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Government compliance regulations are constantly changing. These just so occur to present a bit of a challenge for Human Resources Departments that have many compliance standards to permanently meet. Because of this, HR departments are from time to time fulfilling new processes and procedures for the purpose to more easily comply. With the quantity of paperwork, information and responsibilities of such departments, they need a business process management system to make their jobs easier.

Let’s first discuss what a business process management system actually does. A BPM system, in other words, is a management approach concerns business efficiency that is meant to constantly evolve business processes. The system enables for the electronic automation of workflows for the purpose to precisely streamline the life cycle of important business documents and review processes. Why would an HR department need a system like this? Let’s consider all of the many documents and processes that HR departments daily face and take care of: dealing with employment forms, updating, reporting health and life insurance plans, claim forms, recruitment planning options, personnel records, employment contracts, payroll, tax withholding and performance reviews. Not to mention, HR departments often manage their company’s new-hire recruiting process which involves a great amount of tedious paperwork. With all of these business processes to cope with, an electronic business process management system can eliminate the overwhelming frustration of supporting a manually organized system.

The most appropriate business process management approach is to implement an on-line document management system. An on-line document management system that includes workflow automation helps to reduce the struggle of managing paperwork altogether. This type of system assists with process improvement and enlarges business productivity. It also streamlines paper processing and document reviewing by employing an organized on-line database where documents can be uploaded with ease, routed automatically based upon a desired workflow and accessed from anywhere you may get an Internet connection.

There are a lot of software applications available for purchase or licensing that can streamline your HR department’s business process management. If your business is planning to develop to an automated and on-line document solution, there are things you have to carefully think of before selecting business management software so that it will address all of your individual and business needs. Find out how they secure your information on-line, what their guaranteed up-time is, what type of technical support they suggest, and finally, what’s the cost? Do you pay monthly, or is it an annual fee? So, do your research and learn how business process automation along with on-line document management can make your HR department more effective and secure, all while saving time and money.

In these unclear economic times, a large number of companies are faced with the challenge of how to maximize returns on lower budgets. It’s a do-more-with-less strategy that requires business operations be optimized now to meet current economic realities.

One place to consider for improving the bottom line is to look at how information is managed in the organization, particularly document management. This involves all the content, things like documents, invoices, etc.; all the actions, things like reviews, and approvals; and all the processes, these are the repeatable steps that drive the flow of information. Improving how information is managed, the content, actions, and processes, will improve efficiency, reduce risk, and lead to cost savings.

There is another positive outcome to consider with this as well, and it’s a silver lining. With any change comes opportunity, and the right kind of change now can position an organization for even greater success long term.

There are least seven ways that improvements in how information is controlled can influence the bottom line in terms of efficiency, risk and cost savings, and here they are:

Number 1: Make information findable so people can find information, instantly,
every day. Research has shown that among those who are involved with the flow of information, about one-half spend two hours per day searching for what they need to do their jobs. This can translate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unproductive cost per year.

The goal is to lower the time it takes for people to find information, making them more efficient and able to complete their tasks much faster.

Number 2: Automate business processes
Manual processes, especially those that involve paper, have a real tendency to breakdown. As information is routed in steps, for example in review or approval cycles, it’s often delayed, there are interruptions, and any number of user-influenced lapses can occur. These processes are a real challenge to manage for accountability. At any point in the process, it’s difficult to identify at which step the process is currently in. And looking back at completed processes, it’s virtually impossible to identify who did what and when. As result, business processes tend to be slow, taking days or weeks to cycle. And it’s this lack of speed, not mention the errors, that are the real burdens on efficiency.

Automating processes using workflow minimizes the need for people to manage processes and allows people to focus their expertise on making decisions and adding knowledge. The flow of information is handled automatically, which not only establishes consistent processing of information, but also shortens cycle times, increases accountability, and leads to greater quality and accuracy of repeatable business process.

Number 3: Improve collaboration
Many companies still use shared file servers to store information, email to share it, and sometimes FTP to exchange files back and forth. But here’s the problem: these methods are unstructured and disconnected. Managing information in this way lacks the necessary controls and collaborative tools to make the most efficient use of corporate knowledge. Files are easily copied or lost, information has to be re-created, and versioning is ad-hoc at best. Even worse, in some instances files are silo’d into line-of-business applications, for example a project management application that is only accessible to a few in the company.

The answer to improving efficiencies is creating a unified, enterprise, work environment where people and knowledge are connected company-wide. This allows everyone, no matter what area of the business they are in, to leverage the collective intelligence of an organization.

Number 4: Capture a record of every change.
Without a system to manage files as they change, it is virtually certain that information will be lost, it will be difficult to reassemble later on, and there will be confusion surrounding which are the correct versions of files.

Documents are not static. They change over time. Automated version control offers a standardized way to capture and organize information in what would otherwise be a chaotic and uncontrolled process. People are more productive and the risk of information loss is minimized. Plus, with version control, everyone immediately knows which is the current version, while past versions are always retrievable.

