If every attempt to find a document feels like Groundhog Day, you’re not alone.
According to a McKinsey report, employees spend 1.8 hours every day—9.3 hours per week, on average—searching and gathering information. In other words, a business hires five employees, but it’s as if only four show up to work; and the fifth is off searching for answers but not contributing any value.
That is a lot of wasted resources.
Whether dealing with physical paper, digital files, or multimedia, having a vast amount of data without a proper management strategy results in chaotic clutter. If a file can’t be found when needed, what’s the point of having it? And how important could your file be if there is no rhyme or reason for how it is stored?
If you’re ready to break the Groundhog Day trend of searching for records over and over again, then it’s time to establish efficiencies within your organization. Continue reading to learn how to find structure.
Break the Pattern with Metadata Indexing
Information today is growing exponentially fast, and it’s impossible to manually look for files at the same rate at which content is generated. During a recent webinar, Greg Grospitch, Senior Consultant at Access, explained, “Every year we’re not growing [in information] by some clean factor of X. It’s exponential growth every single year. And at some point, the infrastructure and the planning are going to be too much to get your arms truly wrapped around.”
Our society is characterized by its heavy reliance on swift and precise access to vast amounts of data. To meet the demand to retrieve information rapidly, organizations must have a thorough records management strategy that includes metadata indexing.
Like well-managed paper files that are systematically stored using helpful categories for future retrieval—such as client name, year, employee ID number, etc.—electronic files must adopt a similar approach with structured, hierarchical metadata indexing. Metadata categorizes and summarizes the essential data in your files and indexing works hand-in-hand by capturing the relevant metadata during searches—eliminating the need for extensive digging.
Imagine navigating through a city without a map or any street signs while searching for a specific restaurant – that’s what searching for a document without metadata is like. Progress is slow, and reaching your destination becomes uncertain.
A well-constructed metadata indexing schema will be effective in any environment because it contains the critical information necessary for successful searching and fast document retrieval.
5/7 Leveraging Your Data: A Journey Through 3 Essential Information Gates
Join our upcoming webinar, where we will guide you through the essential steps to be successful in the age of digital information. The Three Gates to Digital are your roadmap to harnessing the power of technology, improving efficiency, and achieving…
Finding a Reputable Partner is the Solution
Now that you understand why metadata is crucial, you are likely considering the lack of resources you have in place to start applying it to your documents. Digitizing files and indexing are time-consuming, so partnering with a vendor may be the solution you need to help reduce workflow inefficiencies.
By leveraging the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and classify record types and metadata, Access Unify™ | Active File Service ensures your documents are stored and digitized in a way that prioritizes the accessibility and searchability of data. So, instead of searching high and low for a document, with Access Unify | Active File Service, you simply request it via the Unify portal or through your line of business system, and Access will deliver the file digitally in under four hours.
The sooner you begin to implement metadata indexing, the quicker you’ll support your employees in day-to-day operations and witness a swift transformation toward a digital-first model.
Conclusion
Don’t wait to get your document management strategy in place. The journey from an information-challenged to an information-empowered organization is akin to breaking free from a “Groundhog Day” scenario. It’s about moving from repetitive, unproductive cycles to a streamlined, efficient, and strategically focused workflow. Access Unify | Active File Service stands out as a tool that addresses the immediate challenges of information management and paves the way for digital transformation and long-term business success—a win-win for everyone involved.
To learn more about the role of digitization and AI technologies in enhancing content accessibility and searchability, watch the on-demand recording of Navigating the Strategic Imperatives of Information Management (Presented with AIIM), featuring Access’ Greg Grospitch, Senior Consultant, and Mike Discenzo, Senior Director of Product Marketing.
