Every once in a while somebody would ask, how do we prepare our documents for digitization? This is part and parcel of digitization that if not done right would lead to inefficiencies and stress. The way forward is to ensure the process is efficient and smooth flowing. This can be done by organizing the documents systematically ensuring ease of processing.
This means the documents that have reached their retention period are placed aside and only necessary documents are digitized. Digitization is only done for documents which are still in use or will still be required.
The sorting out is done to avoid unnecessary cost
- By digitizing documents which have reached their retention period.
- By digitizing duplicated copies of documents.
9 Best Practices in document preparation
Let us look at the best practices that will help you succeed in your digitization process
Best practice #1: Determine your goal.
Determine why you want to digitize your documents. Is it because of compliance, enhanced data protection, document accessibility or preservation? And now with the introduction of the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019) the need to digitize documents has increased to ensure the security and safety of information.
Best practice #2: Planning and Assessment
Sort out all the available documents. Identify all the documents that are to be digitized and list them down according to dates, metadata etc. in ascending or descending order.
You can list on priority basis and this is determined by the document usage, importance and condition.
Is it minimizing legal procedures due to non compliance?
Best practice #3: Preparation of documents
Digitization takes place by having the documents pass through a scanning process whereby the documents content is captured by the use of an OCR ( Optical Character Recognition) enabled scanner software.
Prepare documents by removing the staplers, binders and any other fasteners. Clean any dust or debris on the documents. Repair damaged documents by mending the torn ones and aligning all the creases.
Sort the documents into batches and label them clearly, this eases the digitization process.
Best practice #4: Selecting the right scanner
The documents being scanned will determine what kind of scanner to be used. The document size, document condition and weight. There are different types of scanners including flatbed scanners, digital scanners, microfilm scanners etc.
Your choice of scanner is determined by the quality and type of document you want scanned. Do you want them scanned in black and white or colored? Do you want your documents in high resolution? 300 dpi is suitable for normal text documents while images require a higher resolution.
Best practice #5: Digitization process
Before digitizing you need a clear and consistent naming convention. This is determined before the start of the digitization process.
Also determine the file format before the start of the process. Whether they are to be processed as pdf, tiff or png. Pdf is appropriate for standard text documents and Png for images. Batching the documents speeds up the process, saving time.
Best practice #6: Quality Control
Confirm the quality of documents by checking the scanned documents. Documents have to be clear, complete and legible. All pages have to be in place and any misalignment corrected. Metadata (labels, fields or identifiers) are included to ease document search and accessibility. These include titles, dates etc.
Best practice #7: Document storage and backup
Organize and store your documents in folder structures. The folders have to be well organized in a hierarchical way to help in your search. Multiple backup is required to ensure the document’s security is maximized. If possible put in place security measures such as access controls and encryption.
Best practice #8: Disposal of physical documents
Do you have a retention policy in place? This can guide on the legal and organization’s policies for Document retention. Dispose the physical documents through shredding and then have them recycled to protect sensitive information. If you are not comfortable with shredding your documents, you can have your documents stored in a different location.
Best practice #9: Training and documentation
For your staff to shift from a paper based workspace to a paperless based workspace, they need training. And for change to happen they also require intense coaching in order to adapt and move away from their comfort zone. This is especially necessary if you want to go completely paperless. Creating a digital document process and documenting would be necessary for future reference.
Conclusion
Leveraging on technology will help increase efficiency and productivity while at the same time will ease accessibility to your digital documents anywhere any time.