Companies in every industry have paperwork to deal with, whether it’s hard copies or digital. An effective document management strategy will greatly impact your company’s success. Document management is the process of storing, organizing, and securing documents within an organization.
In a standard office, files and documents can be anywhere. They may be in the filing cabinet, on someone’s desk, their computer desktop, or a shared company hard drive. Without a standardized and centralized organizational system for the company, it can be tricky to navigate the various document storage spaces when a document is needed.
Efficiently managing your documents will be a great benefit to your organization. It will ensure that all of your employees are on the same page, that all documents are securely filed and where they should be, making all work run smoothly. Once you standardize a document management process for your company, you will be able spend your days on important work, instead of wasting time and money going through numerous filing cabinets every time a document is needed.
How can a document management system help?
To combat the challenges that come with a disorganized office, a document management system (DMS) is the best technology to help. A DMS is a computer system or software that will store, organize, and secure digital documents for your organization so that all your manual processes can be streamlined and automated.
A DMS can streamline manual processes with the following features:
- Storage
- Workflow
- File Retrieval
- Searching
- File Versioning
- Customizable Security
- Collaboration Tools
- Electronic Signature
Best Practices for Document Management
Do Your Research
There are many document management systems available. Do your research about the unique features that all systems have and compare them to your business’s needs. Don’t jump at the first one that you find because each system has its own unique advantages.
You may be tempted to go with a free system, but that may not always be the most beneficial for your company. A robust DMS often provides more of the features you need to help your employees be more productive and to focus on their job instead of paperwork.
Familiarize Yourself With the System and Provide Training
After choosing the best DMS for your company, take the time to completely familiarize yourself with it and its capabilities. People often end up disappointed because they are not using the system to its full potential. Don’t let that happen to you.
Make sure everyone who may need to use it even once is familiar with it. If a new hire will need to use the DMS often to do their job properly, educate them about it in their orientation.
Make the Switch Now
As an old Chinese proverb goes, the best time to plant a tree is ten years ago. The second best time is now. That couldn’t be truer with the ease that a DMS will offer you.
Plan for the future and make the switch now. People put off making the switch to a DMS because of the fear of time it takes to implement and onboard. Switching to a DMS is a lot easier than you think and your future self will thank you. Once implemented, you’ll immediately see the benefits technology like this can offer your business and how much time and worry it will save you.
If you’re not sure what DMS will be the best fit for your company, compare Rubex by eFileCabinet to all others. It has everything you need to keep your documents organized and secure, and will let you get back to the work that matters. Schedule a free, personalized demo to see Rubex in action.