Another benefit of version control is that it can reduce risk. Version control eliminates the potential for losing content in prior versions and importantly, it allows for visibility over content history, for example who approved a document and what did the content look like at that time.

Number 5: Reduce the risk of email.
Email may be fast, cheap, and convenient, but it’s a mistake to believe that it’s an informal mode of communication. Email is increasingly falling under the scope of regulations such as eDiscovery. For this reason alone, it’s important to view email as business records. But even beyond regulation, there are other aspects of how we use email today that make it more and more essential to consider when reducing risk factors.

In many cases emails are used as a principle means of communication among employees, as well as with people outside the company, like customers or vendors. The content within emails, and files attached to them, are often times the most complete and thorough record of history over time. Your ability to quickly research and retrieve information from an email archive not only improves your chances of successfully complying with regulations and legal requirements, but it also helps with matters like researching and exchanging knowledge in hand-offs between people, say for example in times of employee transition.

Number 6: Maintain compliance with regulations
As with email records, some companies also face regulatory requirements that affect all types of information. Information itself can be a liability if it is incorrectly managed. Studies vary widely, but some have indicated that as much as 80% of documents reside on user’s desktops, beyond the control and management of any structured information system.

Government regulations, quality standards, and legal requirements are an increasing challenge, and programs that manage for compliance by documenting policies and procedures, applying consistent business processes, and securing information are necessary to reduce exposure to risk. Where quality standards and compliance exist, such as ISO, FDA, and Sarbanes-Oxley, regulated content and processes must be managed using records management.

And finally, Number 7: Eliminate paper storage costs and go Paperless.
Traditional storage of paper documents in filing cabinets, archive boxes, and off-site warehouses is a no-value solution. The expenditures of all that paper storage – the space and money spent on it – offers no return in value to the company. It’s an unnecessary operational cost. Filing cabinets consume valuable office space that could otherwise be used for meaningful and productive work areas; and dollars spent on off-site storage in warehouses could be invested in areas of business that actually have a positive return on the bottom line.

When documents are stored electronically, however, there’s an added value because information can be filed, searched and retrieved instantly. This is a big factor in terms of process efficiency. And there are other areas to consider as well: electronic document storage makes information more accessible, including even outside the office for employees who might be traveling, working at home, at satellite offices, or perhaps even vendors and customers. When documents are accessed, changed, or approved, everything is recorded in an audit log. Electronic document storage also makes it easier to plan for business continuity, so records can be restored quickly and the business can get immediately back up and running. And finally, electronic document storage is a greener, paperless approach that not only reduces storage and its associated costs, but also cuts down on the need for paper and printing.

Trimming costs is nothing new. And possibly you’ve gotten used to a lot more with a lot less. But you’re still feeling the pressure to increase efficiencies. Yet you’re not going to buy something “just because.” Any solution that you seek will need to be flexible, dynamic, and secure.

While budget concerns are of the moment, improving productivity and innovation is timeless.

Why have static and outdated approaches when dynamic and secure tools are out there? As Microsoft is preparing to launch Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, it’s time to think about the tools and systems you use, especially when it comes to document management systems.

A rewarding investment
Businesses are always looking for value. The right investments help improve productivity, increase collaboration, and facilitate innovation. Also crucial is meeting mounting security demands. Protecting data is of primary importance to any IT department, and many organizations are bound by industry or government regulations to protect data from unauthorized access.

To that end, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 offer enhanced security features, including policy-based network security. This allows only healthy computers to access network resources. And Windows 7 offers all the user-interface improvements of Vista with levels of speed, power, and performance that outperform XP.

But if security, efficiency, and user experience is important to you in your operating system–then what about your document management software?

Filing cabinets wise up
You wouldn’t upgrade your kitchen and then not buy food for the fridge, right? Electronic document management systems integrate with Microsoft operating systems and applications, making it easy for people to manage, store, control, and share documents and information. Document management software makes an already simple process more effective through version control, workflow, scanning, email management and archiving, document delivery, records management, and remote access.

While Windows’ use of folders has given us an easy-to-navigate interface—complete with copying, cutting, pasting, moving, and renaming files—document management software makes the system even more useful. Imagine if your filing cabinet was given intelligence. It could, for example, send notices out to 20 different people when a document is modified. Or route a file to a supervisor for approval, control document access, note every time someone accesses a file—and more.

Seek and you shall find
Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 R2 remove barriers that keep you from accessing your information, regardless of where it’s stored, and helps you stay productive when at home, on the road, or working from a branch office.

Whether you’re in or out of the office, document management does more than just index the files; systems can cross-reference, record association, provide context—all so you can find what you need even faster.

The files you need, when you need them, all with the highest level of security and reliability. You don’t have to search far at all.

Timing that works
So, with the impending arrival of the latest Microsoft Windows upgrades, take a moment to consider your content management methods, and determine how best to take advantage of the latest document control and collaboration tools.