closed digitally, quickly, effectively, and with minimal errors. So, put on your digital capes, harness the power of technology, and soar towards a future of seamless loan closings!
Stay digital, stay awesome!
In the fast-paced digital era, successful consumer lending companies are embracing a transformative shift to meet the needs of the modern borrower. By combining innovation, empathy, and efficiency, these lenders are revolutionizing the borrowing experience. In this blog post, we will explore how consumer lending firms are redesigning their processes, leveraging technology, and adopting customer-centric approaches to create a seamless and empowering lending journey for borrowers, and sustained business success for themselves.
So, how do you actually begin to drive this change and align your business to the modern borrower?
To redesign consumer lending, it is crucial to empathize with the borrower's journey. Lenders are investing in comprehensive research to gain insights into borrowers' pain points, preferences, and needs. By understanding the challenges borrowers face and their expectations, lenders can tailor their processes and offerings accordingly, enhancing the overall borrowing experience.
Digital transformation lies at the core of redesigning consumer lending. Lenders are leveraging advanced technologies to streamline their operations. By digitizing processes, borrowers can access loan applications, submit documentation, and track their progress conveniently through user-friendly online platforms and mobile applications.
Recognizing that borrowers have diverse financial needs, consumer lending firms are moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches. Through advanced data analytics, alternative credit scoring models, and easy-to-use complex calculation engines, lenders can personalize loan offerings based on borrowers' unique circumstances. This inclusive approach allows lenders to extend credit to individuals with limited credit histories or unconventional financial profiles, catering to a broader range of borrowers.
Cumbersome documentation requirements have been a longstanding pain point in consumer lending. To address this, lenders are adopting mobile-enabled document submissions. Borrowers can capture and submit necessary documents directly from their smartphones, eliminating the need for manual paperwork and physical visits. This simplification not only enhances convenience but also expedites the loan approval process.
Redesigning consumer lending involves fostering transparent and proactive communication channels. Lenders are leveraging technology to provide instant and personalized information and support to borrowers. Through these platforms, lenders can access accurate information in real time, and borrowers can receive prompt responses to their queries, receive updates on their loan applications, and gain access to financial advice throughout their lending journey.
Data is a valuable asset for consumer lending companies. By harnessing the power of data analytics, lenders can gain insights into customer behavior, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. By leveraging predictive analytics, lenders can proactively identify potential defaults, optimize pricing strategies, and create tailored loan products that meet the unique needs of individual customers.
In an era of increasing cybersecurity concerns, building trust and ensuring data security are paramount. Lenders are prioritizing robust security measures, complying with regulations, and communicating their privacy policies clearly. By adopting secure digital document storage and vaulting systems, and providing borrowers with transparent processes, and ethical data handling practices, lenders can foster trust and instill confidence in their borrowers.
By redesigning consumer lending with a focus on customer needs and business efficiency, lenders are revolutionizing the landscape. Through digital transformation, personalized offerings, simplified documentation processes, enhanced communication, and a strong commitment to trust and security, lenders are creating new rules of success. This is a market we know and are familiar with: our software solutions enable lenders to capture and analyze vast amounts of data, providing actionable intelligence for risk assessment, fraud detection, and personalized lending offers.
As consumer lending continues to evolve, it is a combination of empathy, trust, and efficiency that will define success and drive the industry forward.
How customized software solutions can help you grow
Running a business is tough, especially in today's digital age. With so many options available, it can be daunting having to choose the right software for your business, which is why many often resort to off-the-shelf software for their daily operations… but is this really the best option?
While off-the-shelf software may seem like a convenient and cost-effective solution, the truth is, it may not always meet the unique needs and requirements of your business. Have you ever used software that doesn't quite fit your business processes? Or perhaps you've had to work around software limitations that don't allow you to fully customize the user experience? These are common issues that many businesses face when using standard software… and that is where our tailored software solutions come into play.
The Benefits Of Implementing Customized Software Solutions
Using out-of-the-box software may initially seem like a convenient and cost-effective alternative, when you look a bit more closely, you will find that customized software solutions, specifically tailored to the unique needs and requirements of your business, can bring you a lot of benefits in the long —and not so long— run.
