As the world slowed to an almost complete halt earlier this year, many organizations faced the reality that they are not properly equipped to complete work outside their physical office building. Employees were scrambling to pull out files, or loading boxes and filing cabinets into their cars with the hope that they got what they needed. Now that we’ve all settled into the “new normal” and have adjusted to working remote, getting back into the office, or somewhere in between, answering the question of “where the heck is that one file” can be a lot easier. And it can be answered with document management.
Giving access to remote employees
One of the most notable benefits of document management is the ability to access files from anytime, anywhere, on any device. Employees can quickly retrieve a file and continue working without hiccups. The solution is built for the web and supports all popular browsers, meaning they can access key documents anywhere, anytime, on any device.
It’s designed to be user friendly, meaning your employees will be able to utilize the system without spending extensive time in training, which is ideal for those who work far from your central office. Enterprise Document Management is made to be versatile, and is designed to work with multiple locations, departments, and devices. Even with its versatility across your organization, it’s extremely secure, allowing for version control and user-based access to ensure that a document doesn’t get into the wrong hands.
Our solution is much more robust than free file-sharing programs, it has full imaging features (scan, separation, OCR), a comprehensive audit trail to track changes, allows for annotations to make updates to the document, retention scheduling to ensure best case evidence and document lifecycle and web viewer control to view all common document formats without needing the native application. All these features promote active communication across departments, offices, and employees.
Reallocating Resources
You may have had to make the decision to reduce your employee headcount by either furloughing or laying off employees. As you begin to rehire furloughed employees or hire new team members, reestablishing roles to not be redundant is especially important. One opportunity to do so is by reevaluating your current document approval process.
Some questions you can consider are, who is involved in your current processes, who receives it, who needs to approve it, what departments does it go through before getting filed away? Are there extra steps that are not necessary, is time wasted sending documents across the office (or mailing them to multiple sites).
Employees that may have been involved with your previous document approval process may no longer need to be with the implementation of a document management solution. Since all documents live within the system and are accessible to be reviewed and approved at any time, those employees can then be delegated to complete more valuable tasks.
Keep your business protected and secure
Security and risk mitigation are top of mind for many executives. Many organizations don’t fully understand the impact of lost data or audits, which can cause them to lose countless hours and a lot of money.
Over 500 major security breaches have occurred so far this year and over 163 MILLION people affected, now more than ever is security of utmost importance. Unlike manual document storage or free file sharing sites, our document management system allows for user-based access as well as a secure database, which means that you don’t have to think about who can see your organization’s important data.
Beyond just potential digital attack, maintaining physical documents puts them at risk of going missing or getting destroyed. If your remote employees are going into the office to retrieve documents then bringing them back home, sensitive information can accidentally be lost.
There’s an antiquated notion that in order for documents to be utilized in a legal or audit situation, they have to be in the original physical document form, which is no longer true. In most scenarios, scanned documents are legally accepted. This means you no longer need to rely on physical documents, which can help further reduce risk or loss of data.
How PiF can help
As a top-recognized document management solution provider, PiF has had over 20 years of experience with providing and implementing document management solutions. Our focus is on building whole-organization solutions using ECM as the jumping off point. We work with your organization to build a solution that fits your individual needs, and our software implementation, training, and support teams help ensure that it’s successful.
Want to learn more about how PiF can help kickstart your document management strategy? Join us for one of our biweekly webinars by registering here.
