For a company to achieve more and more results and grow, having a good organization is essential, this includes from day-to-day tasks to the documents that are part of the business. Therefore, it is important to know well points such as the phases of document management to do this job well.
Managing documents is not just about storing them in a closet or drawer, as this lack of care can bring bad consequences.
For that reason, we present in this post all the steps you should follow. Come on?
What is document management?
Every company accumulates documents throughout its existence. After all, employee admissions, agreements with suppliers, customer contracts and the like are important records that must be carefully guarded. Therefore, document management consists of organizing them well.
It is fundamental to the organization of any business. Especially because some situations can make you access them quickly at any time, for example:
- a customer has questions about the terms of the contract;
- an employee asks if the working conditions are in accordance with what you have signed;
- an audit is carried out at the company (sometimes without prior notice);
- analysis of documents to declare income tax.
What are the benefits of document management?
Once you get document management right (according to the steps we'll show you later in this article), your management will have an advantage. Here we point out the main ones.
time optimization
Have you ever needed to search for a document but just couldn't find it? “I swear I left it here in this drawer” is the expression most heard by those who don't have their files well organized, which ends up taking more time to look for them and this can have bad consequences.
Imagine if the document is essential to close a deal with a client, but he changes his mind after waiting so long. Or if you miss the deadline for a declaration because you haven't found the necessary documents in time.
By organizing your documents well, they become easily accessible, which saves your time.
Ease of searching for information
A company collects different types of information every day. A simple service via whatsapp, for example, is able to gather data about customers as well as their preferences and a conversation history that can be used to confirm any deal that has been made.
To find the right information whenever you need it, documents must be well-kept and cataloged by type, name, number, category, or whatever else is easiest and most convenient for the business.
Preservation of institutional memory
Old and traditional companies manage to keep their memory alive by taking good care of the documents that have been part of it since the beginning of its existence.
This reinforces the importance of having the documents in order, as they are proof of the organization's history and of everything it represents.
So that part of it is not lost amid so many papers that deteriorate over time, it is highly recommended that documents be digitized and made accessible via computer.
Information Security
Once you have your files in digital format, this brings up the fifth advantage in your management: information security.
Even if you have the documents stored in a locker whose key is in your possession, anyone intent on accessing them can break the padlock and get hold of them.
Moreover, in the cloud, you can protect them from login and password and also via two-factor authentication, that is, when you need to confirm your identity twice, which makes any kind of intrusion into the system difficult.
How old are the documents?
Before talking about the stages of document management, it is important to introduce the “3 ages” that they have, because some people tend to confuse the two concepts.
Also called the “3 moments of the document”, they are:
- moment 1: here the document is widely used;
- moment 2: then it is not used as much anymore, but should be kept in case it needs to be accessed;
- moment 3: finally, the document loses its use and ends up being archived during its validity period until it is discarded.
Thus, after going through these three moments, the documents complete their life cycle, whose stages we present below.
What are the stages of document management?
Now let's look at the four phases you should follow when managing documents.
1. Production
As its name suggests, this is the stage in which the document is “born” and this always occurs with a purpose. In the case of the sale of a service, it will be necessary to write the contract, in case of admission, it is also necessary to generate the document that both parties (contractor and contractor) must sign.
Therefore, this phase is more used by the operations and legal teams, as it involves the preparation of documents within the legal precepts and that are also in accordance with the company's policies.
In addition, it is important that they are generated and delivered quickly so that the customer or employee does not have to wait too long.
2. Processing
The first step refers to the production of a draft, that is, a format that should be followed as a model for the types of documents issued by the company.
That way, every time an issue is made, instead of typing the file from scratch, just use the draft that has already been approved and just fill in the fields that correspond to the contracting party and contracted data.
However, although this makes the signature steps more agile, the logistical process can make the processing phase take a few days if the document needs to be sent to the customer's location via Post Office, carrier or motoboy.
3. Use
After the copies of the document are delivered, the phase of use that complies with the clauses included in it.
It is very important to check the points of the draft well during the production phase, as they will be strictly followed at this stage.
Therefore, it is also called the evaluation stage, as it involves the analysis of all actions performed during the period of validity.
4. Archiving
After all the greetings on the document are over, it's time to file it. As we said a few paragraphs above, this storage can be done in a closet in the case of physical documents or in the cloud. if the business is already digitizing.
For this reason, companies that follow these four steps of document management are able to maintain corporate memory over time, as the most important files are kept while those that no longer need to be used are discarded.
⚠️ Also check out these related articles 👇
➡️ Understand what electronic document management (EDM) is and the reasons to adopt it
➡️ Check out 13 tips on how to manage digital documents well
➡️ Learn about the consequences of poor document management
How to optimize document management?
Now that you know the stages of document management, let's see some tips that we have separated for you to make this work very efficient,
create a protocol
The organization of documents needs to be done in accordance with company regulations, this makes it essential to create a protocol.
Thus, with regard to the organization, from the protocol, all employees are aware that documents must be stored in alphabetical order, for example.
If someone does not comply with the rules of the protocol, this will affect the entire management, so internal training that involves all employees and teaches them to follow these rules is recommended.
Harness the potential of the cloud
From cloud storage, you start to store documents more securely, in addition to the possibility of accessing them more quickly.
This is very important for customer service, as the public expects their requests to be answered as quickly as possible. When the files are in the cloud, it is easier for the employee to access them, making the service time more dynamic.
Also, in the cloud you can make copies of files for backup purposes. So, even if you lose the documents in the main folder, you can resort to backup to get them back.
Invest in software
Finally, get a software with which you can have all your documents properly organized.
As much as there are options like Google Drive where you can keep your contract minutes, how do you collect the signatures of the parties digitally? For this, there are solutions such as ZapSign, an electronic signature tool.
Nela, you can insert your documents in PDF format so that the people involved can sign them. The process is very simple and fast: just send the electronic signature generated by platform and send to signatories who can sign by computer or smartphone.
In addition, documents are stored and can be accessed at any time on your dashboard, which facilitates organization, an important point that we have emphasized throughout this article.
By the way, now that you know the four phases of document management, how about learning the best practices for managing digital documents? Check out this link for the content we produce on the subject!
