Something as simple as finding a document can turn into a harrowing task when you forget what the document is called, where you saved it, or if someone else created it. As document databases expand with the cloud, and the amount of data and resources stored in it are constantly growing, the task of finding folders, documents, images or other files you may need becomes much more time consuming.
Employees spend almost 20 per cent of their time every week trying to find information and documents at work.[1] That means almost an entire working day each week is redundant and costs businesses time, resources, and money.
A streamlined document management solution (DMS) can combat these inefficiencies. DMS incorporates metadata so files can be found easily and quickly, no matter where they are stored. A good DMS platform will populate ‘suggestive’ metadata that helps users tag their document based on information derived from it. This kind of solution means business functions become structured, employees can optimise their time, and companies can focus on what is really important: creating profit.
What is metadata?
Put simply, metadata is data about other data. It includes a variety of key information about digital resources, such as when the file was created, who created it, when it was last saved, what job or project it relates to, what kind of document it is (e.g. a contract, scope of works, meeting minutes etc.) and more.
Descriptive metadata is one type of metadata that uses the information about a resource, such as title, keywords and the author, to discover and identify files in a database. Administrative metadata uses the data from the content to manage the resource.
How can metadata help?
Employees only need to enter their search terms and, with metadata in place, the correct documents will be surfaced. Data folders are also customisable, and documents can be digitally linked together based on metadata parameters to ensure that any other relevant information is produced when the files are searched. Other metadata fields associated with the file are also customisable, such as the due date and tags, which helps find the right file.
DMS software can also provide employees with notifications and deadline reminders based on the documents’ metadata.
By incorporating DMS, which uses metadata to organise and find documents, you can improve the functionality of your business as well as employee satisfaction by no longer requiring workers to trawl through messy fileshares to find the documents they need. Instead, they can get the information they require, across multiple programs, almost instantly, letting them get on with their core tasks.
To find out more about how metadata can improve of the speed at which you can do business and ensure finding documents doesn’t waste your employee’s time, contact Upstream today.
[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-social-economy