Some of these benefits include:
When solutions are specifically designed to address the unique challenges and processes of your business, they can help you streamline workflows, eliminate redundant processes, and automate repetitive tasks. This results in increased efficiency and productivity. In other words, implementing customized solutions can save you time and resources while helping you avoid engaging external support —or IT— and allowing you to focus on what really matters: growing your business!
Today's customers expect exceptional experiences, and by using customized software solutions, you can deliver a more personalized experience, not to “users”, but to your customers, offering what they need and expect from your company in particular to make them feel special and unique.
Tailor-made solutions are also more scalable and flexible, which means that they can adapt to your changing business needs. You don't have to worry about outgrowing your software or investing in brand new solutions every time your business evolves. Instead, these solutions can be updated and modified to accommodate new features, functionality, and integrations, providing the scalability and flexibility needed to stay ahead of the competition.
And, What About Costs?
While customized software solutions may require higher upfront costs compared to off-the-shelf software, they can provide significant cost savings in the long run. Customized solutions are designed to meet the specific needs of your business, meaning that you don't have to pay for unnecessary features and functionality that you don't need. Additionally, tailor-made solutions can help businesses save time and resources by automating processes and workflows, and reducing the need for manual or external intervention, which can result in significant cost savings in the long run, making this type of customized solutions a lucrative investment for businesses of all sizes.
In conclusion…
In conclusion, adopting customized software solutions is crucial for businesses looking to really improve efficiency and productivity, enhance customer experience, enjoy scalability and flexibility, leverage their competitive advantages, and stand out in an overcrowded market.
Off-the-shelf software may seem like a convenient option at first, but the truth is, it will not always meet the unique needs and requirements of your business. By investing in customized solutions, you can unlock the full potential of technology to streamline processes and achieve business objectives without sacrificing your budget or your growth.
Connect with us to discover what Informa Software can do for you and your business.
Are you struggling with managing complex high-volume calculations like incentive-based compensation or dynamic pricing models? Well, you're not alone. The maxim of ‘change is the only constant’ applies to businesses too, which often experience changes from an HR standpoint (personnel and/or leadership movements) as well as new market conditions, industry regulations and many other factors that affect internal operations… All in all, companies as ‘living organisms’ need to be able to adapt quickly, and anyone in a management position knows this to be an absolute truth.
This is why, after reviewing some of the challenges faced by users and managers, we worked hand in hand with some of our most trusted clients and advisors to come up with an innovative and effective solution of our own; and that’s how Informa’s Incentive Compensation Management System (ICMS) was born.
ICMS is an efficient, low-maintenance, no-code solution with full configurability and security designed to manage complex high-volume calculations, such as incentive-based compensation, pricing models, or sales commissions.
In general, we found that complex incentive calculations take too much time and effort—accurately calculating complex commissions is expensive and complicated. Some of the main challenges we found include:
With full configurability, security, fast and efficient calculations, integration capabilities, and customization features, ICMS does the heavy lifting of complex calculations while offering several unique benefits that help solve the pain points experienced by businesses today.
Featuring drag-and-drop functionality and prebuilt functions and integrations, ICMS puts more problem-solving capabilities into the hands of non-IT business units.
Unlike other solutions that require coding, even for small changes, ICMS is easy to use and maintain, and allows users to make changes and adaptations to their incentive-based compensation programs as easily as managing a calculation sheet and without the need to engage IT or external consultants.
Here is what this means for you:
In today's competitive business landscape, staying ahead of the curve is essential. With ICMS's no-code solution, businesses can easily manage their incentive-based compensation programs without the need for complex coding, expensive IT resources, or external help. The flexibility, scalability, and user-friendly nature of ICMS's platform make it a stand-out option in the market, allowing businesses to make faster, data-driven decisions and improve overall performance.
So, if you work in Sales, Finance, HR or Administrative roles, and you're looking for a solution that offers fast and efficient calculations, full configurability, customization and security, look no further. You’ll definitely love ICMS.
Incentives are natural motivators. Remember when your parents promised you to buy a bike if you got good grades in school? That is a simple example of a performance-based incentive. It gave you a nudge to keep performing at your best. Bottom line: People respond to incentives. This is why most companies adopt something known as incentive compensation. It is the process of compensating employees financially for their exceptional performance.
