Your Document Management Knowledge Center

If there is one thing that we have learned over the last six months, it is that knowledge workers need to be able to work from home without interruption. This means that they need access to all systems and records that they have when in the office. Many companies were not ready to deal with this fact. They set up everything to be in-house so that they could control the servers. Now, that control is limiting access. Sure, you can have remote control software and VPNs, but most were licensed and configured for a small fraction of the workforce.

Most contracts have some sort of expiration date, rollover date, or other important event date. How do you keep track of them all? Or do you? Many companies have a person dedicated to tracking such events. Some rely on memory to handle it. Some just deal with it when it happens.

• Communicate with your team more often

You no longer see them in the break room or pop by their desk so you are missing those informal conversations where you learn more about each other and you also solve challenges that you are stuck on. It becomes easy to get disconnected.  Take the time to chat with each other, you would be doing it at the office, so keep doing it now. Most teamwork tools allow you to chat, call, and even video call.  Use the tools.

A few tips for helping your team work remotely.

The Forgotten Side of Process Automation

Many people realize that they have a challenge with managing contracts.  Usually as a result of something bad happening.  A cell phone contract auto-renews at a high rate, a lease renews but they are moving to a new office. Once they realize the problem they quickly turn to Excel. It is easy to type information into the columns.  Usually, the vendor name, the type of contract, the start and end dates, and maybe who is responsible for the contract.

1. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is Critical for Compliance

Compliance is easy... Said no one, ever. All of your policies, procedures, and controls mean nothing if you don't have a record of your actions. What are you going to say to the auditor? “Trust us?” That won’t get you very far.

If you are searching for a document storage solution to organize and secure your business documents, you are on the right path to improving your business. However, document storage is only one item you want to look at when it comes to selecting the right solution for you.

Prior to automating the review and approval your business documents, you must define your workflows to ensure you have a smooth and successful implementation. Once you automate your workflow management, you will save valuable time and money. However, if you do not take the time up front to define your workflows it will take longer before you begin to see the benefits of these valuable improvements.