Hand in Hand: 3 Ways Document Conversion Supports Telework

Telework has multiple benefits for many organizations. It increases employee satisfaction and productivity, reduces office space requirements, and even improves sustainability by reducing automobile commuting – all good for the bottom line. But it has some drawbacks too, particularly for offices such as law practices, healthcare administration, and many governmental agencies, where the work involves paper documents. When workers need access to paper documents, they have to be physically present in the office, and all the benefits of telecommuting are lost.

The solution: Document conversion. Far more than a simple PDF scan, a well-designed document conversion plan:

• creates “smart” documents with searchable contents, accessible from multiple points;
• reduces loss or unauthorized use of documents;
• sets guidelines for physical document retention and weeds out unnecessary papers.

The first two points above have a direct bearing on telework.

1. Collaboration: Teams working collaboratively frequently need to review the same document, often at the same time. A digitally-converted document can be accessed remotely by multiple team members, allowing some or all of them to work from home or a remote office. The team stays productive even though they’re not co-located.
2. Searchability: If a teleworker needs to refer to archived paper documents in multiple folders or file cabinets, the research requires a visit to the office and a labor-intensive and error-prone manual search. A searchable database of digitally-converted documents can deliver the answers to the remote workplace in a matter of seconds, enhancing productivity.
3. Security: A database of digitally-converted documents allows different degrees of access for various personnel – something that can’t be done with a standard file cabinet – as well as a digital “trail” of usage. Teleworkers can be assigned the appropriate level of access for their tasks without concerns regarding unauthorized access.

Easy collaboration, fast searches, and solid security all add up to improved productivity, and in turn, they support the productivity gains of telecommuting. Planning and executing a document conversion and management plan is a complex undertaking, but an experienced document conversion provider will make the process easy. The benefits are well worth the effort.

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