9 Strategies To Streamline Your File Management Efforts

On one hand, a well-maintained and organized filing and document management system can help your business avoid security risks, stay compliant with record-keeping policies, and improve productivity and workflow. On the other hand, a disorganized one can cost your business money and time.

 

Statistics show that 3% of an organization’s documents are misfiled while another 7.5% are lost entirely. Meanwhile, 90% are shuffled through the file system where workers spend between 5–25 minutes to find a document.

 

In terms of money, it’s estimated that the average company wastes over USD$19,000 per information worker annually, on lost time finding and working with documents, accounting for about 21% loss in productivity.

 

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Effective Strategies to streamline file management

 

Whether your files are electronic or physical, it’s important that you streamline your file management efforts and avoid a headache. Here are some strategies you should implement.

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File management

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1. Choose A Single Location

 

To keep everything organized from the beginning, you need to select one master location for all your files. This means that every document that your organization creates and uses will have to be stored in a single location. From there, you can categorize documents and create subfolders.

 

By choosing a single place for all documents, you can streamline your system. There’s no need to search through multiple computer folders or pull out several drawers just to find the file you need.

 

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2. Create A Hierarchical System

 

Subfolders are a lifesaver when you’re trying to keep things organized. Within the main folder, you can have multiple categories of folders. Then, from within those categories, you can have more specific categories of those folders.

 

For instance: Employee Salary > Tech Department > 2021 > June

 

With this system, you can see the main folder ‘Employee Salary’ containing subfolders about which department, in this case, the ‘Tech Department.’ Within this folder, there are multiple folders for each year of salary. And inside them, you can find which month contains the documents related.

 

Having a hierarchical system for your files is so much easier to manage than having a single ‘Employee Salary’ folder containing all the different departments, years, and various files from salary slips to documents on sick leaves to employees’ electronic signature of acknowledgment.

 

 

3. Utilize Labels

 

If you’re dealing with lots of paper files every day, you can easily lose an important document you suddenly need. So, rather than putting everything in single or multiple stacks, utilize labels.

 

A simple labeling system can easily cut down on the time spent looking for a certain document. Just be specific when creating labels so that you’ll be able to find the files when you need them. Headings should be easy to understand too, especially if you’re not the only one accessing the files.

 

Meanwhile, if you need to organize electronic files, then use folder names that make sense and are easy to understand.

 

 

4. Establish A File Naming System

 

Keep files organized across your business by implementing a company-wide file naming system. This should make it easier to organize files across several teams and for every employee to understand what each file is.

 

Your naming system can be as simple as using the specific file name, a dash, and the creator’s name. If you have files with the same name but different years or months, then include a year or month in the file name. 

 

Now, whatever name system you choose, make sure that it’s used across the company and everyone knows about it.

 

 

5. Track Each Document Version

 

Documents will usually go through revisions. It’s unavoidable. But you don’t want to revise a document several times only to forget which is the latest version. To avoid this problem, you need to clearly mark your changes in the documents you edit or create a new file instead.

 

It’s tempting to simply edit in the same file. But it may not be a great idea if you need to go back to the previous version. Thus, saving each version is a good solution. Just make sure that you include an indicator like a date or time to know which version is the latest.

 

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6. File Consistently

 

Electronic and paper files can pile up. So, don’t just put them all on your desktop on your computer or your literal desk. Make it a habit to always file things away as soon as they’re not needed anymore. Doing so can help reduce clutter and the time spent on filing a bunch of documents later on.

 

 

7. Review File Retention Schedules

 

Following accurate retention schedules is important for streamlining your records management. The schedule is a policy document that details just how long data and files must be kept, why they’re retained, and what are the disposal guidelines.

 

Different kinds of files have different retention requirements. So, you need to set policies for all files to improve management and security.

 

Every new year makes the perfect time for reviewing your retention schedules. You might need to update the schedules because of regulatory requirement changes or changes in record functions within your business.

 

 

8. Proper Disposal Of Files

 

Now, for all the documents past their retention requirements, you need to dispose of them properly and securely. Keeping records that are beyond their useful life not only takes up space but also opens your company to potential security risks. Even if those files are not useful anymore, if the wrong person gets them, it can result in a data breach. This leads to regulatory compliance issues and fines.

 

A professional shredding service can give you the highest level of privacy and security for physical document disposal. For electronic documents, you can use software that overwrites the files several times to ensure that the file can’t be recovered for data security.

 

 

9. Have A Backup Plan

 

Being organized is one thing. However, it doesn’t matter just how streamlined and organized your filing management system was if your file server crashes or an accident—for instance, a fire broke out in the office—decimated your files.

 

So, make sure to always have a backup of all documents. This ensures that you never lose anything important. You can choose a location separate from your computer or office to back up data. For the paper files, you can make copies of the important files and store them in more than one place.

 

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Conclusion

 

File management doesn’t have to be stressful. It only takes a little effort, teamwork, and consistency. As long as everyone’s on board and implementing the above tips, your business’s files don’t have to be a headache.