Paperless Processing and Document Retention: How to Ensure What You Don’t See Doesn’t Hurt You

It’s easy to ignore invisible challenges. We do it daily: too much sun, pesticide-ridden produce, pharmaceuticals in our water supply, and similar troubles erode our wellbeing. Typically we ignore concealed challenges until physical manifestations demand our attention. Fortunately, the media has made us risk-aware so we can prepare. In business, it’s harder: although invisible challenges can seriously jeopardize organizational health, unless your business faces litigation, dangers tend to develop and fester unseen.

A recent Symantec survey of IT and legal executives revealed significant disparity between enterprise information goals and practices: 87% of respondents believe a proper implementation strategy should let them delete temporary information, whereas only 46% have a formal retention plan. Participants also revealed 25% of retained data isn’t needed for business reasons and shouldn’t actually be kept.¹

Digital hoarding

Keeping everything—even when it’s paperless—encourages turmoil rather than preventing it. Unsurprisingly, 70% of surveyed businesses report business records are growing rapidly; 60% report ‘content chaos’.² As information grows unabated, managing documents beyond their useful life becomes increasingly challenging without a retention plan and an army of people to manage it. Wading through extensive search results looking for answers is expensive. The chaos becomes debilitating when digital disarray hinders eDiscovery, audits, and other legal matters.

The five most common (and costly) errors that lead to investigation are:³

Fortunately, content and process management can address each of these by automating adherence to your retention policies and procedures. Read on to learn how.

ECM and BPM

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software administers content across multiple repositories, linking scattered information and enabling secure, centralized access. Business Process Management (BPM) builds on available information by enabling rules-driven document handling and processing, managing information effectively across an organization from creation through destruction. Together, ECM and BPM address retention challenges by:

1. Enforcing step-by-step adherence to instructions

Failure to retain, migrate, purge, or destroy documents appropriately—on time—typically results from poor oversight, mistakes, and misunderstanding (very rarely sabotage). Together, they simplify retention by enforcing ever-changing rules. The result:

• Compliance isn’t reliant on memory; system rules for each document type guarantee adherence
• Storage management tools enforce retention policies so documents aren’t prematurely deleted

2. Providing detailed information for investigations

Responding to investigations with required detail, and within mandated timelines, is taxing. If you have ever conducted an internal audit or been challenged unexpectedly, you know it takes hours, days—even weeks—to compile documentation from multiple systems…even when they’re digital. Why? Many organizations have twenty or more content repositories. ECM serves as a wide-mouthed funnel, proffering access to all available information based on permissions. Diverse content becomes searchable through one source. The result:

• Requested documentation is returned within seconds
• Clear audit trails are provided for every system with which ECM/BPM is integrated

3. Tracking and managing requirements for consent

Standardized documents requiring consent are managed easily using ECM/BPM. Documents are gathered, packaged, and routed for signatures following your rules for that document type. Pertinent files, or information noting the provision of consent, are recorded and preserved appropriately. The result:

• Standard requirements for each document type are met consistently
• Documented consent is instantly retrievable to authorized persons
• Records are retained appropriately per your requirements

4. Remembering and enforcing your rules

Regulations change; users’ rights, authorizations, and retention rules must be modified appropriately. Informing employees and ensuring adherence are difficult. ECM facilitates managing diverse information systems by applying consistent security, retention rules, and permissions. The results:

• Rules are adjusted instantly by simply changing instructions
• System rules adapt immediately via reconfiguration (no delay)
• Configurable menus, drop-down boxes, and tool tips ensure new rules are adopted

5. Facilitating communication

ECM and BPM enhance communication by reacting to stored document information. Automatic alerts drawn from data in your system (i.e., document creation dates and retention rules) can promptly inform you a document requires attention or is ready for alternate storage, purging, deletion, etc. Permissions ensure only authorized persons can delete or alter documents and their contents. The result:

• No more accidental purging
• Migration, purging, and deletion follow permissions
• Retention issues are addressed promptly

Why DocFinity?

DocFinity gives you flexibility, letting users access functionality they need—from capture through processing, retention, and destruction—via the DocFinity interface or by embedding functionality within workers’ familiar applications, adding power while eliminating the learning curve.

Purchasing DocFinity means:

• An integrated suite built on mature technologies; state-of-theart tools accessible via a modern, intuitive interface
• A browser-based suite that enables remote administration, access, and work management based on your permissions— anytime, anywhere
• Cost-effective integration via web services that are published to clients
• Affordable pricing, including subscription-based options that eliminate up-front investment costs

End-to-end business management

Paperless processing doesn’t eradicate information management challenges. The freedom that comes from automation is only possible after you consider information management strategically, step by step, from document creation through migration, purging, and destruction. Similar to preventing sunburn or chemical contamination, it requires understanding challenges, goals, choices, and probable outcomes.

In summary:

• Understand the documents and information that flow into your organization
• Know how and where information is used within your business
• Understand the touch points of your documents/information in routine processing
• Implement a central repository to link disparate information
• Integrate technologies so information can be pushed efficiently from one system to another
• Use automation to orchestrate secure, timely, consistent retention

With clear goals, a strategic plan, a strong and integrated EDM/ ECM/BPM suite, and these guidelines, you’ll surpass paperless processing and achieve true efficiency.

¹Symantec’s 2010 Information Management Health Check Survey. Details at www.symantec.com.

²2010 State of the ECM Industry Report, AIIM (www.aiim.org)

³The Most Common Legal Malpractice Claims by Type of Alleged Error, by Dan Pinnington, Law Practice magazine, July/August 2010 issue

For more information or to schedule a demonstration, please Contact DocFinity now.