The ability to retrieve a filed document at any given moment is a challenge for every business. To help your company streamline this process, companies like AGS Records Management offer to optimise the management of your stored documents.
The result is an effective solution with many advantages:
1. Legal compliance
Records management is no easy task. It is a job best left to professionals! An efficient, well-considered records management system enables businesses and institutions to comply with the law. Especially since conservation is a real headache for some, as the legal duration for retention periods varies according to the type of document (e.g., from only one year for the accounting of employees’ hours, to 30 years for property acquisition contracts according to the French law).
Thanks to better control of information and documentation processes, companies are developing the quality of their records management, effectively reducing the number of cases of non-compliance. Executives should make improved record-keeping a priority. It allows them, among other things, to be legally sound with the right documents at hand in case of a conflict or need.
2. Better security and business continuity
Careful documentation management improves protection and data security in the event of a problem, reducing the risk of data leakage or theft. This is a boon for companies that have had to strengthen their security since the introduction of the GDPR. The right document management system allows for organised and secure retention of data. Storage and management solutions offered by specialised companies allow for full tracking of the document’s movement, from the moment it is checked out of storage to the moment it returns, also providing the identity of the requester.
Mastering the document lifecycle streamlines a number of daily duties and allows companies to be in full control while adhering to legislative demands.
Entrusting your documents to third-party archivists, otherwise known as records management specialists, is a great way to ensure the integrity of your documents. The practice allows your business to bounce back quickly and with ease in the event of a disaster. In short, document management specialists are a true ally of any good business continuity plan!
3. Optimised organisation and access
Salary slips, invoices, contracts, insurance… the volume of documents that companies have to contend with grows daily. It can quickly impact a team’s productivity in their day-to-day tasks. When you entrust your document management to a specialised company, they will do a full audit of the existing methods of document filing, identification, and processing. Your company becomes more efficient and learns to sort its documents wisely.
The initial phase of auditing both existing and available information is a valuable aid to managing activities. This crucial first step helps managers to make key choices that promote a strategy of making information accessible.
4. Time-saving
Time is money. And in business, you do not want to waste a minute of it. Optimising the structure of your document management benefits your company. Implementing an efficient procedure allows your employees to locate a document quickly, file it in the right place, at the right time, and interact with it easily.
5. Space gains
Every square meter of your business premises is valuable real estate, so it makes sense that you want the paper generated by your activities to occupy as little space as possible. In the face of the increasing number of documents that need to be retained and the cost per m2, it is in the company’s best interest to opt for an effective records management system. Clearing space by properly storing your documents allows you to recover space, thereby improving working conditions for employees – a priority today for many companies. Document management and archiving specialists offer organisational solutions that relieve this burden for you.
6. Optimised management
Technological advancements have opened the door for records management specialists to offer electronic solutions for the preservation of certain documents. This means that companies can now opt for the solutions that suit them best – even a mix of physical and digital archiving. With digital solutions, the benefits are numerous: logistical costs (usually associated with processing paper-based documents) are lowered, space is regained, and documents are stored safely and securely.
Knowing how to manage volume while retaining only the essentials is a flexibility highly sought after by most managers.
7. Increased productivity
Improved organisation, saving time and saving space automatically result in increased productivity. Having a better filing system and adapting to the most efficient document management procedures allow fluidity throughout the work chain. Exchanges between the company and its employees are more streamlined, facilitating collaborative work. Information sharing is more dynamic within teams or with external stakeholders.
8. Improved customer service
The quicker a company can retrieve a document required by one of its customers, the more satisfied that customer will be. No doubt they will pass on news of the good service by word-of-mouth. A good document management system allows you to quickly process information that your business may need to properly control customer satisfaction, improving your relationship with existing customers and increasing your ability to gain new ones.
When information flows better between your company and your customers, processes are shortened, improving transparency and responsiveness. In turn, this strengthens your business image, a primary goal for every business owner!