Document Management and Remote Workers

You’ve decided (or are considering) that it would financially benefit your business to allow employees to work from home. With budget cuts, you’ve tried cutting expenses in other areas, but it’s just not enough. Although you’ll potentially save great amounts of money with remote workers, implementing the work-from-home-option now brings you to worry… how do I keep my business information protected? Here’s how:

Look for a solution with access via the web. By using a software-as-a-service document storage application, you can save money by paying a low monthly subscription and allow your virtual workers easy access from anywhere they can connect to the Internet. The secure web access and storage allows you to maintain vital documents with the company, rather than on a worker’s laptop, and also allows you to easily turn off access for employees when necessary.

Use a method that ensures strong authentication. Using a system that requires access with a secure log in and that encrypts information as it travels across the Internet should be required. This easily restricts who can get to mission critical documents and important information. But remember, it is also important to log out of the system when you are done working so information is not accidentally left on the screen for unauthorized eyes. Look for an application that will automatically log you out of the system once a certain amount of time has passed.

Your system should have administrative controls. When deciding how to properly set up virtual worker teams, make sure you implement a system that can restrict visibility and only allow employees access to the information they are permitted to see. The system you choose should allow you to store information in a single repository, yet set up restricted access for each user, only allowing them to see information they have access to versus system-wide information.

Monitor document edits and changes by individuals. This not only keeps you informed of what is going on in your business, but also is useful for audit compliance. Never worry about last minute audits or discovery; always know the history and changes related to your documents.

A drawback of having remote workers is the lack of opportunity for collaboration efforts. However, you’ll be happy to know… collaboration is still possible. The right electronic document management system should offer a simple method of uploading information, the simultaneous viewing of documents and easily tracking versions. With all collaboration done within the system, no need to worry about an inbox clogged with lengthy attachments or the frustrating instance of using the wrong version of an important document.

Automate a virtual workflow. Some document management solutions allow you to easily create and automate a workflow from within the application. The documents are pushed to the appropriate employee’s task list as soon as they are uploaded in the system and are ready for review. An additional benefit is the ability to stop sending documents using e-mail. Instead, the application will send notifications reminding the employee(s) that a document is ready for review. The documents are maintained and secure in one location giving the company complete control of their mission critical information.

So, no need to cringe at the thought of remote workers. As budget cuts are quite the reality in today’s market, you can implement virtual workers and still feel safe. Online document management is delivered as an inexpensive software-as-a-service, ensuring that your business information is handled efficiently, productively, and best of all, securely.

Learn more about online document management. Visit the DocuVantage site where you can find out about document management systems and what they can do for you.