June 09, 2009

Management ECM Excuse #9: Change is expensive.

Management ECM Excuse #9: Change is expensive. When I need to get an invoice approved, I just put it in the right department’s mailbox at the front desk. They usually pick it up in a few days and sign it. We file it and then every few years pack up the old files and send them to off-site storage. Why spend money to automate something this simple?

Check out the video at http://www.aiim.org/excuse9.

Reality:

Because it’s not really that simple. There are business rules and document policies embodied in this seemingly straightforward process, but they’re invisible and thus impossible to document, improve, replicate, teach, or defend if queried by a litigator or disgruntled shareholder seeking better governance.

Who’s authorized to grant the approvals? Up to how much money does that authority extend? Who decides when the old files get packed and moved offsite?

What are the criteria for moving them, and how long do they stay there?

Every one of these questions must have an answer – and if you take the time to pursue that answer, you may find that not changing your processes is far more expensive than doing so.

The story is told of a city attorney’s office that was so overloaded with work that it had to farm out 75% of its cases, and paid some $300 per hour for that outside help. Then it started scanning legal documents directly into its case management system, and it began working so much more efficiently that it could handle more of the work itself – at a cost of just $75 per hour. So while there was nothing wrong about the way the old process worked, the new one is a whole lot less expensive, and generates savings each and every time it is used. Only a true Luddite could object to that!

For more information:

AIIM training – http://www.aiim.org/training

AIIM research – http://www.aiim.org/research

Check out the video at http://www.aiim.org/excuse9.

Jun 9, 2009 5:53:00 PM

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John Mancini

I am president of AIIM, a non-profit that helps organizations find, control and optimize their information

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