Have you noticed how easy it is, now that our work is mostly paperless, to sweep all of our documents under the metaphorical rug?
Just drag everything into a tiny digital folder, and you don’t have to face how unorganized our files are. It’s the equivalent of shoving everything into your closet in response to a request to clean your room.
There might not be a ton of repercussions to doing this with your personal files, especially as apps make it easier to find what you need. (For example, you can search within photo apps for certain objects or locations, and of course by keyword with all of your documents.)
But when you’re running a business, you need to be much more careful about how you create and manage files. Employees should all understand how files should be created, stored, accessed, and finally, deleted or destroyed.
Without a clear document management strategy, you risk privacy violations, data breaches, administrative headaches, and more.
Don’t worry, though! By the end of this article you’ll be well on your way to creating a document management strategy that works for you.
Identify the Players
The first thing to do is figure out exactly who will be in charge of creating and enforcing your organization’s document and data policies. This person or group will also be in charge of making sure those policies are updated over time as needs and processes change.
If there’s no enforcer, employees will make up their own organizational rules, or simply stay blissfully unaware that there’s a “right way” to handle documents.
The team in charge of developing and executing your document strategy will probably include your office administrator, if you have one. If your company is small, the CEO might even step into the role.
Regardless of who is personally in charge, a document management strategy won’t work without buy-in from leadership. Someone at the top has to decide that data management needs to be taken seriously. Otherwise, the status quo will prevail. (In fact, this applies to any corporate initiative that requires cooperation from everyone on staff.)
List Your Working Documents
Once you’ve decided who’s going to lead your document management team, it’s time for them to dive in. They can start by making a comprehensive list of documents that your organization collects and stores.
The types of documents you use and the length of the list will vary a lot based on your office needs its structure. You can break the list down by department or by type of project, for example. Break the list down into categories that work for you. Note the name of each document and which types of information it includes.
The aim should be to get a better picture of how information flows through your organization. Understanding which documents contain which information can help you classify those documents later.
If you could see all the digital files in your company, it might look a little like this
Assess How Documents Are Handled
Once you have your list of document types, it’s time to note exactly how each of them is handled at each stage of its “life cycle.”
Don’t start by writing down how things should work. Start instead with how things are working now. It’s important to get a sense of how employees prefer to handle the information that comes across their desks. Note any inconsistencies that exist at each of the following stages.
Document Creation
Note exactly what happens when a new copy each type of document on your list is created.
Do your employees make a fresh copy from a designated template file that’s accessible to everyone who needs it, for example? Or, do they make a copy from a file on their computer desktop? Are employees grabbing a paper file from a central location? If so, where are those physical copies made?
If the files are coming in from vendors, clients, or other partners, note where those templates are coming from and any other rules about how they’re submitted.
Document Workflow
Make a few notes about what happens after each document on your list is created. Is it sent to management for approval, for example? Is it sent to a client or vendor? Who is in charge of managing the document as it flows through each step of the process?
Document Storage, Access, and Security
Making sure that your information is secure and easy to find is a key part of effective document management. Use the following questions to assess how each document on your list is handled:
- What format should the file be stored in? (Is it stored in digital form, paper form, or both? If digital, what specific file format should be used?)
- Once a file is received, where is it kept? (In a filing cabinet? On the local server? On local computers?)
- How is the file named and organized to make sure it’s easy to find later? (What file-naming conventions are in place, if any?)
- Who has access to the document once it’s filed? What efforts, if any, are in place to make sure the information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands?
- How are the files backed up to guard against things like disaster or damage?
Document Destruction or Deletion
As we mentioned in our article on choosing a cloud storage solution, off-site digital storage can make it easy to store vast amounts of data. But you’ll pay for that storage, so you’ll want to minimize it. Plus, keeping old files around in any form for longer than necessary carries unnecessary risks of the data being compromised.
Don’t keep old files hanging around. They take up unnecessary space, and they can even be a security risk. Click To Tweet
Use the following questions to assess how each document on your list is deleted or destroyed:
- After what interval of time should this type of file be deleted or destroyed? Who is in charge of making sure that the deletion/destruction happens on schedule. How will they remember to do it?
- Do privacy rules, regulations, or best practices dictate when or how our office should delete or destroy this file? (This might require a consultation with your legal counsel.)
Create Document Rules and Policies
As you begin to pay careful attention to how documents are currently handled, you’ll see some patterns emerge.
Many of the documents will have similar guidelines (or at least should have similar guidelines). Others may have no rules at all, or need very few. You can start to group the documents based on how they need to be handled, then create policies for each group. You might make a set of rules for any document that contains a client’s personal data, for example, or for any document that will be sent to a client.
Some document management policies will apply universally. For one, you’ll probably want to use standard file-naming conventions across the board. You’ll probably also want to direct your employees to the same places consistently for current document templates.
Begin the Implementation
Once it’s time to start using the new document management policies, give your staff some time to adjust to the new system. Keep the policies in an accessible, central place so your staff can always reference them, and make them as easy to understand as possible.
Plan for a transition period in which documents that were stored or organized using older methods are gradually moved or reformatted to meet the new guidelines.
Your document management team should be able to identify a reasonable timeline for all of the documents to be in compliance with the new policies.
Finally, if you’re looking for an easy and secure way to collect files from your clients, consider trying Fileinbox. Our drag-and-drop document submission tool is simple to use, and files are deposited directly into your Google Drive or Dropbox account. You can even choose how the files are organized to make sure that nothing gets lost.
You can even start using the service for free. Click here to learn more.