3 value propositions of the document management consultant
One of the most recurrent complaints among those of us who work in document management is that our work is not made visible or valued. “Archivist? Document management consultant? What is that?” , are words that we hear too often.
Despite the enormous challenges facing both the public and private sectors in the current transition to paperless work environments and the difficulty in finding qualified personnel to tackle this process, document management is not in fashion. It doesn’t help either that the word consultant can refer to both an information professional specialized in document management, a salesperson who sells document management solutions, or an IT consultant specialized in document management applications.
What value does the document management consultant provide? How to calculate the ROI of a document management project? and Is the price of document management consulting expensive? are some of the entries I have written on this crucial issue for our profession. Today I want to highlight three very specific areas in which this highly specialized professional adds value to an organization.
1. Selection of tools
There are many document management applications on the market and their cost and features are very different. This makes your selection a complex and risky process and we want to have the advice of an expert. Your job will be to determine the functional, technical, and service requirements that this application must meet, and assess the extent to which the various options available to us do so.
These applications usually require additional parameterization and development to fully adapt to customer needs. As a connoisseur of both the document management processes and the computer tool, the consultant also helps in this phase of fine-tuning the tool.
2. Process rationalization and automation
The scanning of paper documents and their automatic cataloging in a computer tool can be a first step to undertake digital transformation, but at some point the organization will have to redesign its processes to make them more efficient. And that is where a consultant specialized in improving the management of the documents produced by an entity in the development of its activities adds value. Remember: the goal is to produce native electronic documents integrated into more streamlined and automated business processes.
3. Risk reduction
Document management also reduces the risks of not producing or finding the right documents. We must not lose sight of the fact that the documents are evidence that we may need to prove that we comply with the legal or regulatory framework before a judge, official body or auditor. In the same way, we need reliable data for correct decision making.
When assessing the cost of a document management consultant, compare it with the costs of breaking laws as strict as the Data Protection Law – which provides for fines of up to €600,000 – losing an ISO certification or making a bad business decision.
A post by Guillermo Castellano “Document management consultant at Nosturi ”
