Document management software is very simple in nature, but implementing them into a company’s workflow can sometimes be challenging because stakeholders and managers don’t know where to start.
Here are five tips to help guide you through the process of implementing a digital document management system into your business.
Adopt a digital culture
A company can try to implement all types of digital solutions into the mix, but it will fail if it doesn’t have a digital culture, to begin with. Some businesses have the problem of staff members who refuse to digitise because “that’s not how it was done before.” Stepping into the digital age requires full buy-in.
Galvanise employees enough to excite them about the shift by talking about the benefits that come with a change. Take time to orient and train your team members on the benefits of running a digital document management software to help lessen the learning curve. And don’t forget to give grace when making changes, so no one feels rushed by the change.
Automate business processes
Through the power of business intelligence and computer learning, digital tools can help staff save hours every week by performing repetitive tasks for them. The advantages of business process automation outweigh all the trouble needed to set it up. Some common business processes you can automate include setting automatic reminders for people to check documents on your cloud-based system.
By using document management systems, business employees and entrepreneurs can also get a fully automated overview of documents and their various statuses— whether they’ve been sent, opened, signed, or actioned in any way. This feature can remove the arduous follow-up process, which can steal significant time daily.
Secure documents
A key to creating a sustainable business is by placing the right security measures in place. The reality that all businesses face is that there are people all over the internet eager to get their hands on privileged information that they can use, often to the dismay of the information owner.
When setting up your document management system, decide who gets to access which files and stick to those protocols. It always pays to err on the side of caution when it comes to file management. Make use of role-based access control to determine which departments can access which files to batch the access-granting process. When selecting a digital document management tool, choose one that has encryption and sufficient data validation processes like device approval and so on.
Digitise your document signing process
One revolutionising feature that has risen in recent times is the ability to use document management systems to sign documents digitally. Reports indicate that 45% of companies spend up to one week to get one document signed, delaying operations significantly. With digital document signing software, a company can remove that deadweight time loss and streamline activities significantly.
Business process optimisation strategies like digital document signing processes face a lot of misconceptions, such as the lack of compliance. Truth be told, there are more organisations and governing bodies that accept electronic signatures, more than one thinks. When in doubt, it helps to ask a client or institution if they accept electronic signatures. If they do, then your company is off to the races.
Regularly audit cloud storage
When going over different types of document management software, any company will realise that most if not all of them use a cloud-based storage system. This kind of system makes use of digital storage facilities that give anyone permission to store and download files from virtually anywhere with nothing more than an internet connection.
While cloud-based storage systems are nifty and helpful, they can get cluttered just like any hard drive or filing cabinet. So the same staff and admins might take time regularly— whether it be weekly, monthly, or quarterly (hopefully it isn’t annually!)— the same practice must happen with cloud-based storage systems— archive files based on categories so that it’s easier to pull them out when needed. Most cloud-based systems have been around for years, so you don’t have to worry about companies erasing them without your permission.
Conclusion
There are many other solutions that can help with digital transformation business process management. Using a document management system is but the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a great place to start given that it affects all departments and staff. Everyone uses documents and loses valuable time and attention because of bad document storage and processing practices. Digital documents can help reduce that wastage and ensure that your business stays optimised and keeps growing and thriving for many years to come.
