When Scanning Doesn’t Make Sense

Well, we’d like to think that the answer to the above non-question is “never.” But just like in any business situation, we know that’s not the case. Document scanning solutions are a great way for businesses of any size to:

• reduce paper waste
• reduce storage space
• increase operational efficiency
• protect assets against disaster
• collaborate with telecommuters, customers, vendors and partners

But here’s the bottom line: if you’re not going to commit to the solution, you probably shouldn’t invest.

Whether you’re a medical practice looking for an EMR solution or a business thinking that the file room should go the way of the dinosaur, you have to consider what you’re going to do on the other side of your document scanning initiative. Just scanning isn’t enough. You have to, as a company, be committed to the operational and procedural changes that come along with your new solution.

Here are some things for businesses to consider when it comes to how you’ll manage an awesome solution like taking your company’s document management digital:

• How will we develop training initiatives for current employees to manage the transition?
• How will our new employee training need to be modified in order to accommodate the newest record management procedures?
• What kind of internal support staff will we have for the new digital procedures? Who will spearhead the process and be our go-to for questions?
• How will we manage the disposal/shredding of paper documents once we’ve made the transition?
• What kind of time frame is reasonable to transition the staff from the old paper method to our new digital document management system?
• What are our backup procedures?
• How will we measure success at 30, 60, 90 days?  How will we measure success at one year?

I know I might have just dashed your dreams for operational efficiency by adding some very real questions into the mix. Considering I work with our clients each day to answer exactly these things, I’d rather stimulate your brain to think of these things beforehand instead of after you’ve invested in a scanning solution without the commitment on the back side. Bottom line? Your solution has to work for you during and long after the scanning starts and ends. There’s a thought process and a paradigm shift that will happen in your organization. If you commit to it, you’ll be successful.

Posted by: John Cushman on June 4th, 2010 // View Comments
Posted in: Document Management and Storage, Industries
Tags: Business Tips, corporate security, Document Management, Government Document Scanning, Medical
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