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With such a high workload being done at a fast pace offices are always looking for a way to improve. Utilizing a scanning service is one such way that a workplace can improve their efficiency and record keeping. To make switching to a scanning service a little easier here are just six of the ways that scanning can make an office more efficient.
1. No More Faxing
A couple of decades ago faxing was a new technology that was supposed to make life easier. While it definitely did that, faxing still had its own number of problems and sending fax required the sender to spend as much time as it took for the recipient to actually receive it. If you didn’t spend this time waiting you could easily end up with fax that did not make it to the recipient without your knowledge.
There was also the problem of sending faxes outside of business hours. There are a variety of reasons that a document would need to be faxed at night or on the weekends and this proved problematic as there was not anyone at the recipient’s office to accept the fax.
Scanning allows a document to be uploaded to a drive or email which can then be sent to the recipient. This would not require the individual to be waiting to accept the document instead it would simply be waiting in their inbox. Scanning allows documents to be sent at any time day or night.
2. Improved Customer Service
The goal of any business is to offer the best customer service available within their particular niche. Whatever that maybe, the goal is to ensure that every customer has a satisfying experience in the hope that they will return again. One of the best ways to improve customer service is to have a familiar relationship with customers and give them prompt help whenever they need it.
Scanning is a remarkably helpful tool for this allowing scanned documents to be easily found through a simple search. This makes it easier to pull up a specific customer’s information to help them with whatever problem they have. It also gives the customer service representative the ability to recall information to the consumer making them feel like they are appreciated and not just a random customer.
3. Automation
Without a scanner, creating an online version of a document from a paper template can be very time-consuming. You would have to go through each field individually to create the ability for people to input their personal information.
Scanning makes this process easy by automatically searching scanned documents for information fields and it is these fields that can be easily digitalized allowing alterations to be made easily. It’s easy to see how scanning can make digitalization of documents much faster than before. If you check out FileCenter DMS they highlight that scanning documents can cut down two hours of daily filing into just 10 minutes, therefore, allowing a much higher volume of documents to be digitalized in a shorter amount of time. This is ideal for businesses that deal with online forms frequently. Scanning can streamline this process making it easier to tackle new forms.
4. Streamlining Workflow
In a world where paper documents are the norm, it’s difficult to keep everything organized. Pieces of paper are constantly being moved from cubicle to cubicle with each employee making changes as needed. Not only is this a great way to lose important papers but it’s also extremely inefficient. This process forces employees who need one document to work separately so tasks can take much more time than they should.
Scanning allows documents to be uploaded to a central workspace where all employees can access them at the same time. With all employees working simultaneously, the completion time for projects will drop dramatically. This also allows employees to see the work of their coworkers in real-time rather than waiting for edits or new ideas to be shared manually. Real-time updates can improve worker collaboration and originality on projects.
5. Give It a Name
It’s already been mentioned that paper records can easily be lost or damaged and similarly it’s easy for documents to go unlabeled making it difficult to know that the information should be stored. This can result in gaps in files and unlabeled papers never making their way into the right place.
Scanning makes it easy to ensure that all documents stay in their proper place. Using a scanning service allows you to name the document at the time it’s being scanned. By attaching a name to the file, there is virtually no way that it can go without being recognized. This is especially important for medical records or tax forms where the unfamiliar jargon can make it difficult to decipher what the document is saying.
6. Prepared for the Worst
Sometimes the worst-case scenario occurs and your cup of coffee gets spilled on your desk ruining the records your filing. Perhaps it is recycling day and you’ve decided to clean out your desk, getting rid of an important portfolio in the process. Whatever the case, losing paper documents is easier than almost anything else on the planet.
There is also the concern of natural disasters or fires and in these cases, it’s a real problem if physical files are all a business uses. These events are hopefully unlikely but a possibility that a company may need to be prepared for all the same. This video will give you information about surviving on natural disaster.
Even if the computers or other devices in an office are completely destroyed, scanned documents will remain. When scanned documents are uploaded to a drive they can be accessed from anywhere that is able to login to that drive.
Scanning can make an office significantly more efficient than it was before by implementing this technology into your workplace and making it easier than ever before to keep track of records and make sure that tasks are done efficiently. With so many upsides to scanning, there’s no reason that every workplace shouldn’t switch over to this method of document keeping.