An entire year has passed already, showing the world that preparedness for all kinds of emergency scenarios is important.
In the business world, such preparedness can make all the difference between continuous operations and having to take a break in order to adapt.
Over the course of 2020, a digital mailroom has established itself as an invaluable tool for enterprises.
Lots of businesses still receive important documentation in the form of paper copies. If these copies cannot be accessed from a remote location, corporate processes would be burdened or even halted for a period of time.
If you haven’t digitized your mail yet, the time is right to make the switch. Here are several very important considerations you’ll have to go through for successful digital mailroom implementation.
Where Will Your Digitized Mail Go?
Mail scanning should be a part of your overall document digitization strategy.
Getting your mail digitized is one thing. Determining where it will be stored and how it’s going to be accessed later on will be as important.
Some service providers like Scan N More give clients access to their own cloud-based storage solutions. This, however, isn’t always the case.
When creating a digital mailroom, you have to think about supporting software and cloud-based services. The main that gets scanned should be easy to access from any location. Going the cloud is the easiest way to accomplish the goal. Since numerous cloud-based document management and storage systems exist already, however, you should do some research before picking.
Think about Automation
A digital mailroom will give your business many important advantages.
One of the biggest benefits is enhanced efficiency and improved workflow. For the purpose, you should definitely consider some automation options to go with your mail scanning strategy.
The aim of automation is to reduce the work burden on employees and get rid of tedious, repetitive tasks. Such responsibilities usually take up a lot of time without having a tangible effect on the long-term wellbeing of the business.
Before setting up a digital mailroom, you’ll have to conceptualize the ways in which automation would be possible. That scope of functionalities is pretty much dependent on the document management system you’re going to utilize.
Do you have software that can intelligently classify the incoming scans and enhance indexing? How about document retrieval and updating after the mail becomes a part of the digital archive? These are just two examples of functionalities that can be automated. Depending on the size and the complexity of your mail archive, you may want to consider additional possibilities.
Don’t Forget Compliance for Digital Mailroom Setup
Data privacy laws and regulations are very strict and you’ll have to acquaint yourself with those for the successful establishment of a virtual mailroom.
GDPR is one of the newest regulatory frameworks that can have a profound effect on the way you store and access data. If you have clients from European Union countries or your business interacts with entities within the EU, understanding the GDPR privacy compliance essentials will be very important.
In terms of mail scanning, you’ll have to come up with a retention schedule as well as measures aimed at protecting sensitive information. If you don’t know how to accomplish both goals, a professional consultation may come in handy. It’s best to talk to a lawyer who’ll recommend the right steps and safeguards aimed at ensuring virtual mailroom compliance.
Policies on the Management of Physical and Electronic Documents
Once you have the large bulk of your mail scanned and digitized, you’ll need to put together a strategic framework for the future management of digital and physical documents.
The aim of such a strategy is to ensure consistency across the organization. While such consistency is of paramount importance in large enterprises, it can also be very beneficial for small businesses.
Your organization will continue getting multiple types of incoming data in the future. How will those be handled? In the absence of clearly defined protocols, you’ll end up with a hodgepodge of data management approaches.
Make sure all employees are on the same page when it comes to handling incoming mail, getting it digitized, classified and organized within your brand new database. Not only will such practices increase effectiveness, they’ll bring down the risk of costly errors.
A Smart Mailroom Is a Possibility for Every Business
Putting together a smart digital mailroom doesn’t have to be expensive or overly complex.
Focusing on timing, a comprehensive strategy, security and personalization will pay off. Do understand the fact that generic solutions cannot give you the same outcome as business tools that have been tailored to the needs of your business.
Achieving such tailoring does require preliminary work. By doing your homework and finding the right partner to count on, however, you would have handled most of the important tasks in a stellar way.