In today’s never-leave-work-behind world, you need to ask yourself: How mobile is my company? Do you have the infrastructure in place to have your information available anytime and anywhere? Are key information and processes available via your phone or tablet? Do you have the ability to approve critical requests and processes when you are not at your desk? If you have not answered yes to these questions, you may benefit from a document management solution.
Some inquiries simply cannot wait for you to return to your office. In today’s distributed world we see more and more managers away from their primary work area. Meetings can take you anywhere, remote locations, client and vendor offices, trade shows and a host of other places. Unfortunately, while you are gone, your work does not stop. Having the correct tools to keep you in touch and accountable are critical.
We see this with Accounts Payable approval processes. Management approval is necessary for moving invoices from one step in the workflow to another. Not having access to approve these invoices can cause a variety of consequences that include late payments, double payments, backed up processes and potentially fines and penalties. Having access to these documents keeps you in the loop, and allows for a smooth transition of information from point to point.
Capital requests are another example of a document management workflow keeping you in the know. Requests that need your approval may need an immediate response. Initiating a capital expense through an e-form, and utilizing workflow to intelligently route the approval saves time and money. Imaging being able to review the request right from your phone. Approving or denying within seconds. Making the important decisions knowing that the information you needed to make the correct decision is at your fingertips.
How about onboarding? Your company is growing and you need qualified candidates to help build your business. Having a technology savvy, front-facing environment is required to land the best possible people. So is responding to them in a professional and timely manner. Document management workflows accomplish this as well. Having the potential employee’s information at your fingertips permits you to keep the process moving forward. Allowing you to bring in the best possible candidate for your open positions.
None of this is possible without the proper tools. A workflow centric document management solutions can do this and much more. If provides the secured storage for all of your documents, allows rules based routing of information, and can provide managerial analytics for use in decision making. It also makes individuals accountable and allows groups of people to collaborate as a team. Solutions like this become mission critical applications in the most progressive and vibrate companies. And, if it is not in use today in your business, maybe it is time it should be.
Jack Arnston is a Principal at The Priton Group. He can be reached at jarnston@pritongroup.com.
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