Some things can be free, such as zero cost record management

From a young age we are taught that nothing in life is free - there is always a cost and everything has a price tag. Romantics could argue against this, but that is a debate for another day. People in the business world, however, live by this philosophy. Right up there with inequality, it is one of the founding principles of the capitalist society; and if everything was free or nothing could be bought, the business world would cease to be. The basic buy/sell transaction that is business would be no more.

Yet regardless of the philosophical debate around capitalist or socialist society, some things can be done in the business world for zero cost. If the initial financial outlay of a project can be covered through return on investment, and any additional money made from this return applied to taking further steps in this project until its completion, is this project not then achieved at zero cost?

Business documents and records are vital to all business. However, managing documents and records is something that most organisations struggle with. According to a 2003 IDC report, most organisations understand the need for and value of document management. 82% of the businesses surveyed think that documents are crucial to the successful operation of their organisation.

However, the statistics gathered through the research revealed that 2% of the interviewed organisations had no document management processes, 10% did not know what document management processes they had in place, and 9% only had ad hoc processes.

Added to this, the heightened awareness of issues around corporate governance has placed increasing pressure on organisations to spend money ensuring they comply with the new requirements.

Complying with document management requirements can incur monstrous overheads and expenses if not done properly. If done in the right way, with the right partner to guide you, it can ultimately be done for zero cost.

Managing your documents and records at zero cost is possible when you are prepared to spend an initial amount of money, which is recovered quickly through cost savings and quick wins that generate further cost savings and larger wins, which can then be used to fund advancements in your company`s ability to manage its documents and records.

One of the first steps to achieving zero cost compliance is understanding that documents move through different stages in their lifecycle. Many organisations approach the management of their documents with the implementation of broad sweeping technology, without taking into consideration the lifecycle of their documents, and the varying requirements that accompany and help define each stage. The use, requirements and cost dynamics of documents in every stage is different, so not all stages in a document`s lifecycle should be managed with one technology.

Many organisations grab at technology as a solution to managing their documents, converting all their documentation into electronic format, with the intention of keeping those electronic documents ad infinitum. They rationalise this move with hopes of lower costs of electronic storage and increased ability to share the information with many people across multiple geographic locations, all at the same time.

However, should any documents need to be kept for decades, the benefits of storing them electronically are not as powerful or tangible as would be expected. The need for instant access falls away when working with documents that have a life span of 50 years or more.

If you need immediate access to your documents then fast, expensive technology can enable this. However, if you need low-cost storage over many years, where access is not the primary concern, then low-level technology, solid document management policies, or outsourcing your document storage needs can save the organisation money in the long run.

Zero cost compliance requires the organisation to identify the areas in the business that will enjoy immediate benefit from managing documents and records appropriately, throughout the lifecycle of these documents. By identifying immediate benefits with the management of an organisation`s documents, quick wins can be derived for the business and funding for the next level of document management can be freed up.

Audit existing systems and policies: The first thing to do when beginning your journey towards zero cost document management is to gain a rudimentary understanding of how documents and records are being managed in your organisation already, and at what current cost. What technology, systems and processes are in place? Which documents are being poorly managed? Are there any documents that are being unnecessarily duplicated and to what extent is this the case? How many documents are being kept for longer than they legally need to be?

Develop a retention policy: A retention policy is necessary to ensure documents that need to be retained are kept, and are secure and accessible to the people who need them, when they need them. Such a policy ensures money is not wasted on maintaining and storing documents that have no legal or sound business requirements for such storage. Any documents that no longer hold business value should be destroyed in a responsible manner.

Duplicate and redundancy elimination: According to guidelines provided at a recent ARMA International conference, 30% of all documents in an organisation can be immediately destroyed because they are not business records or they are immediately identifiable as duplicates. With a little effort and research internally, these documents can be identified and destroyed.

Off-site storage: Few organisations are in the business of storing large volumes of paper. Not being the core business focus, it is often handled by people and systems poorly equipped for the job. Office space is costly as storage space, and warehouse space is not suited to the proper storage of documents. ARMA estimates that another 30% of physical documents currently in organisations would be more appropriately stored off-site, at significantly reduced cost.

Live file management: Documents that are used in daily processes are "live", meaning they are frequently retrieved and moved around the organisation. The problem with frequent retrieval is that these documents are more prone to being lost, misfiled, left on desks for lengthy periods, or damaged. Few companies have systems to manage "live" documents and their movement through the organisation. Correct management of these critical documents can deliver cost and efficiency savings almost from day one.

Imaging systems: In many instances, implementing a document imaging system does provide immediate benefits to the organisation as such a system enables documents to be moved through the business more efficiently than paper documents. However, this depends entirely on the organisation`s requirements and the level of technology it is skilled enough to introduce.

Automation: Once documents are in electronic format, simple workflow and routing technology can be used to ensure the movement of documents happens in the most efficient way. This could be as simple as sending the document to two people at the same time, who can do what they need to without having to wait for one person to finish before the other can gain access to that document.

Expanding into the value chain: Instead of receiving and sending paper documents to and from suppliers and customers, collaboration with such partners can lead to the movement of electronic documents, removing costs associated with scanning, filing, printing and delivery.

By implementing these steps, one at a time, organisations can save costs to such an extent that the money saved can be used to fund the next step. As the organisation moves through each step, processes can be streamlined and costs lowered further. As costs are increasingly saved, the organisation is able to fund more sophisticated projects that can lead to competitive advantage, all at zero cost.