Posts Tagged ‘file management’

Complaints of Inaccessible Company Information

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

One of the most common complaints I hear as an office organizer is about information that should be easily accessible and shared, isn’t. There are many reasons for this, but the most common complaint is that there is not a standardized method of filing information of all types. Whether it’s electronic or physical, information that is created by employees is for the use of the company to further the business function of the company. It is not created for that employee alone.

Over the years I’ve heard many employees’ reasons for hoarding company information, especially in a large company. One of the most common is that the creator of the information wants to be able to find it again. They fear that if they place it on the drive that is the company backup drive they will not be able to get back to the information when they need it. Yes, it does happen sometimes that a drive becomes “full” and the info is moved, but more often than not the creator of the info has had a bad experience with losing information and does not want to repeat it. That person is responsible for maintaining the information since they have created it; however it will not benefit the company if that person is not there to retrieve the information when needed.

This is a true story: A few years ago an employer needed information that an employee had created. As a deadline approached, the employee was on a well deserved vacation and was out of cell phone range. (Good for them!) In a panic, thinking the deadline would arrive before the employee returned, the employer called multiple family members to try to locate the employee, which caused much distress for many. When the employer finally reached the employee, he learned that everything needed was ready and that the employee would return well before the deadline arrived. This episode did nothing to improve their working relationship.

In this case, a good search engine and better communication would have relieved the stress for everyone. Of course, moving to the cloud to create and store information would have helped significantly. Fears of lost information on random drives would be relieved and everything needed would be a search bar away. So when you run into these same issues, try making a change to MobilLogic to solve the problem. The people in the story above made the move to the cloud and both are much happier now. I believe you will be also.

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Paper Statistics according to Richard Paul Wurman

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

According to Richard Paul Wurman:

“We get more mail in a week than our parents got in a month, and more mail in a month than our grandparents got in their lifetime.”

The average time to retrieve and file paper documents is 10 minutes.

An average of 3% of documents are lost or misfiled, and have to be retrieved at a cost of $120.00 per document.

Each piece of paper on your desk will distract you up to 5 times per day.

People spend an average of 22 minutes a day looking for things on or around their desks.

More than 80% of the cost to maintain paper records is in the personnel time required to retrieve and replace documents in the filing system.

The personnel cost to handle a record throughout its life averages over 20 times the original cost of the record itself.

According to Forbes, today’s typical executive wastes 150 hours a year – almost 1 month – searching for lost or misplaced information. For someone earning $50,000 a year that translates to a loss of $3,842.00. What could you do with that much money?

According to Bill Gates, paper consumption has doubled every 4 years and 95% of all information in the United States remains on paper compared to just 1% stored electronically. Paperwork is increasing faster than technology can replace it.

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To Relocate or Not to Relocate – the Questions are MANY (Part Three)

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

The Move

You know now that your Cons for staying where you are far outweigh your Pros and so it’s time to make a change. You have informed your landlord and found a new location for your office.

I suggest creating folders (virtual, physical, or both – it’s up to you) and begin to sort different types of information you will gather regarding the move into broad general departments. Try to keep them this way unless there is entirely too much information from one vendor in which case you will have to make separate locations within the department for that vendor in order to keep track of the information properly.  This may sound complicated but it really isn’t and will save you so much time and frustration during the move process.

Departments could include titles such as Old Location Info, New Location Info, Employee Info, Moving Company, Communications, Copiers, Web Site, Printing Company, Cleaning Service. These are just examples, there are always more!

Use different colors of folders and subdivide the Departments into Locations if you want to keep a folder for each sub item, OR you may use color coding for the Departments and keep all folders in the same department the same color. Again, this is your choice. Using color is especially helpful if you are a visual person.

If you decide to use a web application to keep things together during the move process I recommend www.MobilLogic.com It will let you set up your system the way you want to set it up and also gives you access to all types of e-mail reminders, security levels and allows you access to all of your info no matter where you are since your info is secure on your own part of the cloud. Scan or not as you choose. Check out the web site and review the three minute video for more information.

When the movers have been interviewed and hired, the communications consultants have helped you decide where to place all of the new lines and wireless devices and the new office furniture is on the way, its time to begin to declutter in earnest. Use your company’s records retention schedules to determine what types of documents to keep on site or off site at a Records Management Center, what to shred and what to toss. Be ruthless with yourself don’t stop until even the kitchen is clear of things that should have been tossed years ago! Really, who is going to display dirty holiday decorations? This process will help you have a more open and spacious new office and will help you use the square footage you are paying for to its maximum potential.

Move only what you will actually use at the new office. There are many types of places where you can donate used office furniture for tax write-offs, and others where you can sell it on consignment. Either way, release what you will not use!

When the move is complete and all are settled in their new spaces, make a note for yourself on your calendar to look back at the decision to move six months after your move date.  Hopefully you and your employees will be pleased with the decision.

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Integrated Legal Office Systems Lead to Productivity, Part 1

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

 

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” We have all heard the saying, but what does it mean in an office environment?

 

I have learned over the years that when you say the words “get organized”, different people will hear different things.  One person may think “communication”, another person may think “spatial order” and another may think “time management.”  Actually they are all correct; I will give you some Keys to remember when planning the systems in your law office.

 

Lee’s Keys #1 Design your Waterfront Property© for Maximum Use

 

How many of you have Waterfront Property©? Actually, anyone who works in an office has it! It’s a term I coined to describe the space around your desk or credenza – or the area where you do most of your work. 

 

When you sit in your chair, hold your arms out to your side and turn in a circle, this area is considered your Waterfront Property©.  It’s the most valuable piece of property in your office because it is where your most important work is done.

 

One of the main complaints I hear about a person’s Waterfront Property is “what do I do with all this stuff”?  We tend to keep lots of “stuff” around us in our Waterfront Property area especially if we are visual people.  And we tend to keep this Waterfront Property “stuff” in piles, rather than in files.  

 

Someone with lots of piles is creating what I call “horizontal filing”. These people have difficulty finding information quickly because most of it is paper based. If a matter or case is not closed, then we tend to keep the information in paper form, and most of the time it’s filed horizontally rather than vertically.  This creates a pile that must be lifted and moved every time information is needed.  This equals more time wasted.

 

Many law practices wait until the case is closed before they consider the ways they keep the information. Remember that information in a combination of paper, electronic, and scanned documents is often a good way to handle a case or a legal matter.

 

Always send the closed case hard copy information to an AAA Certified records management center rather than using a mini warehouse unit, or closet, or attic of the building you are in. The difference in these options is dramatic and failure to manage and store your records properly could have serious consequences.

 

When horizontal filing is the organizing problem, I teach people Lee’s Key #2.

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