The Importance of Good Document Management And How To Do It Well

“Sharon? Where is the old tender document that we did for The City? This new RFP I got is almost exactly the same. I can’t find the old one and I really don’t feel like wasting time starting from scratch. Do you know where it is on the server?”

If you’re lucky and your organisation has invested in a solid document management system, chances are, Sharon will know exactly where to find the old documents. If not, the chances are Sharon won’t and you will have to spend 3 whole working days recreating a document you know exists, somewhere, you just can’t find it.

Yes, the way in which your organisation manages its documents can have a real impact on your bottom line. In fact, a McKinsey report states that employees spend a staggering 1.8 hours every day (around 9.3 hours per week on average) searching for and gathering information. And almost 20% of the business time – the equivalent of one day per working week – is wasted by employees searching for information to do their job effectively.

A good document management system changes all of that because it should allow for easy and almost instant retrieval of documents you require for your business. This means saved time that would have been wasted on either recreating or searching for the documents in question (and we all know time is money). A good document management system also probably improves the mental well being of your staff. We can’t prove it, but we can bet you, people will be a lot less frustrated at work when they can find what they need, when they need it. Further benefits of working with a trusted document management system, like the solutions offered by The Document Warehouse, include improved accuracy and efficiency in the office. What business doesn’t need that?

The “how to” part of creating a robust document management system is a bit more complex, since there are so many ways to go about it. Experts agree that it’s worthwhile in some cases to invest in an onsite and offsite filing system that protects hard and soft copies of your important information assets to make sure you are covered. However, the general characteristics of a great document management system are as follows:

1. It’s Universal – online filing systems need to be format agnostic and able to operate on any document type your organisation favours.
2. It’s Scalable – the document archive storage and other functionalities need to grow with you and should not be redundant once you reach a certain size or capacity.
3. It Should Be Secure – your information assets are the most important in your business. A good document management system will ensure they’re safe and secure, whether physically stored or in the cloud.
4. It Should Be Simple – staff at all levels should be able to work within the system and the filing protocols should be easy to understand and follow.

If you need help setting up a good document management system for your business, look no further than the experts at The Document Warehouse for all of your onsite and offsite filing needs.