7 Steps for Designing a Solid Document Management Policy

There is no middle point in life; you either admire or despise something. The same thing applies to the organization of documents. Whether you have been tagged a rough or smooth person, one thing stands out, and that is the setting up of your business venture with a plan for the management of document which will save you the headache of cost, and it will reduce time wasting.

Experts have described document management as an important requirement for business ventures. Some of the widely acknowledged benefits of having a document management system include:

  • Easy accessibility of data
  • Reduced costs of operation
  • Lowers the risk of being sued
  • It also serves as a means of safeguarding important information.

It is highly recommended that your organisation make use of document management system. Having this system saves your business from a lot of risks and improves the productivity of your organisation.

However, with all the attempts at ensuring business ventures transition into the usage of document management, small businesses still find it very difficult to carry out their operations without the use of paper.

When many are about to transition into this new system, they tend to find it difficult; they are lost on how and where to begin the document management system. This article has taken out time to show ways to go paperless. Below are steps to follow to guide in the organisation of your workplace.

STEP 1 – PICK A POINT PERSON

Look for the most organised individual at your place of work to be the point person. These type of people breathe organisation; however, the need for you to collaborate with them to get a firm grasp of how things are and work in the section where you work. Such is life; one man’s food is another man’s poison. What others find challenging, some do it for fun. The Huff Post has some useful notes on this point which will give you some ideas.

STEP 2 – OBSERVE & EVALUATE

You should carefully study the workers at your place of work. Monitor and take cognisance of the time it takes for employees to look for documents and data needed to execute their functions effectively.

It is possible that not having a document management system in place, a lot of time will be consumed looking for information that could have been found easily had it documents were organised. It is for this reason, business ventures make use of client software portal. This portal not only allows business ventures to share information with their clients, it also provides opportunity for employees to have a central system for document keeping. The organization is different from having a cabinet to store files.

STEP 3 – IDENTIFY DOCUMENTS AND WORKFLOW

Make a detailed list of the various forms of documents made use of at your workplace. Review how often the document will be used, the space needed to save the documents and which documents needs to be trashed or stored. At this stage, it is worthy to point out that are different types of documents that must be torn completely and not trashed.  It is advisable to make use of a client software portal to organise your work documents and thus making it easy for your clients to have access to it.

STEP 4 – STRATEGIZE!

This is the stage where the person picked for his/her organisational skills comes into the limelight. Collaborate on how to store documents, where to store documents, who will be responsible for filing and archiving documents and time for organising documents. It should be noted some companies now employ people based on their organisational skills and knowledge of client software portal.

Considering all the factors listed above, choose the perfect filing position for different documents.  You should get familiar with the guidelines relating to your business to determine documents that need to be stored and trashed.

STEP 5 – IMPLEMENT

Begin the process in a section of the company, compile a list of things needed such as cabinets, and folders. Having put all these things into place, the next thing is to set up the filing system and switch all new and old files into the new system.  In recent times, business ventures make use of client portal software as a result of its advantages of mobility, and easy access to information. Client portal software also aids in streamlining the communication

Hence, using this method, this is the perfect situation for you to trash out documents you no longer need and set up a date with the company responsible for shedding your office document.

STEP 6 – TRAINING & TWEAKING

Indeed getting everyone used to this new system and making use of it regularly will take a little bit of time. Inform your workers to jot down information they find useful and things that need improvement. With a functioning system, recreating the final system thought-out the company is the next thing to do.

STEP 7 – MAINTAIN

Adhering to the document management system you make use of, regularly verify plan to know whether others are using the system, to determine whether you need more or less space and also determine whether it is time to archive or safely trash documents. 

Conclusion

Setting up a document management system will assist you in abiding by the guidelines and laws relating to the information of your employees and will also save you the stress of wasting time by providing data needed easily and removing the trash. A management document system will also introduce and get you familiar with the world of client portal software to enhance data sharing also with your customers.

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