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Document Management Delivers These 5 Benefits

Business owners don’t often think about where their documents are stored. They typically have a staff of people who handle that for them. If you want to speed your business up and make it easier to store, search, and retrieve the documents you need, a Document Management System (DMS) might be right for you. Here are five good reasons why moving to document management can surely be a benefit for your business.

Cost of Office Space

Square footage can get pretty expensive. The more physical documents your business needs to store, the more space is taken up storing them. It stands to reason that you wouldn’t want to pay premium prices for a bunch of file cabinets. With a DMS, your staff would simply scan the document and then you can store it anywhere. You can reduce the price you pay in mortgage and rent costs by storing the files you once stored onsite in a place where square footage isn’t quite so expensive, while still having constant access to the digital copy of the file.

File Security

Document management provides a secure system in which to save your documents. Traditional thought would dictate that saving physical files would provide better access control, but with physical security, costs increase dramatically. Any DMS will provide your company the ability to control documents at the folder level, giving you a level of control over your information that’s as good as any a physical security system can provide. Additionally, any documents stored inside a DMS have an associated audit trail, giving administrators the transparency needed to manage system security.

Access and Speed

This is where the DMS starts to pay for itself. The time it takes to file and find physical documents costs businesses a lot of money. According to one industry study, it costs over $20 for businesses to file a single paper document, and if some part of the file management chain fails, those costs increase substantially. A DMS provides fast access to your organization’s documents and the ability to print documents in seconds, saving a lot of capital that could better be spent elsewhere.

Seamless Collaboration

Today, improving collaboration is a key business strategy. Using a solid DMS, sharing information is much easier and far more efficient. You don’t have to send someone to look for a document for half an hour, simply search for it in the DMS and it’s there in seconds.

Improved Compliance

Most businesses have to comply with some type of regulatory standard. By using a DMS to store your documents, your organization can significantly reduce the risks associated with non-compliance, even for the most complex regulations.

Today’s document management systems are more powerful and dynamic than any in the past and can be a huge time and money-saver for your business. To talk to one of our technicians about document management today, call AE Technology Group, a WheelHouse IT company, at (877) 771-2384.

How to Prepare Your Business for the End of Lockdown

2020 has held many unexpected challenges along with a wealth of opportunities for collaboration and adaptation in the modern business arena. If there’s one lesson the evolving year has for trend savvy business owners, it’s that today’s workplace is ready for anything. Gone are the days of the traditional 9 to 5. A dynamic, fluid model sets the standard for the future with everyone’s focus on a successful reopening. Consider these key tips on how to prepare your business for the end of lockdown.

Devise a Plan

The current health crisis means exercising strategic flexibility as circumstances may change from day to day. Many businesses aren’t rolling out the reopening balloons just yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start moving towards a normal work week. A staggered schedule is the perfect next step for returning companies.

Consider which roles necessitate an office presence. These positions should be marked as priority for a gradual reopening. Operating at half capacity or rotating shifts throughout the day is an excellent tool for encouraging social distancing and minimizing a crowded workspace.

Discuss any safety concerns with your key workers and be prepared to accommodate any health or scheduling related anxieties for vulnerable staff. Remember, some of your best teammates may still be playing part-time teacher to their children as well as full time executives! Phasing into a reopening as well as maintaining clear lines of communication with employees, vendors, and clients will ensure everyone knows what to expect by the time the red ribbon is cut and the doors are open on Monday morning.

Be Proactive in Prevention

The best way to ensure a successful reopen and mitigate the chance of future closures is to support your team’s health and wellbeing. It’s a great idea to invest in essential PPE such as masks, hand sanitizer, and plexiglass dividers. Arrange office spaces accordingly, allowing for 6-feet of distance between work stations. They may mean utilizing non-traditional spaces such as conference and break rooms as open workspaces for ongoing collaboration.

Consider implementing varying hours to avoid the 8 a.m. rush or having multiple side doors for entry and exit. Now that travel has resumed (and many of our stressed out parents are in need of a vacation), clearly communicate protocol for out of state excursions such as mandatory 14-day remote work or wearing masks following any long distance travel. Use signage on sinks to remind everyone of the power of hand washing and don’t be afraid to invite your employees to collaborate on ways we as a team can make the office a cleaner, safer environment. Re-engaging your staff is a vital part of the reopening process and a great way to ensure your team feels that their feedback is valuable and timely.

