Document Imaging Solution: Have Any Plans?

Yesterday's blog post concerned the issue of leadership within an organization, which is extremely necessary when implementing a document imaging solution that can change the way a company does business, but only if people within the company actually use the solution.

No doubt it's vital that managers be personally and professionally committed to the document imaging solution they are asking employees to use, but perhaps more important is the notion that specific uses for a document imaging solution must be in place ahead of time.

In other words, have a plan.

The best plans are specific to the organizations for which they are made.

General goals of a document imaging or records management initiative may include:

-- Reduce unneccessary printing and copying
-- Share documents across locations without physically traveling to deliver papers
-- Maintain a searchable database of paper files, without all the filing cabinets

Within those general (and good) goals, though, it's essential to relate the larger whole to the specific individual.

Jenny should go from printing her expense reports to emaling them as PDFs. Tom should be reminded that the Jones File can be accessed online, instead of ordering a courier. And Barry should know that he doesn't have to leave his desk in order to look up a file.

The more people use document imaging, the more they like it, and the more they like it, the more they use it. It's a virtuous circle.