Effective document management should be the foundation on which any business is run. Documents, whether they be in digital or paper format, provide structure to any management system. Therefore, document management encompasses all tasks within an organisation pertaining to the creation, use, distribution and eventual deletion of documents.
Data management is an essential means of verification, i.e. what has been done when and by whom, for what purpose, and so forth. It is not hyperbole to state that a business can literally fall apart without proper document management. Business processes invariably rely on data and documentation in some form or another.
But the effective management of documents can do more than that for an organisation – it can also help to increase staff productivity. This can be done in a number of ways, whether systems-related, technological or otherwise. This article will provide insight into the importance of well-managed data and, importantly, how staff productivity can be improved with effective document management. A further consideration will be that efficient document management can help with optimising labour in a era of labour shortages.
The Need For Effective Document Management
The usefulness of an effective document management system cannot be underestimated. In fact, one study calculated that challenges relating to the maintenance and management of documents (for example, time taken to find relevant documents or inability to open documents delivered or once found) account for 21.3% of productivity loss in organisations. A further global survey of 1,500 office workers found that poor document management is a leading obstacle or ‘bottleneck’ to their productivity.
Those statistics alone should be reason enough for any company to optimise its data management processes.
Increasingly, even small and medium-sized companies are opting for a software-based document management system, or EDMS, as a means of optimizing their document systems. A EDMS can also include the following different systems:
- Document Information System (DIS)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Knowledge Management System (KMS)
- Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
- Digital Asset Management (DAM)
- Integrated Document Management (IDM)
Digital forms of data, including the scanning of existing or legacy paper-based documents, are seen as being more efficient since documents are more easily stored and accessed. Obviously, their use also means less paper documents stuffed into filing cabinets, overflowing in storerooms and a reduction in the costs of storage.
A Proactive Document Management Mindset
How then can document management be more effective? A good starting point is the issue of mindset: a document system should be viewed as more than just a collection of different documents that retain massive amounts of data. Rather, a DMS should be seen as akin to an ‘invisible assistant’ or a number of assistants that are key in helping run a business.
Simplistic as that might seem, merely considering data as a ‘true ally’ and not a ‘tiresome necessity’ that is to be begrudged should make the difference in how people work and interact with documents. That mindset should prevail if correctly relayed to all employees. That includes both effective, positive communication regarding documents and their role in work, as well as providing employees with the correct tools to ensure the most efficient and productive management of their data.
Effective Data and Staff Productivity
Clearly, the reason why staff productivity is so fundamentally important to a business is because employees are usually the leading (or one of the leading) expenditures for most businesses. Unproductive employees are not only a hindrance to an organisation’s performance, but to themselves too. And, whatever cynical managers may think, most employees do not enjoy being unproductive.
This quote by the World Economic Forum (WEF) from an August 2020 article puts the issue of staff productivity into stark context: “…workforces on average invest less than 30% of their time in the work that delivers the strategic value uplift desired.” Business efficiency experts John-Paul Pape and Keith McCambridge of Oliver Wyman, a leading American management consulting firm, provided that sobering insight based on dozens of companies for which they’ve consulted.
That means that employees already spend so much of their time doing tasks that don’t actually add significant value to an organisation. Why then hamper their already-compromised productivity with further obstacles due to inefficient or poor document management practices? To do so seems counter-intuitive at best, self-sabotaging at worst.
A further important consideration that is very much ‘of the now’ is the prevailing labour shortage that exists in the UK. Reuters reported in November 2021 how were not only slowing hiring rates in the UK, but also pushing up pay rates across the board. The latter trend was confirmed by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which found that rate pays had jumped by the highest rates since 1997.
Companies, especially small and medium-sized businesses with already tight margins, can circumvent some of this ‘pain’ due to labour shortages by having more efficient document management systems. As already discussed, an optimised document system will make for more productive employees. This improved productivity can help bridge the labour gap that many UK businesses currently face.
Ways to Achieve Effective Document Management
There are a variety of ways in which an effective DMS can be implemented, thereby enabling increased staff productivity. These include:
- Go Digital: as stated above, there are obvious benefits to having a software-based DMS in place. An electronic workflow will allow your employees to plan, input/use, verify/audit and make amendments or corrections to documents in a way that is user-friendly, intuitive and secure. Most importantly, it will also mean that access to required information should be easy and time-efficient.
- Know Thyself: By that is meant a fully comprehensive, organisation-wide data This is not a merely an inventory take of all existing data, both paper-based and digital. Instead, the audit should be holistic. i.e. allowing for the discovery of any shortfalls or loopholes in the existing document and file management system, such as access-related and even security issues therewith. Relevant employees should be consulted and actively partake in the audit; after all, they are the ones who typically work with most of the information. Like any meaningful audit, this process should be as brutally honest as possible.
- Respect Systems: A DMS should never exist in a stand-alone vacuum. Its use should be systemic at all times, i.e. relevant to a given management system and implemented as such. For example, financial information has to function entirely within the context of the prevailing financial management system, as well as any other systems to which said system may be relevant, for example HR or purchasing. Only then can employees be more productive when using documents relevant to their wor
- Instil Confidence: A comprehensive and well-implemented DMS can be an excellent conduit for instilling confidence in an organisation. On-point communication and thorough training regarding data management will ensure that employees will know what they’re doing every time they need to access or use their information. Remember this: employees do not thrive in chaos. On the contrary, confidence in what they do is known to improve productivity.
In a business world that is increasingly competitive, complex and evolving, any improvement to the productivity of employees is always welcome. That is why having a robust document management system that is fit-for-purpose is so important, not only for the operational viability and strategic success of the organisation, but for increased staff productivity as well.
Finally, the point about treating your documents as an ally needs to be reiterated. A positive, proactive attitude to data can only benefit your organisation and every employee needs to be convinced of that.