Did you know that on average, employees dedicate approximately 30 to 40% of their time rummaging through paper documents and physical files?
Document management systems (DMS) are created to make finding documents quicker, organised and secure.
Document management provides a seamless solution for companies to manage and store their records centrally and efficiently.
Keep reading to discover what document management is, its must-have features and how to implement them for seamless collaboration.
What is Document Management?
Document management is the process of organising, storing, and tracking digital documents. It ensures that documents are easily accessible and secure.
Document management is a collaborative system that involves multiple users working on the same document simultaneously. It enables teams to collaborate on documents and share information in real-time, regardless of location or time zone.
Effective document management should be a necessary part of any business as it helps streamline the process of handling and storing important records and files. With an efficient document management system in place, you can:
- locate and retrieve documents
- reduce the risk of data loss
- maintain compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
7 Document Management Must-Haves
Efficient document management requires a set of features that make it easier to manage documents collaboratively. Here are seven must-have features that any document management system should have:
1. Document Version Control
Document version control enables you to add new versions of a document and view all previous versions that you have uploaded or modified.
This feature allows you to access the document version history and download specific versions of the document.
By using version control, you can easily access and compare previous versions of a document. This can be useful for auditing purposes or to see how a document has evolved over time.
2. Direct Edit in Microsoft Office
The integration of DMS with Microsoft Office and MS 365 is crucial for streamlining document workflows and improving productivity.
Through the convenient feature of direct editing, you can effortlessly make alterations to documents within the DMS platform.
This eliminates the need to download the document, make changes, and then upload it again, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
Direct editing in Office also ensures you’re working on the latest version of the document, reducing the risk of version control issues.
This feature also provides a seamless user experience, improving productivity and reducing the learning curve associated with using a new document management system.
3. Document Locking
By locking a document, only one user can make changes at a time, preventing other users from making conflicting changes.
This feature holds utmost significance when dealing with sensitive digital files like legal agreements or financial reports. Errors or inconsistencies in such cases can lead to severe repercussions and grave consequences.
4. Document Review and Approval
Document review and approval ensure digital documents are accurate, up-to-date, and approved by the appropriate personnel. It enables team members to collaborate on a draft, submit a document for review, and seek approval.
This feature helps businesses to comply with regulations and uphold organisational standards. By conducting thorough document review and approval processes, you can ensure the accuracy, compliance, and approval of your documents by relevant parties before sharing or publishing.
5. Document Audit and Traceability
Document audit and traceability are must-have features for document management. They provide an accurate record of document activity, enabling organisations to track changes and ensure compliance with regulations and internal policies.
Audit trails track:
- who accessed the document
- when the document was accessed
- what changes were made to the document
This information ensures accountability and transparency in document management processes.
Traceability allows you to identify the source of a document and track its lifecycle, from creation to disposal. It allows you to comply with regulations and ensure that documents are managed effectively.
Without audit and traceability features, you risk losing control of documents and exposing sensitive information.
6. Notifications
As with any other important work-related system, notifications are a must-have feature for document management. They keep team members informed about changes to documents at all times.
With notifications, team members receive alerts when a document is updated or when a new comment is added. This reduces the need for uncontrolled email communication and ensures that team members are always working on the latest version of the document.
Notifications also enable team members to collaborate more effectively, as they can respond to comments and updates promptly. In addition, notifications can be customised to suit individual preferences, so team members receive only the necessary alerts.
7. Setting permissions
The setting permissions feature enables only authorised personnel to access sensitive information.
With access control, you can set permissions based on roles, responsibilities, and clearance levels, ensuring that only those who need to see the document can access it. This reduces the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access, ensuring compliance with regulations.
By implementing them, you can guarantee the safety of sensitive information by limiting access to those who truly require it. This not only mitigates the risk of security breaches but also enhances compliance measures.
11 Benefits of Document Management
Document management systems offer a range of benefits that help your team work more efficiently and effectively. Here are eleven benefits of using a document management system:
1. Increased Transparency Throughout The Organisation
By centralising all documents within a system accessible by all relevant parties, information is available to everyone at once.
This results in minimal scope for misunderstandings or miscommunications, as all individuals are operating with the shared information.
Furthermore, centralising all documents in a single location facilitates efficient monitoring of document access and timestamps. This heightened transparency fosters trust among team members and stakeholders, enhancing organisational communication and collaboration.
