So You Want to Digitize Your Energy Files – Now What?

Part One of a Three-Part Series

As companies assess different models for returning to work across North America, they’re recognizing that many employees are not ready for a full-time return to the office. Most believe that the hybrid work environment will be the way of business going forward.

In fact, according to a recent McKinsey survey of 100 executives on the future of hybrid work, “In the post-pandemic future, nine out of ten organizations will be combining remote and on-site working.”

The details of how to create a productive and effective hybrid workforce are still somewhat hazy, but what is crystal clear is that remote access to information will be essential. For more traditional industries, such as oil and gas companies and others in the energy sector, it is crucial to begin – and accelerate – digitization.

While each energy organization is unique and at a different stage in their digitization journey, there are fundamental stages that will help move you forward on this path. In this three-part blog series, we will highlight the various stages and provide helpful tips to bring your company into the digital world, where accessing information is seamless, regardless of location.

Get started by knowing the costs

Whether your organization has already begun digitization, or you’re just beginning to build a business case for making the transition, knowing the true cost of your existing system is the best place to start.

The pandemic taught us that business continuity planning is essential to productivity and the statistical information you gather during this stage will help you build a business case for digitization that won’t easily be shredded.

Here are five costs to consider:

1. Capture – What are the costs to manage a new physical file vs new digital file? When documents are in physical printed form, there are costs associated with that such as file folders, labels and the labor to create and store the file.
2. Store – The cost of physically storing files can be considerable, especially if your organization is not diligently managing the disposition stage of the file management cycle. As physical storage needs grow, so do the annual storage costs. File security must also be factored into storage costs.
3. Access – Consider the everyday costs of accessing physical files. Hard and soft costs associated with requesting, retrieving and returning physical files add up. Active files are also much more easily shared electronically with colleagues and clients compared to the laborious task of printing, packaging and shipping large groups of files.
4. Maintain – In the highly regulated energy industry, data integrity is critical. Physical files offer challenges in terms of tracking the original file, workflow processes and circulation.
5. Disposal – If disposition procedures are being diligently followed, there are both hard and soft costs to consider. Physical file destruction demands a great amount of labor for destruction and disposal fees, whether disposition is conducted in-house or by a third-party partner.

Access understands the complexity of managing energy industry information and can help you regardless of where you are in your digitization journey.

Check out the new “Adventures in Digitization Playbook for Energy Companies” for a detailed roadmap of each step of the journey. You will also find cost calculators to help you pull together the costs of physical file management and the value of going digital.

And keep an eye out next week for our second of three blog posts in this series about how to set up a digitization pilot and present a strong business case to get the management support you need to move forward.

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