By Paul Mullon, divisional director of marketing at Metrofile
Batho Pele is all about people. To achieve the lofty goals ensconced in these principles, government needs to focus on delivering streamlined, effective services to the people of SA.
Effective service has less to do with friendly customer-facing employees than with the efficient handling of the information associated with the multitude of services government provides. Central to these services is the effective management of documents and records.
Every aspect of government, from parliamentary decrees to a citizen`s request for a passport, and even a municipal query about rates, leaves a paper trail that must be properly managed. When citizens approach a governmental department for a particular service, they often have to wait while the appropriate paperwork is found and updated before they can move on.
This paper chase is a waste of time and money. Not only does it distract staff from delivering an efficient service, but it also requires the involvement of multiple people in retrieving the document, sending it to the requesting office, updating information and filing it again. In many instances this process could easily be shortened and made less error prone by using digital imaging.
Scanning the documents into electronic format and indexing them appropriately will allow all authorised government staff to instantly access any information they need, perform the necessary tasks and have the latest status immediately available through a computer screen. The original documents can be stored offsite, while the wheels of government turn more efficiently with easier, more reliable access to information.
The three primary benefits to government of converting documents into digital format are improvements in cost, productivity and accountability:
Cost: Images of documents are much easier, faster and cheaper to distribute electronically. In addition, electronic documents can be centrally stored and managed, while still being immediately available across the country at the touch of a button.
Productivity: A paper document can only be filed in one place and accessed by one person at a time, possibly creating a duplication problem. Numerous users can share one electronic document simultaneously, while finding or updating a digital document is also easier as all documents have a meaningful index.
Accountability: It can be difficult to track paper documents and determine who is responsible for changes, misfiling or even loss. No employee can access electronic files without the appropriate authorisation, while tracking and auditing software ensures every person`s actions are recorded.
Scanning paper documents into electronic format has been applied successfully in business and governments worldwide and a growing number of organisations are looking at this process to reduce costs and improve productivity. Digitising documents ensures staff can focus on value-adding tasks instead of administering paper, while adding a new layer of accountability through an electronic audit trail.
Of course, the size of government and the number of documents it deals with will require careful planning and preparation before moving to a digital document management programme, and will still require the use and storage of paper in many instances. Going through the process will result in reduced costs and administrative burdens, along with an increase in service levels and accountability.
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Metrofile, an Empowerdex BBB-rated empowerment company, is the South African market leader in the management of business documents, and is committed to help customers reduce costs and improve productivity in processes that are centred on documents and corporate records.
All companies have a combination of paper and electronic documents, and are forced by law and customer requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. For most organisations, the volume of documents is growing at an exponential rate, and is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Metrofile is uniquely positioned to provide consulting and implementation of full lifecycle paper and electronic records management solutions from storage and conversion through to destruction.
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