Document Management Pain Points are something most of us are all too familiar with. The frustration often starts when you’re just trying to find the document you need. But even after you’ve located it, the challenges continue—you still need to make sure it’s the correct version. If you’re dealing with a paper document, the situation can get even worse. You might have to track down the right filing cabinet, and if you’re lucky, it’s nearby. But what happens if the document is stored off-site and you need it urgently?
And that’s just the beginning. The documents you find must be up to date and valid, and you need to be confident that you’re always working on the correct version.
Common challenges in managing documents
- I spent hours updating an outdated version, only to find out that a newer version existed.
- I spent hours putting together this document, only to find out it was already available in our company.
- I found two documents! Which one is current?
- Q1-2024 Sales Report-Latest.xls
- Q1-2024 Sales Report-Final.xls
- Okay, I found the document but is this the latest version?
Common issues when working with file shares.
Where is that document? Which disk is it on? Companies create multiple drives and shared resources on their network to store documents. This is mainly done to prevent documents from being stored on individual workstations because it is very difficult to back them up. This however becomes a huge issue for knowledge workers who need quick access to documents to perform their daily tasks. Often, knowledge workers spend a huge amount of time searching for documents and some end up rewriting the document rather than continue to search for it.
Without a centralized document repository which is indexed properly for quick search and retrieval, you are wasting your time, money and effort thinking you have provided a solution to your document management challenges.
Searching for documents is a pain
Searching for documents take up a surprising amount of time for knowledge workers. The loss in time and productivity trying to find the document you are looking for is a huge cost to organization.
In today’s competitive environment, access to documents should be immediate. You need a system that allows users to quickly find the right information based on content and meta searches. Visit Document Management Facts and Figures to get a feel for how much is lost due to inefficiencies in searching for documents.
- I need access to my documents when I am on the road.
- What if documents are updated while I am on the road? How would I know about this?
- This document has been changed but who did it?
- Can I see all the document versions? Or just the last one?
- I need to share documents with vendors and customers. Am I supposed to let them into my network?
- Who else knows about this document? Who has seen it?
- There has to be someone in this organization who knows this, but who?
- Need the latest policy document. I wonder if there is a document out there about this topic?
We find ourselves asking questions related to who did what and when. This is an all too common problem when you are manually trying to deal with documents.
Who, What, When questions
- Who created this document?
- When did this document change? How can I tell when changes happen?
- Who updated this document?
- When did it get updated?
- Who else knows about this document? Who has seen it?
- There has to be someone in this organization who knows this, but who?
- Who else can see these documents? Are there access controls in place?
Trying to manage documents manually is a challenge
There are many other challanges with trying to manage documents. It is painful!
Here are many more questions and pain points we can name
- I am on the road a lot; how do I get to the latest versions of documents remotely?
- What about document security?
- I deal with confidential documents, how can I prevent unauthorized access?
- We receive digital files over e-mail and they get stuck in someone's e-mail box all the time. Is there a better way?
- All the digital assets must be secured. How?
- Who else knows about this document? Who has seen it? Is there an Audit Trail?
- I need access to my essential documents 24/7. These electronic documents need to be updated all the time.
- Everybody has a file on every server and every disk including their desktop. How can we get organized?
- I am a control freak. When things change, I want to know right then and there.
- Everybody puts documents all over the place, I want my images, documents and spreadsheets where they belong. Not just saved in any folder. We need Configuration Management.
Version Control issues
Version control issues are painful. It is very common for knowledge workers to be in doubt about working with the correct version of a document. Working with the wrong or outdated version of a document is a huge waste of valuable time and productivity.
- Which one is the current version? How do I get to an earlier version?
- I am on the road a lot; how do I get to the latest versions of documents remotely?
- What about document security?
- When did it get updated?
- I need to see an earlier version of this document. Is it possible?
- I wasted hours on a document only to find that it was an outdated version.
Security and Access issues
Document security is a critical issue. Not having granular control of document security is a common problem if all you have is a file share to store documents.
You also have to make sure that the right people have access to mission-critical documents. Balancing the two is not easy in a network environment.
- I need access to my documents when I am on the road.
- What if documents are updated while I am on the road? How would I know about this?
- This document has been changed but who did it?
- I need to share documents with vendors and customers. Am I supposed to let them into my network?
- I want to share some documents in a specific folder but I do not want them to see the other documents. Is this possible?
- How can I tell if someone has seen this document?
- I was told the file I needed was on the network. It was buried deep in one of the many complex folder structures and once I got there I found that I had not been given access permissions to view it.
Document Format and Access
Even small companies have to deal with thousands of documents that must be managed. Very few are aware of the magnitude of their problems associated with managing documents. Being able to share documents in a format that everyone can deal with is an issue. Can you imagine how long it would take to convert documents to a format everyone can agree on? It would be a daunting task. Even if you were agreeable to converting all your documents to PDF and HTML, how would you update or edit them? You need an effective document management system to get you beyond these problems.
- I want all these documents to be online but it will take years to convert them to HTML. Can we just publish them as is and still make them searchable?
- What if documents are updated while I am on the road? How would I know about this?
- This document has been changed but who did it?
- I need to share documents with vendors and customers. Am I supposed to let them into my network?
- Who else knows about this document? Who has seen it?
- There has to be someone in this organization who knows this, but who?
Notifications
Documents are being changed around us and we have no idea that this is happening. Control of documents requires a notification system that allows stakeholders to be notified when documents change. Mission critical proposals, writing or editing procedure documents, document review results, recurring document reviews for iso procedure documents are just a few examples of cases where an effective notification system can make a huge difference
- ISO Document Control. A background process monitors and automatically issues notifications and tasks to the right people, and even kicks off workflow tasks when a document is up for review.
- Workflow Notifications. As a document is passed on from one person to the other (or group of people), infoRouter automatically sends email notifications to make sure tasks are completed on time.
- Edits to critical proposal documents. Proposal managers are immedately notified when documents are edited or updated giving the full-control over the document generation process.
- Document expiration notifications. Stakeholders are notified when documents expire. Expired documents are marked so that users are aware before opening the document that it has expired.
- Retention and Disposition Schedule notifications. User assigned the role of Retention and Disposition Manager are immediately notified that a document must be archived or disposed (destroyed) when their time has come.
- Check In/Check out notifications. Project managers, team leaders, or any user can subscribe to documents and folders to be notified when a document is checked out or a new version is created.
Get organized!
Business documents on personal laptops, documents haphazardly saved to file shares, folders littered with unrelated documents, large files placed on network shares, documents that are no longer relevant kept on network shares are just a few examples of the disarray that is common to many organizations. If you are in a regulated industry, your problems may be worse than you think.
Links to important resources:
If you’re facing any of these challenges, you’re not alone. Explore our resource on Document Management Facts and Figures to discover the real costs of poor document management and how it impacts companies.
For a list of detailed benefits, please visit Top Ten Benefits of Document Management Systems - An Executive Overview page.
To learn more about infoRouter, please visit Top Ten reasons to use infoRouter - An Executive Overview.
Learn more about the importance of efficient document management by visiting our resource on Why Document Management is Important.