Clients, Vendors, and Training for What’s Ahead

With a staff schedule finalized, the next priority is to alert key contacts of the reopening as well as any potential changes to normal business hours. For vendors, ensure department managers are equipped to communicate their needs and work alongside supplier availability. Many vendors will also be operating under reduced hours so it’s important to schedule deliveries well in advance in order to accommodate any hard and fast deadlines.

Once the technical details have been worked out, it’s time to tell clients that you’re back in business. Remember to keep the tone of all communications positive and encouraging while maintaining a sense of reliability in the midst of COVID-19. Clearly announce any limited hours, state whether masks will be required, and what (if any) services have not yet resumed. Advanced appointment booking and contactless payment are excellent tools for making everyone feel safe while returning to normal. Be sure to spread the message on all digital communications platforms, using email, SEO, and blog announcements to get the word out.

Last but not least, don’t slack on training due to the current health crisis. Technology is more important now than ever for keeping us connected and delivering efficient products and services. Hackers and cyber criminals are quick to take advantage of the growing number of remote workers. Every staff member plays a significant role in ensuring data and confidential information is protected.

Schedule a virtual meeting to discuss common phishing schemes, particularly those centered around COVID-19 and other recent scams to be aware of, and take a moment to review firewalls and system integrity. Your IT team has you covered as you begin the next phase of your company’s future.

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Working Together, Apart: The Office Guide to Social Distancing

As many companies move into the next stage of a phased reopening plan, it’s an exciting time to get the team back together and return to business as usual. In the wake of COVID-19 and the new normal, use our office guide to social distancing to adapt, excel, and succeed together.

AE Technology Group is here to support our business clients in a successful reopening with these key tips on creating social distancing in any office space.

Lean, Mean, and Sparkling Clean

Although our offices may be running at half capacity until we slowly transition into a full workplace, there’s never been a greater need for cleanliness. Think beyond the recycling bin and develop a rotating schedule for disinfecting common areas. Frequently disinfect surfaces such as conference room tables, kitchen spaces, and front desks.

Remember that COVID-19 can survive for 24 hours to three days on hard surfaces! Daily cleaning proactively eliminates viral germs before they have time to spread. Divide tasks between in house staff members, bearing in mind flexible schedules as teams continue to increase hours.

Consider temporarily removing shared coffee stations, microwaves, and community cupboards. As an alternative, treat your staff to a weekly local business luncheon and offer a coffee perk card instead of the traditional water cooler. Not only is this a great way to show your team how valuable they are, but it’s a responsible strategy for minimizing the spread of COVID-19.

Last but not least, please emphasize that everyone — yes, everyone — must wash their hands.

Personal Space and the No Contact Bubble

Social distancing in the workplace is a simple matter of making the most of any space available. This may entail rearranging desks and cubicles to allow for the appropriate distancing of 6-feet apart. Considering establishing a sign-up sheet for conference rooms and limiting capacity to under ten individuals. Providing masks is a great idea to protect vulnerable workers, as well as utilizing plexiglass and other barriers to avoid direct peer-to-peer or client contact.

Small businesses may need to think outside the cubicle box and “create space” by employing back-to-back or side-to-side stations rather than front-facing ones whenever possible. Another tactic for reducing the number of people each person has contact with is to divide your staff into teams or partners so that each individual only works with 3-5 other individuals.

Provide hand sanitizer at all workstations and minimize shared devices such as phones by encouraging the use of headsets instead. Consider staggering shifts to avoid a crowd during the opening and closing hours. With a little teamwork, your company can enjoy a seamless reopening while doing your part to protect our staff and our clients.

Viruses: Not Just for People

Once you’ve implemented a germ proof social distancing plan, it’s time to take a look at technology considerations while returning to a new normal. Many staff members will likely still be working remotely for some portion of their workweek. Support your team by ensuring your network is encrypted with a strong firewall and confidential client information is well protected. Discourage the use of personal devices such as laptops, tablets, and phones for work purposes as these are often easily compromised and prone to viruses of the digital kind. Instead, assign laptops to each key member along with a list of available IT resources for training, troubleshooting, and more.

Stay connected with seamless all-in-one communication and project management software. Microsoft Teams is the number one choice for collaboration from conference calls to client meetings. Securely access and share files through SharePoint and OneDrive for added efficiency from home or anywhere in the office.