Here, we’ll take a closer look at what incentive compensation means, see some common challenges that organizations face while managing incentive-based compensation, and review how Informa's Incentive Compensation Management System (ICMS) can help you combat these challenges.
Incentive compensation is a type of pay given to an employee as a reward for achieving specific goals or targets, such as increasing sales or improving productivity. Incentive compensation is often used as a motivator by the leadership to encourage their teams to perform better. Without an incentive, the employee might be less inclined to exceed expectations. There are several ways in which incentive compensation can be structured, including straight commissions, bonuses, prizes, “spiffs,” awards, and recognition.
Managing compensation is a complex and time-consuming task for administrators and sales managers. Either you’re carrying out the entire process manually or dealing with erroneous results resulting in a lack of trust. This means business enablement issues, audit and risk management, lack of detailed reporting, and too much time manually carrying out complex calculations. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
With ICMS, you can easily manage your complex high-volume calculations, such as incentive-based compensation, pricing models, or sales commissions. You’ll save valuable time spent in carrying out complex incentive calculations and get to create unlimited What-if analyses to measure the impact of different scenarios on overall performance and focus efforts accordingly.
Now that you have a fair idea of what incentive compensation management means and its importance in an organization, let’s go through the different challenges in managing incentive-based compensation and how Informa's ICMS helps solve them.
Traditional solutions lack flexibility. Many competitors require coding and technical expertise even for small changes, which can be time-consuming and require additional resources.
ICMS is a user-friendly solution that makes managing and adapting your incentive and compensation programs easy. It is a no-code, low-maintenance solution that can be easily managed, similar to managing a calculation sheet, making it ideal for Excel users. It is customizable and can be tailored to your specific needs, and it is industry and client agnostic, making it more flexible, adaptable, and user-friendly than its competitors. Furthermore, ICMS seamlessly integrates with almost any software you might have already — such as data analytics and CRM — for added flexibility and integration.
Most applications take several hours to process reports, making it difficult to rerun calculations and make adjustments in a timely manner.
ICMS allows you to run calculations in minutes and make adjustments as needed without wasting valuable time waiting for reports to be processed. In addition, ICMS is highly adaptable; it can be configured and adjusted without the need for IT support or external consulting support. This adaptability helps ensure that incentive plans remain adequate and relevant.
One of the biggest challenges in managing incentive compensation is ensuring that the system is auditable and that the calculations are accurate and reliable.
ICMS provides a full audit trail for accurate and reliable calculations, ensuring compliance and minimizing errors and fraud. It allows organizations to easily track and review calculations, identify errors and provide the necessary confidence, helping organizations to demonstrate compliance and ensure accurate, reliable, and trustworthy calculations.
Most organizations need visibility into how different scenarios and changes will impact overall performance, making it difficult to determine where to focus efforts and adjust the incentive plan.
ICMS provides a fully customizable What-If Analysis to allow users to measure the impact of different scenarios on overall performance and determine where to focus their efforts. This feature will enable managers to make projections for individuals and teams, ensuring proper compensation, preventing frustration, and retaining top talent.
Ensuring the security of sensitive data and the visibility of the generated results is vital for organizations to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.
ICMS addresses security challenges in incentive compensation by providing advanced security features, such as controlling the visibility of results at the user level and encrypting sensitive data within Azure. This ensures that only authorized individuals have access to the results of the calculations and protects sensitive data from unauthorized access or breaches, helping organizations minimize the risk of breaches and unauthorized access.
In conclusion, managing incentive-based compensation can be a real headache for organizations. But with ICMS, it doesn't have to be. ICMS is a powerful and user-friendly solution that makes it easy to manage complex high-volume calculations like incentive-based compensation, pricing models, and sales commissions. With ICMS, you'll have access to many features that make your life easier. You'll be able to run What-If Analysis, make changes quickly with no-code functionality, and integrate with other software you already use. Plus, ICMS is built on Microsoft Azure technology and designed to be client and industry-agnostic so that it will work for you regardless of your industry or client base. So, if you're tired of dealing with the headaches of managing incentive compensation, give ICMS a try. You'll be glad you did!
