Creating an appropriate solution for managing their document is one of the biggest challenges for any business. Typically, any business will have a lot of documents to deal with on a daily basis. Without a reliable management system in place, working with these documents will definitely cost your business some valuable efficiency and employee productivity.
To make things easier for you, I have collected the best practices in document management that you can apply in your business. Let’s see which these techniques are.
Well-thought Folder Structure
The most common problem in document management is how the folders are named in different parts of the process. Mislabeled, misplaced, or generic folder names create a lot of confusion when you are searching for a specific file. The best practice is to create and follow a strict naming convention for all of your folders. This is applicable for both the internal and client projects.
Consistent Naming Structure
Now that you have created a specific folder structure, it is time to create another structure for naming your files and folders. Unless you follow a consistent naming structure, you will find it very hard to find the specific file or folder in times of emergency. To avoid this situation, you need to create a strict naming convention for your company and make sure that the team members are following the structure.
Using Multiple Cabinets
If you are still using the old paper-based system, it is likely that you keep separate cabinets for storing different types of folders. But how can you do this when you adopt a paperless approach? Luckily, the modern document management systems are perfectly capable of handling this issue. They feature built-in technologies for replicating the cabinet style structure in your digital filing system.They will also suggest the basic structure for your business.
Controlling File Permission
It doesn’t matter what type of business you are in, you definitely have some kind of classified files. You need to ensure proper security for these files. If any of your competitors get access to your marketing plan, the budget or other sensitive data, they will use these for their advantages. Luckily, all the document management software programs provide the effective solution for these situations. You can set role-based access for your files so that any unauthorized person cannot access the sensitive files.
Having a Retention Policy
Another widespread management problem for most businesses is to keep documents longer than needed. While some people don’t know the proper way to get rid of unnecessary documents, some others don’t even know how long they are supposed to store the documents. Therefore, you need a solid retention policy for your documents along with a plan to dispose them.
Secure File Sharing
While we used to mail or fax documents in the past, email has become the dominant medium these days. Whenever we need to send a document to another people, we fire up an email and attach the file. Though this process is perfect for ordinary files, what happens when you need to send a really confidential file? How can you make sure that anyone else is not having access to that file? The best way to secure your documentsis to use the file sharing feature provided by document management services providers.This will make sure that your file is kept confidential.
Concluding Remarks
Those were the best practices in managing your documents in a smarter and more efficient way. How many of them do you apply in your business? And do you have any other document management tips? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
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