Like most businesses, you create tens of thousands of documents each year. Although they are necessary, these documents will quickly pile up. With limited office space and the inability to destroy these documents, managing them all can be a struggle. When such a large pile of physical documents gets stacked up in your office, it can feel as though you're drowning in paperwork.
If your office is being overwhelmed by physical records, you can do something about it. Let's take a look at what steps you can take if you are struggling with physical records management.
What to do
Your physical records management doesn't have to overwhelm you. You can streamline your ability to manage these records to the point that you don't even notice that they are there anymore. Here are the steps that you should take:
Cut out your internal red tape
External entities like the federal government create a lot of red tape regarding what to do with your documents. This will make processing and managing your documents much slower than they otherwise would have been.
You must avoid adding to this red tape whenever possible. For example, shorten the chain of approval required for the processing of each document.
This doesn't mean that you should be leaving important document processing decisions to individual employees, but rather that you should find ways to streamline the process. For example, you could implement a policy for the destruction of records that is easy for your employees to follow. This way, they aren't lining up waiting for permission to destroy a record that ostensibly needs to be gotten rid of.
Cut back on your physical documents
One of the best ways to improve your physical records management is to get rid of your physical records all together. We aren't suggesting that you start arbitrarily destroying critical documents. Instead, you should be converting them into a digital state and integrating them with a digital document management system. This completely eliminates the office clutter that your records are creating, and takes the hard part of managing them out of your hands.
Keep in mind that converting your physical documents to digital copies doesn't have to be a rigorous process. You can make this process simple and efficient by taking the following two steps:
Have the bulk of your documents professionally converted
If you have been primarily relying on physical documents for a long time, then your office is likely stuffed full of hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of physical documents. The mere thought of trying to convert them all can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you don't have to deal with this at all. Instead of trying to navigate this process, hire a professional document conversion service to switch the format of your physical documents. They won't just scan them into your computer system as pictures either. A professional service will transform each of your physical documents into digital documents that can be manipulated as easily as something created on a computerized document processor.
Prepare your business for future physical records
Even after you convert your physical records, you can still expect to receive and produce them in the future. Prevent them from becoming another pile of overwhelming office clutter by investing in a quality scanner and scanner software that will immediately integrate everything into your digital system.
Don't let your physical records rule your office
Regain control over your office by streamlining the management of your physical records. By taking all of the steps above, you can save your company from the burden created by your piles of physical records.