Right now, almost half of all UK organisations are still operating a physical filing system. For those that are subject to GDPR’s strict retention rules, such as a hospital, school or financial services institution, the hesitancy to digitise those documents is understandable; mishandling of data can leave them liable for any potential losses, damages or thefts. Likewise, if a company has always done things a certain way, the appetite for change can be somewhat small.
What’s not small, however, is the amount of unnecessary space that these files can take up in a facility that could be dedicated to alternative purposes. Similarly not insignificant is the time that it takes for an employee to leave their workstation, walk across to the file storage space, rummage through each document individually, and make the return journey whenever they need to search for a piece of information that is securely locked away or simply not stored correctly.
In short, there is a reason why a survey conducted by transformation specialists Gartner revealed that 89% of businesses have adopted a digital-first strategy or are planning to do so in the near future. The digitisation of data makes document accessibility far more efficient and reduces your storage burden significantly.
In light of these benefits, many organisations choose to outsource their document scanning services. If you are considering a digital transformation yourself, here are a few reasons why you might entrust the process to professionals.
Compliance
We’ve written about it before, but every organisation that processes the data of any European citizen is subject to strict GDPR rules. As part of those rules, your company or institution must only handle data in a way that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unlawful or unauthorised processing, access, loss, destruction or damage.
Without a robust and organised scanning and shredding system in place, files can easily be misplaced, ripped, and even stolen. If the Information Commissioner's Office considers such damage or loss as a breach of your legal obligation, you could face a large fine, a damaged reputation and the loss of trust amongst your customers.
For many of our clients, the reason why they outsource document scanning to us is for peace of mind. They know that experienced professionals familiar with data handling obligations are best placed to convert their files in a way that is compliant with GDPR legislation. They can, therefore, reassure shareholders and other stakeholders that everything is being done by the book.
Efficiency
Transitioning to digital documentation rather than physical can, on its own, help to streamline your workflows and improve accessibility. But the process can be quite slow if you do not have access to high-spec equipment. Think about your home scanner - this will likely convert a page every 40 seconds at best, meaning that you can get through a handful of documents, maybe tens of documents (if you’re lucky) each day. A top-spec bulk scanner, on the other hand, can race through 100,000 documents every day, translating to multiple pages per second.
While it’s certainly true that the equipment used by third-party scanning specialists is likely to be better than that found in most offices, the specialist personnel are also likely to be far more efficient than general administrative personnel. That’s because they are used to handling bulk volumes of documents and putting workflows in place to organise, catalogue and process them all.
Cost-effectiveness
For most organisations, a document scanning exercise will typically be a one-off, high-volume event. Despite it being a rare occurrence, an internal scanning exercise will require sufficient up-front costs which include the scanners themselves (if you haven’t already got some on-site), software to assist with the scanning and cataloguing, and training for employees who are expected to undertake such a project. In short, an internal scanning event can be expensive.
When you outsource the process, however, you pay a fraction of those upfront costs, but what you get in return is top-end equipment, dedicated scanning specialists, and the satisfaction of knowing that you have saved your organisation money in an economic period of squeezed profits and scrutinised spending.
But even if you require scanning services regularly (rather than on a one-off basis), outsourcing can still prove to be a cost-effective solution. With outsourcing, you avoid the recurring expenses associated with maintaining in-house scanning infrastructure, such as equipment maintenance, software updates, and ongoing employee training.
Scaleability and flexibility
Your document scanning needs are likely to ebb and flow with things like seasonal fluctuations, project demands, and even regulatory requirements. A full and dedicated team on readiness at all times of the calendar year might ensure you can handle peak requirements, but it can also lead to a lot of thumb-twiddling and unnecessary costs. On the flip side, a skeleton crew might be able to handle the day-to-day low-volume scanning but are likely to struggle when lots of things suddenly need scanning.
If you outsource document scanning, you only pay for what you need when you need it. We’re always on standby to quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively handle whatever volume of scanning you need. The best bit is that you don’t have to have a magic ball - simply call us, email, or fill out a form on our website and we’ll arrange file collection, cataloguing and scanning at your earliest convenience.
Outsourcing your document scanning provides the perfect balance between having enough resources to handle peak demands and avoiding the costs and inefficiencies of maintaining a dedicated in-house team.
Freeing up resources
As we have hopefully already established, the act of document scanning can consume substantial amounts of your time and resources. While it is certainly a valuable process - improving accessibility, security and overall operational efficiency - it is something that can inadvertently distract your organisation away from its primary strategy and business objectives. The process of scanning might appear - at first glance - quite straightforward, but it only takes one missing document, one incorrectly catalogued file or one error message on the scanner to disrupt the whole exercise, making it take far longer than it should.
If you outsource document scanning, you let dedicated professionals to focus on their core business objective (to convert physical files into digital ones) and ensure that you are able to do the same. It is, essentially, no longer your problem - we’ll be happy to take it off your hands.
In 1965, Bob Dylan went electric. Almost 50 years later, most businesses are following suit, converting their physical files into digital ones to save space, improve GDPR compliance, reduce costs and boost overall efficiency. But to fully take advantage of these benefits, it’s vital that you have the necessary equipment and expertise to make the process an easy one and prevent it from spilling into your day-to-day duties or distracting from your core objectives. If you are in any doubt as to whether you are equipped to handle such a task, speak to our experts today - don’t think twice, it’s alright!