'Enterprises need smart document strategies'

Mark Petit

BANGALORE, INDIA: Today’s business landscape is such that most organizations are having to re-think the way they invest in technology. Business leaders, tasked with cutting costs and improving worker productivity, are discovering that technology alone cannot help them achieve these goals.

While technology has certainly played an important role to automate the exchange of data, the role of the document cannot be overlooked. In fact, the document is the container of knowledge that connects people and business processes.

The labor that lies in the production, distribution and use of documents in today’s business environment is a hidden and misunderstood aspect of cost, productivity and IT infrastructure. This begs the question: In this era of productivity and cost cutting, why have so few organizations focused on document management as a benefit to the bottom line?

The answer is complicated yet doable. Technological innovation is necessary, but equally important is an understanding of work culture and human behavior.

A new way of thinking

Xerox Corp. is uncovering the untapped productivity opportunities that exist within an organization’s document-intensive business processes, calling for a shift in thinking around IT, one that focuses less on the “T” and more on the “I.”

Xerox is reminding business leaders that while they purchased technology to be more efficient, it is actually information that generates new ideas and drives decisions throughout the organization. Eighty-three percent of organizations say the documents that contain this information are critical to all business processes, yet only 44 percent measure document-related costs within the organization, according to a Xerox-sponsored survey conducted by IDC.

Organizations that recognize and adapt to this new IT shift will focus on identifying how and when information is transferred, and determine the most effective way for employees to obtain it. Through document consulting, Xerox Global Services is helping these organizations capture, store and retrieve information, providing a competitive advantage as business leaders look to comply with federal regulations, improve customer service, speed time to market, and create business continuity plans to protect intellectual property.

Leveraging Xerox’s document heritage in this way allows Xerox Global Services to deliver smarter document solutions that help companies capitalize on the important information within documents.

Invest in assessment

To help organizations use their people, their documents and technology to full potential, it is important to conduct an assessment, not only to evaluate current processes but to link IT investments to ROI. Evaluating an organization’s business processes not only reveals the data needed to reduce costs, it adds cultural analysis to improve the flow of information and in turn, increases productivity. By understanding where knowledge exists and how it is shared, the organization can identify inefficiencies before implementing changes. Continual assessment allows for understanding how employees acclimate to new technology and processes—key to ensuring ROI.

Organizations are increasingly turning to a services provider to uncover obstacles embedded in work processes that have built up over decades by integrating measurement methodologies like Six Sigma into the assessment process. Xerox is one of several companies adding specialized consultants armed with statistical analysis tools, MBAs and Six Sigma training for business process improvement.

Smarter way to work with information

In a business environment that every day grows more dependent on information in all formats, the flow of information needs to be as manageable as possible so workers can create, exchange, use and re-use the knowledge on which the business runs.

To reach the next level of efficiency, an organization must provide employees with a smarter way to work with information. The following are some suggestions on how to achieve greater productivity through smarter document management:

• Review current processes. By understanding where knowledge exists and how it is transferred, businesses can identify inefficiencies before adding new technology or changing existing practices.
• Evaluate customer communication. Ninety percent of customer communication is through documents, making the content and distribution of these documents vital to the way the company wins and keeps customers. By reviewing current communications activities, an organization can determine how to best get the right information to the people in a way that will have the greatest impact.
• Consider new ways to do business. Multifunction devices are now offered at a price range to fit every budget. Assess document output needs or consider outsourcing to determine the most efficient way to free up time to focus on core business objectives.
• Empower the workforce. Organizations spend billions of dollars on technology without considering the impact it will have on employees. To ensure new technology is deployed most effectively, the company should consider work habits and cultural norms, and train employees so they understand how the implementation will integrate with current work processes.
• Measure the return on investment. Establish metrics and benchmarks for productivity improvements before making technology decisions.

(The authour is an executive director with Xerox Global Services)