Often when we think of business, we think of big deals being made in big offices. Long desks with men in suits looking out over a city. When in truth the real business being done is across offices all over the world with workers from different departments and with different skill sets working with each other to deliver not only results but synergy and purpose. This is why sometimes the more mundane parts of work are some of the most important. In this case, one of the most important things that a company can do is improve its workflow. Workflow is how work passes through the company. The sales team makes a sale, they request an invoice from the accounting team, the accounting team sends an invoice, and many other types of processes. Workflow can make your company an efficient machine or can drag you down. And when the most critical part of managing workflow is managing documents, but why is that exactly?
The reason document workflow is so critical is that a business is its documentation. That sounds extreme, but your logo identifies who you are, your invoices are how you make a profit, and your hiring advertisements are how you find new people for your company. So your files and documents are what make a company, and the workflow around these documents can be seen as the blood pumping through the company. The documents moving around is what makes things happen end eliminates stagnation. These files can come in a variety of forms, but mostly they will be word or PDF files. Depending on what you do and how you need to work on files in groups and distribute workflow, you could use a variety of documents. The most important thing to know regarding document workflow though is access.
Proper Document Workflows Provide Quick Access to Information
Being able to access documents quickly and efficiently is critical in terms of managing and speeding up workflow. In business when you have some issue you cannot solve, it is called a block. One of the leading causes of blocks in the workplace is due to an employee being unable to access an essential document or piece of data. This can be fixed by putting a good system in place for workflow documentation. One of the ways to do this is by having proper storage of documents. If you are working with PDFs, one of the best ways to do this is with Lumin PDF. The reason for this is Lumin PDF has a feature that lets it work with Google Drive. This means that employees can work on documents together and share them in real-time and this will eliminate potential blocks when it comes to workflow. In addition, to this. The PDF editor also has some other great tools such as the convert PDF tool and the Merge PDF tool. In addition to increasing access, having a good document workflow will also reduce time spent on mundane tasks.
Proper Document Workflows Reduce Time Spent on Low-Value Tasks
Another key impact of organizing your document workflow is time management. If there is one issue that plagues businesses more than workflow, it’s time management. If you make your documentation process smooth and easy, then you will remove a lot of small tasks. For example, if invoices are sent automatically when a sale is cataloged through your company’s CRM then it will remove a series of tasks that different teams would have had to be involved in. These small things do not seem like such a big deal, but they add up in the long run and can save your company thousands of hours that can then be spent on more pressing and critical tasks such as finding new clients.
Proper Document Workflows Identify Inefficiencies
One side benefit of having a smooth document workflow is that it is a good way to discover what your company can do better. For instance, if you are sending out payments to people and there are problems with this, you will know quickly. Another way this can impact your business is that when you are trying to do something with documents and it is taking a lot of time, you can see how it is slowing things down and from there you can remove some steps or automate some parts of the process which will, in turn, make you business faster and more responsive to potential problems in your document workflow.
Proper Document Workflows Creates Document Management Cohesion
When working with a lot of documents, cohesion can become an issue. But if you manage your document workflow correctly, you can not only avoid issues of cohesion but improve it. An example of this would be if there is not an automated process and the right documents are not getting to the right people. The wrong files are being sent, and the right files are being sent to the wrong person. By having a proper documentation flow, you can avoid having these issues. A lack of cohesion can not only slow down your operation but could cause catastrophic problems.
Proper Document Workflows Speeds Up Response to Customer Requests
If you have ever been working with a company that has poor customer support, it is unlikely that you will be so interested in returning to that company in the future. Customer service is an important part of business and managing document workflow can make this go much easier. By having a proper document workflow channel, you can make sure your customer support reps have access to the documents they need when a client is confronted with some sort of issue. The processes and understanding of your clients and how your workflow impacts them will have a large impact on your relationship as well as your reputation since this will determine how people will perceive your company.