So much time in business can be lost by searching for documents and files that are misplaced or not easily accessible. If you are managing a team, whether large or small, you probably don’t want your workers wasting time fussing with file mismanagement.
In this blog, you will learn how to create an effective file management plan with various steps and tools.
How Information Overwhelm Negatively Impacts Businesses
For busy workers, documents can end up being a bane rather than a boon. If a document is received from a coworker or client, without a proper document management system, that piece of paper could just be placed randomly in a drawer or the electronic file or lost somewhere in the bowels of cyberspace.
Overtime, these wayward documents can build up, and that means clutter happens. Both electronic and physical clutter causes problems. The more clutter, the more time is wasted looking for things rather than just getting business done. A more proactive and organized approach can reduce clutter and improve file management to make doing business so much easier.
If you consider the time potentially wasted on lost or misplaced files, you might end up saving your company thousands of dollars, if not more, by instituting robust document management solutions to handle this growing problem.
Tips on Improving File Management
There are two main areas to improve file management in business. One is to improve personal habits and the other is to institute proper workflows and systems. For the latter, the best place to begin is to create a document management plan.
Improving Personal File Management Habits
You can encourage employees to have better personal file management habits. These habits can include file management tips such as:
- Only saving necessary documents
- Using consistent file naming mechanisms
- Storing related documents together
- Keeping past work separated from current work
However, these habits become even easier with the right systems.
Establishing a Document Management Strategy
Setting up an official document management strategy can make a huge difference with your file management. First, you should assess your document usage and needs. This should include a review of any current workflows and processes, file storage and retrieval, and regulatory requirements, as well as any templates, style guides, or document requirements.
An important part to pay attention to in your assessment is what your team needs in terms of document sharing, editing, and review. For some small businesses, perhaps only one person is handling a document at a time, and sharing might not be as important.
But for many growing businesses and organizations, multiple people might be sharing documents back and forth, providing collaboration and editing suggestions. In these cases, the document management strategy needs to account for collaboration and sharing.
Points to consider in your document management strategy include:
- Whether documents will be entirely digitized or kept in physical format, and if so, where
- How documents will be named and categorized
- Any governmental regulations that must be abided by (such as HIPAA)
- Rules and guidelines for sharing and securing documents
- Security plans to make sure files are kept safe and private
- Processes for archiving and/or destroying old documents
For the Best File Management: Use Document Management Solutions
One of the best ways to improve business workflows for file management is to use a document management solution. A strong document management solution will incorporate both onsite and cloud-based access with secure access controls.
Best-in-class document management solutions that supercharge collaboration are exceedingly helpful for businesses. Teammates should be able to share documents, provide feedback and make edits without having to worry about losing the initial document or having desperate copies floating around that are hard to track down.
The right technology can vastly improve your file management workflows. This is where a document management solution can be essential for a growing business.
Improve Your File Management With Document Management Solutions
One of the best ways to improve file management and associated workflows is through a document management solution. Doing Better Business can help with our tested and proven expertise in document management systems. We work with businesses and organizations of various sizes and challenges, and we will customize a solution to meet your particular needs. Establishing strong document workflows can save your business time and money in the short and long term, so get started today with a consultation.
Doing Better Business has the expertise in document management to significantly boost your business productivity. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and find out how we can help with the best in technology solutions.