Conundrum

Going paperless: Aren't I more likely to lose files that I can't touch?

This week's conundrum was submitted by Flo Livingston of the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Thousand Oaks, CA. She writes:

"Our company will soon be going into the 'paperless' mode. As a long-time supporter of paper filing, I have many concerns about not having the files at hand and am worried that digitized documents may get lost in cyberspace.

"I also worry that the person entering or scanning the information will not do a good job and that needed information will not be properly 'filed' in a paperless system.

"Can you alleviate my fears about these issues?"

Conventional Solution

FEAR ALLEVIATION FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS LEARNED FIRST-HAND

We presented Ms. Livingston's concerns to Barbara Christensen, City Recorder/Treasurer for Ashland, OR, a city of 20,000 known internationally for its annual Shakespeare festival.

She was kind enough to offer her personal insights into Ms.Livingston's specific concerns as well as a more general view of why she prefers paperless document management.

Regarding Ms. Livingston's fear of having lost files float off far into cyberspace, Ms. Christensen says:

"Paperless documents don't get lost in cyberspace, but can be misfiled as easily as paper documents. The only difference is, it will be easier to find the paperless documents, utilizing the search functions* of your document imaging program.

"Someone may put a document in the wrong folder but it is important to understand that the document can go no farther than where you store your system files on your main server.

"Making the switch from paper to paperless is simple, and just requires a little imagination. Imagine your computer as a filing cabinet and when you scan the document, you are filing it in your computer's file cabinet.

"You decide how you want to set up your filing system and then simply scan the document and place it in the folder. There is no need to make multiple copies to send out to all parties involved, as all will have access to this document when the information is needed."

In response to Ms. Livingston's fear of handing over responsibility to file documents properly to scanner operators, Ms. Christensen says:

"The level of job performance and accuracy of filing, either for document imaging or manual filing, is directly related to training. Proper training for document imaging is no different than the training required for filing of paper documents.

"Our document imaging program uses familiar tools which make it quick and easy to learn and use. In addition to regular staff, our city has been successful in training volunteers, with little or no computer experience. These volunteers assist in scanning large volumes of documents in our Police Department and Community Development.

21st Century Solution

PLACING MS. LIVINGSTON'S CONCERNS INTO THE BIG PAPERLESS PICTURE

Ms. Christensen empathizes with Ms. Livingston's hesitation to take the plunge and embrace paperless document management, and offers the following thoughts on smoothing the transition.

"I compare making the switch from 'paper' to 'paperless' to the time computer software was developed for our accounting systems," she says. "For a long time we operated the manual system side by side with the computerized system. This continued until 'trust' in the computer system was reached, along with acknowledging its value with regard to savings and efficiency. The same holds true for document imaging. It takes time and patience to learn new ways of doing things.

"I have been promoting document imaging in our City for the past six years. One of the first things I did was to develop and implement a Records Management Plan. It was important to stress consistency, administration and coordination to ensure access to documents and that retention schedules were being followed.

"A common fear and concern among the staff was what would happen if the computer system crashed? How would we recover our records? It is therefore important to establish a Disaster Recovery Plan. It can range from something as simple as a complete system backup done weekly and stored off site, to a more extensive plan that encompasses fire, flood, earthquake, etc.

"Most staff concerns are relieved when they trust that a backup system is in place and that their records can be recovered easily.

"Preparation, time and training are the key factors. You need to take the time to consider the best way to set up access for your records and then to train staff on how to access these documents."

Ms. Christensen also stresses that productivity will soon eclipse any lingering concerns about moving away from paper-based filing.

"You will be amazed by how easy it is to access your records. Instead of physically pulling out a filing drawer and looking through many folders for a document, the file will appear on your desktop and instantly provide you with the information you need.

"Imagine searching for a paper file only to find out that another staff person has taken the file home. You have no access to that file to complete your work. With document imaging, everyone with proper security clearance has access to that document. There is no file that can be taken out of the office or lost.

"Imagine that this same paper file was taken home and eaten by the dog. With document imaging, once the document has been scanned and placed in a folder, it cannot be deleted (or eaten) without the proper security clearance."
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*The most well known search functions are key word and phrase searches based on indexing each key stoke in a document with Optical Character Recognition technology, and template searches based on information that input on templates archived with an imaged document.

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