How Managed Document Storage Saves Time And Boosts Efficiency

No-one disagrees that traditional manual document storage options are too slow-moving to satisfy modern administrative demands. The need for quick access to data means in-house box and cabinet storage have become largely irrelevant. But managed document storage services offer a time-saving and space-saving alternative that businesses can benefit from.

Despite the continuing growth of digitization, some businesses still require document storage and archiving solutions. There are genuine advantages to fully-managed off-site document storage services, from the efficient archiving of perhaps millions of files and documents to regaining valuable office space and the added security it provides.

However, perhaps the biggest benefit of managed document storage is the savings it offers in time, with faster retrieval, document distribution and undisturbed employee focus all contributing to a more efficient rate of productivity in the workplace.

3 Ways Managed Document Storage Saves Time

1. Less Time On Filing, More On Business

Traditional document storage options require staff members to leave their workstation to search for a document or file they need, curtailing their day’s work by taking time to locate specific paperwork.

Statistics from a number of reports show that professionals spend 50% of their time searching for information and take an average of 18 minutes to locate each document, and document challenges account 21.3% productivity loss.

Managed document storage services have dedicated personnel, removing a number of time-consuming tasks employees should never really need to do and allowing staff to continue with their duties. It’s not only about searching and retrieving files; it’s also about achieving complete transparency with your information, and complete compliance with your records management policies and industry regulations.

2. Increase Efficiency

Managed document storage services make use of some of the most advanced technologies to ensure documents and files can be retrieved as quickly as possible. Principal amongst them is cataloguing and barcoding, which allows every physical document, whether a file or storage box, to be located within a storage facility within seconds, making irrelevant the traditional ‘needle in a haystack’ effect that can see employees hunting fruitlessly for hours at the office.

Our file cataloguing and indexing system makes it easy to establish a complete audit trail for your records, which is so critical in the pursuit of transparency. And because even individual files are barcoded, it ensures fast access to a host of stored data, which is essential for GDPR compliance.

3. Avoid Human Error

Regardless of the size of any organization, human error can be very costly. One of the biggest problems is misfiling, where files are placed in the wrong cabinet, but simply mislaying files is hugely common too. In fact, a PricewaterhouseCoopers study calculated that, between time and resources, businesses spend $120 searching for each misfiled document and further $220 in recreating them when the search is abandoned.

Clerical mistakes can be as small as misspelling a critical name or incorrectly categorizing it, but with every document carefully catalogued before being stored, a managed document storage services drastically reduces the chance of such errors from happening at all.

The Continuing Need For Hard-Copy Files

Although digitization is a hugely popular strategy today, and the array of advantages it brings, there is of course still a place for hard-copy document storage. There are situations where electronically stored data is not considered sufficient, where original documents are necessary. Hard-copy files must be securely stored in a box and indexed so they can be retrieved whenever necessary.

When hard copies are needed, whether a single document or a large number, they can be quickly located, thanks to real-time indexing, barcode tracking and cataloguing, and then delivered to the client’s own office. So, within hours, the essential documents can be in hand.