With the recent pandemic, businesses have been forced to rethink the way they store company documents. In the past, records would be kept in the office so that all staff members could access them. Now with people working from different locations, it is necessary to have various methods of storing company documents so that staff can be able to access them easily.
Document storage is vital for any organization, whether the files are digital or physical copies. It is essential to manage your document repository to keep your documents safe and accessible when needed. Keeping them onsite may not be the best option as it requires plenty of space, and it is time-consuming to keep filing documents which takes away valuable staff time.
A solution for this is to have a central place where all your documents are kept and managed to find any documentation you need when you need it quickly. This provides document security, convenience and saves time and storage space. There are several document management options, such as onsite storage and management, online storage, and offsite storage. Based on your needs, you will decide what works best for your organization.
Advantages of Using Document Management?
Records are essential for any business because they serve as a reference point for the past and contain crucial information necessary to run the business. Using a record management company to store and manage your physical and digital has incredible advantages, and these are listed below.
1. Use Of Less Storage Space
Record keeping can take up plenty of space which you can better utilize for other business needs. Storing your records offsite gives you more room to work.
One of the measures that businesses must put in place when returning to work after the pandemic is providing enough space for employees to work with the social distancing rules in the room. Employees can occupy precious space taken up by records.
It is cheaper for businesses whose employees are working from home to move to a smaller space and channel the funds elsewhere. Offsite storage can ensure that you will comfortably move to a smaller area and work efficiently while still accessing your records.
2. Better Security
Document security is vital for a company to keep sensitive information safe. The physical threats to organizational information include theft, damage by fire or burglary, or loss. These can set back a company, especially where the data cannot successfully be salvaged.
Professional storage facilities consider all these risks and have mitigating measures in place. The storage spaces are fireproof, are constantly manned and tight security to avoid theft and loss. Most facilities also has a security system that audits who interacted with which documents. This ensures that there is an audited paper trail in case modifications are made on documents then that can be identified.
This system provides security for extra sensitive records, and these can be tagged with additional security features so that there are alerts when they are tampered with. Security features can also be such that only authorized personnel will access highly confidential records. This gives peace of mind to the business owner that the documents are safe and cannot be accessed illegally.
3. Quick and Convenient Access
The process of record-keeping for both physical and online records can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with large volumes of documentation. The process of filing documents and searching for them can take a lot of time, leading to the loss of productive employee time.
Using storage solutions will result in time-saving document retrieval, which will save the organization money. Using physical records with digitized records helps faster access.
This makes it easy to access the needed documents by checking the inventory list, locating the physical storage section, and retrieving the document. You do not have to get the requested copy that you need physically, but you will have it scanned and sent to you. This is efficient and fast, which saves employees a lot of time.
Many people can access a single document at one time. With physical records, only one person can view the document at any given time. With an efficient storage system, one document can be shared with many people instantly, saving time and more efficiency.
For older documents that have already been scanned and have sufficient electronic records, we will also provide safe shredding and disposal services. We can also digitize the records to be accessible by logging into the cloud storage system and accessing them. There are security features digitally for highly sensitive documents.
4. Increased Efficiency
The process of record-keeping can be time-intensive. Using document storage will ensure that the operations of filing and storing your records are correctly done. This saves you time. The process of digitizing physical records is also essential for longevity, but it is time-consuming, and a record-keeping service will save you time on this.
Using programs that help automatically digitize records and correctly file and archive them will save time and increase employee efficiency. Access to company records will also cause employees to have better communication.
This is because whenever an employee needs information, they can access it quickly and collaborate to work better. With proper training on how to use the filing and retrieval service in place and level of access, all employees will be able to retrieve records for themselves without having to go through a third party.
This saves time and fosters communication. It also increases greater collaboration between different departments since they have access to the same documents. They are not working on different documents, which may take time before they harmonize the process of using the information from that document.
5. Regulations Compliance
A business will have all kinds of records, those about the business and client information. It is required by law that client information should be kept confidential and not breach their privacy. In case that data is exposed, there can be legal issues that arise from that.
Using document security services dramatically reduces the risk of this happening. With people able to access various data remotely, it is crucial to have efficient security to keep company documentation safe. The system can also alert of any security breaches that attempt to take place down and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive records.
Properly stored records and an efficient document storage system help during the audit process and ensure that you have met all your legal obligations. When going through an audit, properly stored documents will ensure that you have all the relevant records easily and quickly accessible. This will reduce the risk of issues arising during the audit process.
