It’s no secret that record management inefficiencies can have a detrimental effect on overall productivity within the organization.
People having to waste time to retrieve the data required to do their job is far from optimal. Such inefficiencies can disturb many processes and lead to slowdowns, bottlenecks and problems with customer service quality.
A move towards digital document management provides an opportunity to overcome these challenges. Forrester research on the adoption of digital documents suggests these reduce business risks, open new revenue generation opportunities and guarantee overall business resilience.
How exactly does that happen? Here are some of the key ways in which digital document management can have a very positive effect on productivity?
Improved Indexing and Faster Retrieval
A paper-based archive needs to have an exceptional structure in order to ensure the relatively easy retrieval of information. The system should be based on labels and document grouping that makes sense both for a department and for everyone else in the enterprise.
Digital document management eliminates such complexities.
When a document management system is chosen, standard indexing protocols can be entered. This way, employees will make sure that every single file has the same attributes as all other parts of the archive.
A standardized indexing solution makes retrieval effortless. The entry of the right keywords or other attributes linked to the respective file will completely eliminate the risk of mistakes.
Reduced Logistical Management Complexities
The problem with paper-based archives is that they grow as the organization expands. When paper piles up, management will require a significantly bigger number of man hours. The simple fact everyone will be dealing with lots and lots of files creates complexities that simply don’t need to exist in 2022.
Through digital document management, you’ll get rid of the challenges that stem from the size of the archive.
It’s really not important how many documents are featured.
The structure of a digital archive can expand indefinitely. This doesn’t have an effect on retrieval, management and sorting.
Once all paper-based documents are properly scanned, the enterprise can move towards completely digitized management. New entries are created in a digital format and often – added automatically to the archive. So, once the initial digitization is taken care of, the logistical burden is reduced significantly.
Easy Collaboration
Is collaboration important for enhanced productivity? Very! Luckily, digital document management makes collaboration within the enterprise and with third parties much easier than ever before.
Why is collaboration so crucial? It leads to better understanding of key processes and faster decision making. In fact, miscommunication has been established to cost businesses the staggering amount of 37 billion dollars per year.
Digital documents are easier to share, modify and collaborate on. When people are viewing the same information and working on the latest version of a file, the risk of communication errors goes down.
Less Clutter with Digital Document Management
This one may seem insignificant but it really isn’t.
Workspace environment affects just about every aspect of a business process. It’s easy to see how it can affect employee health, especially if the environment doesn’t meet safety standards. But there’s a more subtle negative effect that is just as bad.
Offices that aren’t properly organized and welcoming can take a toll on mental health.
One particular issue is clutter. And clutter is a common problem in offices that are heavily dependent on paper-based documentation.
Cluttered workspaces have been known to cause anxiety and to reduce productivity. There are several reasons why. Clutter curbs productivity. It’s also distracting and it can significantly slow people down. According to Harvard Business Review, our immediate environment affects everything – from mood to cognition.
So, a simple switch to digital document management helps create a more organized and pleasant work environment. People who enjoy their workspace and feel motivated to come to the office every single day are definitely going to do a much better job than the ones that dread the start of the new day.
Digital Document Management Leads to Improved Compliance
Guaranteeing archive compliance is another task that may take up a lot of time workers will otherwise dedicate to more strategic activities.
Guaranteeing document compliance with a paper-based archive isn’t easy. That’s because retention schedules differ for each type of document. Someone will have to be heavily involved in reviewing the archive frequently and making sure that a retention schedule is being followed.
With digital document management, a lot of compliance tasks can be automated. It’s easy to set a retention schedule that the software will be responsible for enforcing. Once a certain document is no longer required, it will simply be purged from the archive.
Productivity and business success go hand in hand. Companies that invest in enhanced productivity and strategic development are the ones that will thrive in the long run. Something as simple as the adoption of digital documents can have a vast effect. While these are a few of the ways in which such a switch impacts productivity, the benefits mentioned are definitely not the only ones.