Poor business records management can have profound negative effects. Very often, paper-intensive and clumsy processes contribute to customer service issues that most clients are not willing to put up with.
Deloitte research on the topic, for example, suggests that paper-intensive processes and poor record management lead to serious queuing time (over 20 minutes for 25 percent of financial services clients), multiple requests for the submission of necessary documents for service provision and overall poor customer service.
Is your company suffering from the very same issues?
Business records management issues are fairly easy to spot and diagnose. Here are some of the most common signs of ineffective processes that are costing your company both time and money.
Financial Losses
Did you know that time wasted on record management challenges cost companies approximately 20,000 dollars per year?
Document management challenges reduce employee productivity by over 21 percent, which will obviously translate into financial losses and missed opportunities.
Not only that, customer service quality will also suffer. As already mentioned in the introduction, poor business records management leads to services that fail meeting client expectations. And when this happens, revenue can be anticipated to go down due to lost business.
If you’re dealing with inexplicable wasted time and financial losses, you may want to review the manner in which data is handled, recorded and stored within the organization. Chances are that you’ll pinpoint some weaknesses that are fairly simple to eliminate.
Lost Files and Errors
Poor business records management makes it very difficult for workers to retrieve the information that they’re looking for in order to do their job.
This is especially true for paper-intensive processes. In such instances, document misplacement and losses are incredibly common.
Digital and cloud-based solutions are cost-effective and tailored to the needs of various businesses. You shouldn’t hesitate to explore such possibilities, especially if you’re already experiencing some of the issues already mentioned.
Dealing with such issues is a pity, especially when taking into consideration how easy the switch is.
Better, digitized document management starts with professional scanning, followed by the selection of online document storage. When these steps are completed, a digital archive will be easy to organize and make readily accessible.
Lost documents can lead to serious procedural errors and slowdowns. Again, your productivity will go down and customer service quality will suffer.
Difficulties in Processing Paperwork
If you have huge stacks of paper that employees are struggling with in terms of processing, chances are that you’re failing in the realm of business records management.
Manual processes than don’t employ the right automated workflows demand a lot of manpower to be completed. They take away from the ability of knowledge workers to focus on more strategic aspects of getting their job done.
Noticing document management bottlenecks and an inability to handle the daily work volume is indicative of a seriously outdated process that’s not in line with your business or the capabilities of your employees.
Business Records Management Problems Cause Collaboration Issues
Studies performed over the past few years show one and the same thing – collaboration is one of the biggest essentials for optimized workplace performance.
Needless to say, paper-based processes and inefficient record management both contribute to collaboration difficulties.
Making the switch to a cloud-based document management solution makes it incredibly easy to ensure collaboration between departments. In addition, such solutions improve communication with contractors, business partners, vendors and clients.
Tons of Space Required for Document Storage
If half of your office space is dedicated to your archive, chances are that you’re dealing with poor business records management.
Office space is both scarce and expensive. You don’t want to have filing cabinets lining the hallways and dominating the workspace.
It’s time to start thinking about digitization and going paperless. While achieving a 100 percent paperless office may not be feasible for your business at the time being, you can at least reduce the incoming documentation and minimize the amount of space required for record maintenance.
Compliance Issues, Failed Audits, and Fines
This is where issues start getting serious.
Record management isn’t just important for getting your job done. As a business owner, you’re legally obliged to maintain meticulous documentation about many aspects of running your company.
Businesses often have to handle audits that inspect their record maintenance compliance.
If your record management processes are inefficient and you’re dealing with lost or misplaced paperwork, chances are that you’ll face compliance issues. These can often be costly, as the failure to meet regulatory requirements could lead to hefty fines and other kinds of penalties.
Improving Business Records Management Is a Simple Task!
You don’t have to rely on inertia moving forward. Making a conscious switch to modern and effective record management is going to bring an array of benefits to the table. In addition, contemporary solutions are so intuitive that business processes will not be disturbed during the switch.
What matters is exploring the opportunities and discovering the one that addresses all of your record management needs. Scalable and flexible tools do exist. You simply need to compare them side by side, in order to pinpoint the one that makes the most sense in terms of your operations.