Paperwork management and organization are vital because they help you to keep track of everything that’s going on in your business – documents-wise. Both also allow you to find the documents you need at any time quickly and efficiently. Yet this can be hard if your company operates in a hybrid work environment.
How? Hybrid work setup permits your team members to work at home or in the office; and work documents tend to be difficult to be managed effectively due to the more intricate workflows.
Without proper paperwork management and organization, your company is more prone to delays, missing or misplaced documents, and the like. To avoid such situations, you can follow these five steps that’ll help you manage and organize documents in your hybrid workplace:
1. Keep Your Documents Secure
In a traditional workplace, employees would have a folder or binder for each project they work on. They’d then put their work in a file cabinet or desk for easy retrieval. But in a hybrid office, you can store these files in digital platforms, which makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches.
That’s why you must keep your documents safe from prying eyes by storing them in an encrypted cloud storage solution. Plus, you enable digital paper signing on a portable document format (PDF) to make the files more secure. When you add a signature to documents before sending or keeping them, you verify the legitimacy of their contents. If you don’t know how to sign a PDF, you can check out websites online to guide you.
After that, you can boost a PDF’s protection by enabling document encryption so only those with password-protected encryption keys can access them. If another user tries to access the files, it’ll create an error message and inform them about their proper file usage. This way, only one can open your confidential documents with your permission.
2. Choose A Secure Central Location For All Your Files
After ensuring the protection of your documents, you have to select a centralized location for all of them. This may include a cloud-based storage platform or a mobile app allowing users to access their devices’ files. Thus, your documents will be easily accessible by any authorized user in your company.
Nonetheless, ensure you don’t keep your files on an insecure server. This can lead to data breaches – compromising your business’s security and integrity. So, if you’re looking for a central storage solution for your company’s documents, consider using a secure and reliable cloud provider. You can look for encryption, file versioning, and security scanning features. These ensure that all files are protected from unauthorized access and tampering during transport or storage between systems.
3. Build An Inventory List Of All Files And Folders
Once you choose a central file storage location for all your company’s documents, you should have an inventory of all the files and folders located there.
Before you can transfer or share all the data online, you must create an inventory of them. Having an inventory creates an easier workflow since everyone can refer to the master list whenever they need to access the files.
When creating a master list, you can use a spreadsheet where you’ll input all necessary details about each document. For instance, you may include the file name, type of file, size, employee’s name, and location. Additionally, you may organize your documents with tags and labels so that it’s easier for everyone to find the correct record at any time.
4. Create A Folder Structure For Each File Type
After creating an inventory of all files, you may upload them online. This process is called migration. File migration is crucial because it’ll help you to manage your documents correctly over the web.
But how will you be able to properly migrate your files on the cloud? You need to create a folder structure for all of your documents. This includes organizing all your documents into different folders according to their type. Folders can be categorized into different sections i.e. there are folders for different departments, projects, and so on.
5. Monitor File Access
Now that you’ve properly set up your hybrid workplace’s document management and organization system, you need to monitor it continuously at all times. Make sure that only authorized personnel have access to certain files and that you’re able to transfer files fast with goanywhere.com/solutions/fast-file-transfer
Carry out a tiered security access protocol wherein different team members only have certain levels of access to company resources, files, and the like based on their position, responsibility, and others.
Key Takeaway
Adopting a hybrid work environment means that your modern workforce must have a smooth document workflow. This means you must be careful when organizing your paperwork online and ensuring only authorized users can access business-related files. Keep in mind the abovementioned steps to help you carry out a sound and reliable office paperwork management and organization system.