2. Efficient Search Functionality Across Multiple Documents
With document management software, users can easily search for specific keywords, phrases, or even entire sentences across all of their stored documents. This feature eliminates the need for time-consuming manual searches through individual files or folders.
Practical search functionality enhances productivity by enabling users to swiftly find the information they require. This feature minimises search time and maximises focus on crucial tasks.
In addition, this feature ensures all relevant documents are included in a search, providing a more comprehensive view of the information available.
3. Enhanced Employee and Organisational Collaboration
Document management systems facilitate enhanced employee and organisational document collaboration by providing a centralised location for all documents and files.
Employees can easily access and share documents with their team members, regardless of their location or time zone. This improves organisational communication and collaboration, leading to more efficient workflows and increased productivity.
4. Improved safety and security
One of the key benefits of implementing a document management system is improved safety and security for your organisation’s documents.
With a robust system in place, your organisation can rest assured that its documents and digital images are well-protected and safeguarded, fostering a secure and trustworthy environment.
Document management systems offer features like encryption, firewalls, and password protection to safeguard against cyber threats and data breaches. With proper document security and management practices, your sensitive information is handled securely and confidentially.
5. Reduced Paper Usage and Storage
With document management software, you can minimise the reliance on paper and eliminate the need for physical storage of bulky files.
This not only saves space, but also reduces costs associated with paper supplies, printer maintenance, and storage facilities.
6. Streamlined Workflow Through Automation Options
By automating repetitive tasks such as data entry, file organisation, and document routing, document management systems save time and increase productivity.
This benefit allows employees to focus on more important tasks, such as analysing data, making strategic decisions, and serving customers.
Automation reduces the risk of errors and ensures consistency across all documents. Ultimately, the streamlined workflow provided by document management systems helps businesses work more efficiently, reduce costs, and improve overall performance.
7. Improved Disaster Recovery
Natural disasters, cyberattacks, and equipment failures are among the many risks that threaten data integrity and security.
With document management, your important files are stored electronically and backed up regularly, reducing the risk of permanent loss. In the event of a disaster, your organisation can quickly recover critical documents and resume operations.
Thankfully, document management allows remote access to files, so employees can continue working even if they cannot access the physical office.
8. Cost Savings for Archives
Traditional paper-based archival systems require expensive physical storage space, frequent maintenance, and manual labour for organising, retrieving, and copying documents.
In contrast, digital document management systems allow for easy and efficient document storage, organisation, and retrieval. This eliminates the need for physical storage space, reduces maintenance costs, and saves time and labour.
Moreover, in digital format, documents can be easily shared and accessed remotely, reducing the need for costly physical transportation of documents.
9. Improved Document Retrieval Speed
A properly structured document management system can drastically reduce the time it takes to locate specific documents.
Instead of spending hours or even days searching, you can find what you need within seconds. This proves to be especially crucial for businesses dealing with high volumes of documents daily.
With a document management system that includes search capabilities, you can quickly locate specific documents based on keywords or other search criteria. This not only saves time but also reduces the frustration and stress that can come with manual document retrieval processes.
10. Advanced Support Compliance Efforts
With document management systems, organisations can ensure that their documents are compliant with industry regulations and standards.
Document management software allows organisations to automate compliance processes, ensuring that all documents are up-to-date and meet regulatory requirements.
11. Improved Competitiveness
Implementing an organised and efficient system for managing documents allows you to operate more effectively, respond to customer needs more quickly, and stay ahead of industry trends.
Consequently, this will give you a competitive edge and attract a larger client base.
Why You Should Start Thinking About Document Management
For any organisation striving to remain competitive and relevant in the market, effective document management is a must. DMS empowers companies to stay efficient, productive, and in tune with the ever-changing business landscape.
With cloud collaboration, document management has never been easier. This eliminates paper consumption and makes documents easy to access, edit, and share with any device.
Conclusion
With document management, you will collaborate more effectively, improve productivity, and reduce unnecessary costs.
Cloud collaboration systems like Kahootz provide a secure platform for storing and sharing documents, enabling teams to work together more efficiently.
With its robust document collaboration features and secure file-sharing capabilities, Kahootz is an excellent choice for organisations looking to streamline their document management processes.
