File And Document Management In A Business

Short and long term employment contracts, partnership documents, client details, business registration and licensing documents, strategy documents, brand briefs, work copies or documents, financial statements and reports are some of the documents that businesses require for their day to day operations. These documents can be in two forms: soft or hard copy. However, whichever the form, there is need for an efficient managed print services for a variety of reasons.

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Importance of an efficient file and document management system


Business continuity


Employee turnover is a common phenomenon across industries. However, employee turnover should not cripple operations in any organisation. With a proper file and document management system, the organisation will have documents and information that they can use to ease the on boarding process for the new employees. All information on the on-going projects will be readily available such that the new employees can take over without losing too much time.



Ease of access


In this digital age, an efficient document management system enhances fast and easy access twenty four hours a day. What does this mean? Where possible, the system should facilitate the conversion of any hard copy documents into soft copies for ease of access, should have a record of where each document is stored and should allow the users to search for documents using keywords or any other pre-defined criteria. However, it is also important to ensure that the documents are correctly backed up to salvage the situation in the case that the main database is inaccessible or damaged.



Contribution to the bottom line


An efficient document and file management system ensures that the documents and files are managed in an affordable manner. In addition, it ensures preservation of information for as long as necessary and therefore prevents the loss of critical information which could be a costly affair for a business. For example, the loss of proprietary documents is disastrous in two major ways: the documents are expensive to replace and the information contained therein may find its way to the hands of your competitors and therefore erode your competitive advantage in the market. This should not be allowed to happen.



Documentary evidence for legal cases


In some cases, it becomes necessary for the business to defend itself against current or former employees and other stakeholders and in other cases; the business may need to take legal or civil actions against some of their stakeholders. When this happens, having documentary evidence is extremely important as it may help establish the string of actions that triggered the contentious issues or activities. The evidence may also ensure a fast but thorough conclusion of the case as it makes it easier to determine who may be at fault.



Finding an appropriate service provider


What factors should you consider when searching for the most appropriate service provider for managed print services? Their affordability, the allowed number of users, 24 hour accessibility, promotion of collaborative efforts among employees, security of information, proper risk mitigation strategies, automation of some of the processes and compatibility with other business systems are the most critical factors to consider. However, you must also consider the reviews from existing clients in order to get the true picture of what to expect when working with the selected service provider.