Businesses generate a lot of documents, contracts and other files that must be easily accessed. Without a proper document management plan in place, it may take days or even weeks for employees to locate the information they need. This could have a direct impact on productivity, and could result in loss of revenue opportunities.
Establishing a central repository of documents is the initial step in making a successful document management process. Once the process has been implemented, companies will begin to see improvements in processes and workflows that were affected by prior document issues.
One of the most important aspects of a document management system is having an assigned owner, or someone who is the sole authority to make decisions. Document processes can become ad hoc and non-standardized when there isn’t a responsible person. This can cause frustration and a decrease in efficiency.
A business should also establish standards for the names of folders and document types, and indexing them to ensure their system functions efficiently. This can help prevent the creation of duplicate documents and improve overall document quality.
It is also essential for a company to consider how long it will keep each document before deciding on a retention policy. This is because some documents are required to be kept for legal reasons, whereas others are no longer needed for operational reasons. By determining how long to keep each document, the business can ensure that it is not wasting storage space or wasting valuable time and resources to keep irrelevant or no longer useful information.