Document Management Systems. How does yours shape up?

Here are three questions to ask yourself and the answers will tell you if your company’s document management system is up to scratch. Here are also some solutions if it’s not.

Almost every company has a document management system but not every company’s system is effective. Some companies, have a multitude of manual and digitised systems that just aren’t necessarily up to scratch. For whatever reasons, over time, documents end up being stored in every place and format imaginable.

Ok, granted the above is a bit of an exaggeration. The fact remains, however, that most companies’ records management systems aren’t nearly as effective as they can or should be. So how does yours shape up? Ask yourself the following questions to see whether or not you need a document management specialist:

1. Do you have a document manager? If the answer is no, then there is a good chance that you either don’t have a system, or that you had a system but because nobody was managing it, it fell apart. There is no need to hire someone full-time though, if that’s what you’re worried about. There are companies that’ll do this sort of thing for you. They’re called Document Management Solutions Providers.
2. How long does it take for a hard copy document to be retrieved? If it takes anything more than two hours to find a document, then you’ve got a problem. Consider this: there are offsite document storage solutions companies that can have a document on your desk in four hours. They can also have it scanned and mailed to you within two hours. If retrieving a document takes too much time, then you probably don’t have a very effective indexing system and should at least hire a Record Management Consultant to help you create one.
3. How long does it take for obsolete but sensitive documentation to be destroyed? If you have one of those storage rooms that are filled to the brim with documents that should have been destroyed a long time ago, get the experts in now. Doing it yourself won’t guarantee proper destruction, meaning that sensitive information may still be retrieved. Who are the experts? Well, the companies who specialise in offsite document storage usually also specialise in document destruction. So, make enquiries. If you have hard drives that need to be destroyed it’s also a good idea to have these destroyed by the pros. Again, if incorrectly destroyed, sensitive information can still be retrieved from these devices.

At the end of the day secure document storage will save you space and manpower, so it’s definitely something to consider. If offsite storage sounds too risky, at least you will have a proper document management system implemented by hiring a Record Management Consultant.