When you think of risk in business, document management can sometimes be easily overlooked. These days, business structures are so much more complex. They are no longer limited to one office in the same city or country. Organisations are growing and expanding, with office locations spread all over the world, and with critical functions e.g. human resources, marketing etc being outsourced to external parties and agencies. These external teams handle sensitive or confidential information on behalf of businesses. Some organisations also use social media, like WhatsApp, to share documents. This, in combination with evolving technologies, can result in increased risk associated with document management.
A good document management process is one that is accessible by all who need it, ensures and has a layer of security that restricts or permits access as needed. Document management is essentially a process used to save, store and use documents. A document management system (DMS) is a system used to receive, track, manage and store documents. A document management system can keep a record of the different created and modified versions of your documents by different users.
4 Criteria For Effective Document Management
Organisations usually deal with numerous documents, so it is important that they are managed in an organised way. Document management entails four criteria:
1. Capture
The first step of document management is capturing the approved record into your management system. At a minimum, your record or document will be one that has approved content within it, and an author who was behind developing the document contents. The document approver could be someone with more authority than the author who reviews the document and approves it for use in the organisation.
2. Categorise
The next step you need to take in effective document management is to categorise the document within the management system. Some of the document categories include; Policies, Manuals, Standard operating procedures (SOPs), Internal and external documents etc. The categories and subcategories you go with should be meaningful and relevant within your organisation.
3. Manage
Document management is a crucial step. Your documents should be housed in a central location accessible to those who will need to access and use them. It may be prudent to have an assigned document administrator to capture, categorise, manage and regulate access to the various documents within your organisation. In the event of any changes, the document administrator would also be able to relay the same to the relevant stakeholders.
4. Accessibility
Regulating access to different documents within an organisation is important, mainly because it helps reduce information risk. Depending on your level within an organisation or your role in the company, access to certain documents can be granted or restricted. For example, in a food production plant, a procurement manager may not need access to product recipes, while the production teams may.
Accessibility decides who can access documents and when. This helps in standardising processes, managing risks and consistent communication throughout the organisation.
Why Technology Is Important For Document Management
In today's world, businesses need a document management system, particularly if you have a complex business structure. Technology plays a very big part in that; managing complex processes and information at scale.
Document management system software incorporates all the elements of effective document management highlighted above. It may even include; document repositories, workflow management, output systems and information retrieval systems built into it.
IMS Africa recognizes the importance of technology and created a document management system. We partnered with BUNDI LABS to design and develop a document management system that boasts benefits such as document security, access control, centralized storage, workflow management, audit trails and streamlined search and retrieval.
The tech-friendly web platform allows your organisation to access the system on a computer. You can also perform your document management actions on the go through your Android device.
Reach out to us today for more in-depth information and practical guidance about your organisation's document management.
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