Introduction
Businesses depend on well-organized documentation to function smoothly. An efficient document management process helps prevent lost files, miscommunications, and compliance risks. By establishing a standardized workflow, you can track each document's progress from creation to completion, ensuring better efficiency and reducing errors in day-to-day operations.
Read on to discover how to build and maintain document management workflows, and explore AI tools to reduce your workload.
What’s a Document Management Workflow?
A document management workflow is the process of handling company documentation from start to finish, including creation, distribution and storage. Every business has unique document-handling requirements. But no matter your needs, standardizing practices helps with consistency and transparency.
To establish foolproof documentation workflows, rely on document management software. These tools create, store and index secure files, helping you automate and streamline each task.
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Benefits of a Solid Document Management Workflow
An organized, secure documentation process lets everyone easily reference and update files, elevating efficiency and clarity. Here are the main advantages of having a refined document control workflow.
Higher Efficiency
Employees can waste time digging for crucial information that’s not readily available, like client data and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Efficient document management centralizes files for easy reference so people can focus on more important work.
A smooth workflow means employees receive the right documents at the right time. For example, new hires should get company policies and manuals on their first day, helping them start off with all the necessary information.
Consistent and Improved Results
A standardized workflow encourages repeatable success and sets a quality standard. Structuring each stage ensures all team members complete tasks in the same way, reducing deviations and skipped steps.
Automating document creation, approval and distribution with a tool like Scribe also enhances consistency and reduces human error.
Enhanced Transparency
Tactful document management elevates clarity and helps everyone understand company procedures. This is especially helpful for training new team members, who can access SOPs, policies and workflow diagrams from a centralized platform.
A management system also eases version control, helping employees access and keep track of different file versions.
Stronger Compliance
A predefined document management process ensures compliance when dealing with delicate files, including financial and legal documents. Advanced software grants employees specific user permissions, granting the right people access to sensitive information.
Structured workflows also specify when to remove or destroy client and customer data, helping your team comply with regulations like the GDPR.
Document Management Workflow Solutions
There are two main types of document workflow software: cloud-based and on-premises. Cloud-based tools are more common nowadays, but some companies still prefer on-premises systems. Here’s an overview of both.
Cloud-Based
Cloud-based tools store and manage your documents on remote servers. This platform type is usually more affordable and requires less effort, as cloud vendors maintain and update servers.
Using remote servers enables employees to access files regardless of location, which is particularly useful for remote, global and hybrid workers.
Due to its accessibility and simplicity, this is the most common type of document management system.
On-Premises
These systems are installed and maintained on company premises. Because there’s no third party, on-premises software gives teams greater control over how they store documents. However, it’s also more labor-intensive to update and manage, so it’s typically better for organizations with a dedicated IT team.
Key Phases of a Document Workflow
Building a workflow in document management systems that addresses every lifecycle stage lets you create, organize and distribute files consistently and efficiently. Here are five critical parts of the workflow:
- Creation: Build and implement documents, like internal procedures and policies, external contracts and invoices. This step applies to writing new documents and updating old ones.
- Organization: Choose a standard, centralized location to store and manage your documents, like in a centralized knowledge base such as Google Docs or Scribe Pages. This keeps files safe and ensures employees can easily find them.
- Approval: Involve leaders and stakeholders in approving each document before implementation. Software with embedded sharing and feedback systems makes this easier.
- Distribution: Share files with the appropriate people to keep everyone on the same page. You can do this with links or PDFs.
How To Implement a Document Management Workflow: 4 Steps
While every organization’s process will vary, follow this four-step guide for a general approach to defining your company’s document workflow.
1. Establish Your Company’s Needs
Determine which documents are crucial to your organization and identify essential details about each, including who can and should handle them.
Decide who’s responsible for creating, editing and distributing the files, taking into account user access permissions. For example, an entry-level IT support agent can help write your customer troubleshooting guide, but an account manager must help with client requirement documents due to their sensitive contents.
2. Define Workflow Processes
Next, build your document management workflow. This defines how you’ll store, distribute and retrieve files and outlines related tasks like approvals.
Create a process flowchart to help visualize the steps. A high-level overview makes it easy to spot inefficiencies and redundancies.
3. Assemble Your Tech Stack
Choose tools that can organize, automate and secure the process. Document management systems (DMSs) typically provide document automation, security and privacy features. They can also offer audit trails and adaptable compliance control.
It’s also helpful to use process documentation software like Scribe to generate and optimize procedures. Turn on Scribe’s browser extension or open the desktop app and perform your process while the tool generates accurate instructions with annotated screenshots. You can then share Scribes through a link and receive instant feedback from your team, streamlining your document workflow process.
4. Implement Your System
Put your workflow into action. Train team members on the new processes and software, set user permissions and make sure everyone can access your knowledge base and relevant articles.
Remember, this process isn’t one-and-done — continue refining your workflow after implementation. Monitor its efficacy and continuously adjust and improve each stage. This is a collaborative effort, so it’s vital to seek input and opinions to build a system that benefits everyone.
Document Management Workflow Best Practices
As you create your company’s unique management workflow, consider these strategies to optimize the process:
- Educate your team: Train your staff on document workflow procedures, including how to handle files securely and where to access commonly referenced procedures. Conduct regular training to keep employees updated with new tools and practices.
- Automate tasks: Use automation to minimize tedious tasks, like notifying teammates when you’ve updated a document or requesting necessary documents from employees and external stakeholders.
- Encourage accessibility: Enhance navigation and searchability by sorting documents into relevant folders and ensuring they have clear titles and relevant tags.
- Employ security features: Use document security features like access control and encryption to protect sensitive files and reduce confusion about permissions.
- Standardize document creation: Improve documentation consistency by building all of your documents in the same way. For example, automatically generating procedures with Scribe ensures all your manuals have the same formatting and imagery.
- Involve every team member: Include the entire team in developing your workflow for a more efficient and collaborative process.
Document Management Workflow Use Cases
Here are three practical applications of document management workflows to help you understand their impact.
Legal
Law professionals manage vast amounts of sensitive documentation, from processing invoices to archiving court files. A standardized system helps them write consistent legal briefs, tag contracts for easy retrieval and set strict access controls for agreements.
A structured document workflow also tells legal workers when and how to destroy unnecessary documents, such as closed case files and old bills, to protect client safety.
Financial
Financial teams need to process documentation efficiently because other workflows depend on their timely completion. When financial documents are delayed, it can slow down related tasks across departments, impacting overall productivity and decision-making. Organized management means workers submit payment requests and invoices properly, perform validation checks and archive files for future reference.
Good document management doesn’t just increase efficiency, but it also enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finance professionals handle delicate information like banking details, and clients must know that their data is safe.
Onboarding
High-quality onboarding requires extensive documentation, including company policies, employee handbooks and dozens of SOPs. It's important to distribute these documents at the right time to follow company regulations and avoid overwhelming new employees.
For example, a centralized onboarding checklist helps teammates know when it’s their turn to get involved — when an IT specialist receives a notification, they’ll know it’s time to set up software permissions for the new employee.
Strengthen Your Document Workflow With Scribe
Enhance document management workflows by generating, securing and distributing files with Scribe. Our tool makes it simple to build how-to guides and manuals instantly and share the results in a few clicks. Customize user permissions to give the right people access, from team members only to anyone with the link.
Scribe Pages further supports an efficient document workflow. This collection of Scribes, videos and links helps you seamlessly organize processes and guide employees through them.
Sign up for Scribe to start crafting a productive, helpful workflow.
