In the interview with Whitney Bouck, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of HelloSign (Dropbox).

The coronavirus that entered our lives in 2020 has dramatically changed many things. However, it has also accelerated and modernized some aspects – particularly in our working lives. One change in the post-corona work environment is that we print less. Why should we? Who would we hand over printed documents to in the home office? Whitney Bouck, COO of HelloSign – a company under Dropbox – based in San Francisco, explains how traditional, signature-bound, paper-based workflows can be handled digitally. Let’s take a look back at a past dominated by pens and paper and welcome a future that offers many fast and streamlined workflows in a new work reality.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Is the paperless office a vision that became reality last year?

Whitney Bouck: Indeed, in 2020 we finally got the chance to work without paper! Not only for environmental reasons was it welcome that we all printed significantly less in the home office; the desk is now – even Marie Kondo would be proud – wonderfully free of paper clutter and tedious paperwork. Admittedly, there is still a certain loyalty to paper and pen, especially in Germany. But slowly and surely, the DACH market is embracing digital, fast, and secure signature-bound workflows. Before the coronavirus, electronic contract signing was more of a nice tool for quickly reaching legally binding agreements, particularly internationally. However, contactless electronic signatures became indispensable during the crisis. Perhaps simply because we only truly understood the full scope of the possibilities of such tools during the crisis. For example: during March and April 2020, requests for eSignatures via HelloSign tripled compared to the two previous months. A forced digitalization – long discussed in the areas of business, education, and even government authorities – caused this leap. In short, we have come to know and appreciate the benefits of such tools during the coronavirus era and do not want to do without these accelerated, secure workflows in the future either.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: How do you introduce HelloSign to companies that are still hesitant to digitalize their signature process?

Whitney Bouck: It’s so important to understand the customer and find out where they come from. Every company has to sign things—whether it’s NDAs, sales contracts, quotes, work orders, compliance documents, letters of offer, financial documents, and much more. HelloSign was designed to make the entire process simple, fast, and legally secure. For someone hesitant to switch to digital, the first question should be “Why?” If the concern is that digital signing might not be as secure as paper, that’s quite easy to overcome. Paper can easily get lost, altered, can only be in one person’s hands at a time, and moves very slowly from person to person. Electronic signatures overcome all these obstacles and provide a more legally defensible outcome, since every view, signature, and date is tracked in a detailed audit trail. If the hesitation stems from other areas, that’s a different discussion entirely. Then it’s about the value to the business. We can show a company how using HelloSign can increase close rates by up to 25%, reduce signature cycles from weeks to minutes, accelerate time to revenue, and boost efficiency in document-related processes by up to 40%. These are often the compelling arguments that push eSignatures to the top of the priority list. Another reason to choose HelloSign as your electronic signature solution is its accompanying API (Application Programming Interface), which allows HelloSign to be fully embedded into your company’s applications, websites, and workflows—preferably under your own branding and corporate identity.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Digital processes are indeed much faster than paper-based signing processes. Is that correct?

Whitney Bouck: Absolutely! Where paper-based procedures often burden victims for days or even weeks, everything can be completed with just a few clicks using a digital solution via electronic signature. Within minutes, signatures, copies, and filing can all be done. That’s exactly why more and more companies have decided to switch to eSignature solutions over the past year. Just imagine how much time would be freed up for other, more productive tasks!

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: But are digital signatures actually secure?

Whitney Bouck: Digital signatures are just as legally binding as their handwritten counterparts—years ago, the legal foundations were already established with eIDAS and UETA. Concerns about trust and security are unfounded, as many companies already use electronic signatures for all signature-relevant business processes, from employment contracts to certification. They not only offer the advantage of going paperless but also provide transparent insight into the change history through timestamps, giving all contracting parties a comprehensive view that paper simply cannot provide.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Did it take Corona to bring this topic into the focus of local companies?

Whitney Bouck: Unfortunately, I think so. During the various lockdowns, traditional in-person agreements and signatures were not possible, which dramatically accelerated the need for digital transformation worldwide and highlighted how valuable eSignatures are for keeping businesses running. With HelloSign available in 21 languages, we make electronic signatures easily accessible to companies around the world. Companies that do not digitalize their signing and approval processes now will fall behind.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: So you think we no longer need handwritten signatures on paper at all?

Whitney Bouck: I am convinced that once people have experienced electronic signatures, they will never go back to the painful process of printing, signing, and scanning. These eSignature tools are user-friendly, easy to implement, and offer additional benefits—such as the ability to create templates—to make signing processes even more efficient. API interfaces enable integration into existing tools like Salesforce. Comprehensive white-label options ensure the tool blends seamlessly into your own corporate identity, which also builds trust even among the last skeptics.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: How do you continue to make digital signing more widely known?

Whitney Bouck: We continuously highlight the benefits of electronic signatures over pen and paper by sharing the success stories of our customers. We demonstrate the advantages our customers gain by using HelloSign—agreements are signed within hours, not days or weeks.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Could you give us an example that illustrates this simplification and acceleration for us?

Whitney Bouck: You're welcome! Exporo, founded in Hamburg in 2014, is Germany's leading provider of digital real estate investments and currently employs around 200 people. At the outset, Exporo faced the challenge of connecting all internal and external stakeholders on a single platform. A smart workplace was needed—one that brings together all data, documents, tools, and teams in one place to make collaboration as simple, effective, and fast as possible. Success and employee satisfaction, the ability to work remotely, flexible working models, and schedules were the foundation of all considerations. Internally, for example, in onboarding processes, or externally—such as in data exchange with customers and external employees—short communication channels were essential. Time-consuming and costly sending of thousands of paper documents, in short, as many paper-based workflows as possible, were to become a thing of the past. The HelloSign e-signature solution, part of Dropbox, enables uncomplicated and fast digitalization of document processes, which are indispensable in real estate business. For example, over 2,500 signature-required documents from customer management could be sent directly via the Salesforce integration in less than 4 hours. Instead of piling up mountains of signature folders with agreements and contracts on desks, signature-related workflows at Exporo are now handled simply, securely, and more quickly thanks to HelloSign. Among other things, through the consistent replacement of paper-based processes with natively digital business processes and a holistic digital collaboration system that seamlessly supports remote work, Exporo was well-positioned to weather crises and could seamlessly continue its success story despite the pandemic.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Thank you very much for this conversation! May interested readers contact you?

Whitney Bouck: I work in San Francisco with a significant time difference and, as COO, am extremely busy. However, I would like to invite interested parties to contact our local contact person, Max Bastius, who will be happy to get back to you directly!

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: ok. Great. Thank you for the note.