| The word "outsourcing" has taken on a negative | | | | packed as tight as you can get them. Banker's |
| quality over the years because it immediately | | | | boxes full of paper neatly organized (well |
| implies sending the work overseas for cheap labor | | | | sometimes) just waiting for a catastrophe. How |
| and sketchy results. Before I get in to the meat | | | | many employees would you have to pull away |
| of this article I wanted to clarify outsourcing, any | | | | from their existing jobs to scan and verify each |
| time you hire an outside resource to complete a | | | | of those pieces of paper in order to get the |
| task you are outsourcing ... so why not use | | | | backlog of stored documents in to the new |
| companies right in the USA? | | | | system? Don't forget you now need to task |
| Sometimes it boils down to dollars; if you are on a | | | | other employee's (or bring in temporary help) with |
| really tight budget there may not be another | | | | the full-time work these employees did before |
| option. If you are after reliability then using a | | | | the conversion project started. I don't need to go |
| company within the USA is your best option! A | | | | down this rat-hole any further, you get the idea. |
| few other incentives for using mainland companies | | | | Taking on a document conversion project is way |
| is a common language, the ability to call with | | | | more than just scanning documents, and it is |
| questions and get customer service and | | | | easily one of those projects that really do need |
| sometimes price is comparable to overseas | | | | to be outsourced at the onset and then handed |
| depending on the project (and especially when | | | | over to the staff to maintain. The trick is: |
| you compare shipping of documents and having | | | | 1. Finding a reliable resource to select the right |
| to have work redone). | | | | infrastructure to fit your document storage needs |
| Moving forward, document conversion projects | | | | long term. |
| that lend themselves to outsourcing are typically | | | | 2. Knowing your new document management |
| large, hairy, monsters in the beginning that need a | | | | system will be easy to use and all key employees |
| strong experienced staff to get the job done | | | | are trained thoroughly. |
| right. For instance, think about the sheer quantity | | | | 3. Having ALL of your existing documents |
| of paper to be scanned ... the amount of work | | | | scanned in verified in to the document |
| involved to make sure each document can be | | | | management system so they can be found easily. |
| found after the conversion is complete. | | | | 4. Have a clear system in place for maintaining |
| Although there is a number of high-volume | | | | the incoming documents in order to keep your |
| scanning products on the market to complete a | | | | company organized. |
| task like this, which is only a portion of the work. | | | | Do your research when looking for a reliable |
| Once the papers or microfiche has been scanned | | | | company to take on your document conversion |
| there needs to be a document management | | | | outsourcing; I received the information in this |
| software and storage solution in place to receive | | | | article from Digital Storage, Inc. out of Long |
| the scanned documents, read them and build a | | | | Island, New York. They were extremely helpful in |
| searchable database. And I bet you know as well | | | | helping me understand every aspect of this |
| as I do that these products never work perfectly | | | | process. Outsourcing does not have to be a |
| together on the initial installation! | | | | negative experience, when you find the right |
| Let's say you have a room that is 15' x 15' that | | | | resources. |
| you use for storage, shelves that go 6' high | | | | |