Business plans are exhaustive and all-encompassing, outlining the vision of what a business is trying to achieve and a strategy and tactics for achieving that vision. Organizations should follow the same process as they design and implement content management plans. The overarching mission of these plans should be improved data integrity, increased employee productivity, and comprehensive data security. With that goal in mind, what are the three most important strategies and supporting tactics in a content management plan?
Accurate Record Keeping
Accuracy is a vital cornerstone for content and document workflows. Healthcare facilities, for example, are held to high compliance standards because of HIPAA regulations, and must also work with insurance providers to receive reimbursement for services rendered. Errors in patient documentation or insurance forms can trigger HIPAA non-compliance fines or create delays for hospitals attempting to collect reimbursement payments.
Enterprises can ensure accurate record keeping by equipping their employees with software to create, capture and securely share documents. Advances in OCR technology ensure an exceptionally high level of accuracy as data is converted from paper to editable PDFs and other formats. Software also automatically enhances these scanned documents for improved readability before they are incorporated into predetermined workflows and routed to the correct internal stakeholders (for example – submitting invoices to accounts receivable).
Integrate Mobility
There is a time-value to data; the longer it takes information to go from “Point A” to “Point B,” the less valuable (real-time, actionable) that data becomes. Organizations, for example, can communicate in real-time for the most part, whether through video conference calls, email or instant messenger. Workflows that rely on sharing physical documents, by comparison, diminish in value because they require information to be moved back-and-forth multiple times for approval or filing.
Consider a salesperson on a business trip who receives a call from a client wanting to place an order. Normally, the salesperson would not be able to process the order until returning to the office. Then, he would need to print out the contract, fill in the necessary details, and scan and email the contract to the client, who would have to repeat a similar process to confirm the order. Any number of issues might arise between the initial call and order confirmation, which could delay – or even risk losing – the sale.
If the salesperson had access to integrated mobile capabilities, he could have created a PDF of the contract from his mobile device, inserted editable fields, completed the contract electronically and inserted a field for the client’s electronic signature – all from a smartphone or tablet.
Data Security Threats
Data existing in electronic or digital format is intrinsically more secure than paper-based data. Yet, paper persists in many enterprises and increasingly strict regulations like GDPR are forcing companies to get a better handle on the security of sensitive data residing on paper.
When creating data security strategies, enterprises will often focus on securing the network perimeter from external threats such as hackers. However, these focuses often neglect to include the seemingly innocent officer printer, which can represent a major data security blind spot. For example, print jobs are commonly forgotten on the print try or intercepted by unauthorized employees – potentially exposing the sensitive data and putting the organization at risk of fines or penalties.
A more comprehensive approach to data security must address both paper and digital documents, which means achieving greater printing security. For example, today’s printer software tools can hold print jobs in a secure queue, until authorized employees validate their presence at the device (with an employee code or ID badge, for example) to release the print job. The software also maintains an audit trail of all print jobs, which further helps with compliance.
Capitalizing on Opportunities While Mitigating Threats
When creating a content management plan, organizations should look to leverage their strengths and opportunities while addressing weaknesses and threats. These may vary from company to company, but the foundational elements described above – accurate record keeping, mobile integration and comprehensive data security – tend to be universal. Creating a content management plan and defining the supporting strategies and tactics may seem like a daunting task, but these elements together represent the essential cornerstone and best logical starting point for achieving the ultimate goals.