Technology Etiquette

Lastly, remember to be polite and mindful of your co-workers. With many employees working remotely for some time now, a lot of these behaviors may have slipped.

Need a little extra help migrating to a socially distant workspace?

Our experts are here to help with practical strategies for meeting your business’ technology needs and keeping everyone healthy, happy, and ready to crush that 9 to 5 grind.

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How to Conduct a Productive Online Meeting

Effective communication is the key to keeping clients and partners happy. Fortunately, groundbreaking technological innovations have occurred in the past decade, allowing us to communicate seamlessly with people located far and near without the need to meet physically. Learning to conduct a productive online meeting is an invaluable asset today, especially when you want to work from home or when you can’t travel to attend a meeting.

With the right digital tools, anyone can effortlessly schedule, plan, structure, manage and conduct virtual meetings with customers, clients, partners, employees, and bosses. With the correct approach, you’ll just be as involved, engaged, and productive as you are in in-person meetings. However, running an effective online meeting requires adequate preparation. Here’s how to go about it.

Pick the Right Platform

The first step you should take is choosing an ideal online meeting tool. There is a broad array of virtual programs out there. Some are meant for social connections, some for enterprise meetings, while others are a blend of the two. Typically, the right tool should allow you to set up and host a virtual meeting, invite a number of participants, and share your screen.

More advanced tools may enable you to share files, chat with participants, and record the meeting. The tool you pick will depend on the capabilities you want and the objectives of your meeting. After selecting a platform, test the system to check whether the camera, microphone, and features such as the multi-participant capability work. Testing and knowing how to operate it will save you time and embarrassments during the actual meeting.

Have a Clear and Well-Communicated Agenda

We’ve all been through meetings that had no clear agenda and seen how the conversation quickly loses track. When the purpose of the meeting is vague, the participants will definitely get confused, become less engaged, and lose sight of the important issues. Setting an agenda and notifying everyone allows each individual to come to the meeting adequately prepared, and to be on the same page. When crafting an agenda, make sure you:

Set the key talking points.
Request input from those who will attend the meeting.
Ensure the topics are relevant to the participants you have invited.
Assemble the relevant documents or research concerning the agenda.
Appoint a meeting moderator to bring order and control proceedings.
Locate time for last-minute questions, comments, and other additions.
Notify everyone of the items they should have, e.g., headphones, collar mic, pen, and notebook.

Prepare Your Space

How you prepare your space will make or break the success of the meeting. For official meetings, you don’t want your pets, your kids or phone competing for your attention. Such interruptions not only affect you, but they throw the whole meeting off course. To avoid such mishaps, remove anything that could cause distractions, tell everyone at home you are having a meeting, and lock the door of the room you will use. Make sure the space you use is clutter-free, quiet, has ample lighting, and has a clear background.

Apart from organizing your space, you also need to adopt virtual meeting etiquette. These include being neat and presentable, maintaining eye contact with the camera, limiting body movements, speaking clearly and concisely, refraining from snacking during the meeting, and avoiding performing other tasks such as opening emails. You should also mute your phone, turn off all notifications on the device you are using, and avoid rustling papers.

Go Slow and Steady

Virtual meetings should have a slower pace than in-person meetings. Most systems take around 3 seconds to communicate, and this lag can cause problems to the participants when you proceed to speak in the normal space. Make sure there are sufficient pauses after you finish a statement and ask questions. Pausing gives the participants the opportunity to seek clarification or ask questions without interrupting you.

Recap Before You’re Done

Before concluding the meeting, briefly go over the main points. If participants have been allocated duties, let every person recap what action item he/she is responsible for, and the time frame for delivering it. This phase provides clarity, reminds everyone what they are supposed to do, and ensures accountability. When the meeting is over, share your notes with all participants to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Bottom Line

Although holding a virtual meeting has been made easier thanks to technological breakthroughs, you need to make adequate preparations if you want to have a fruitful meeting. Start by acquiring the right virtual meeting program, set an agenda, and prepare your space. With the right approach, your clients, partners, and boss will definitely be impressed.

If you are looking to digitally transform your business and expand your reach and communication capabilities, AE Technology Group will help you achieve your goals!

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Understanding and Creating Respect in the Workplace

Neglected and disgruntled employees can get in the way of your company’s success. This often occurs when they feel disrespected by fellow employees or by upper management. On the other hand, employees who feel respected in their workplace are more confident and loyal. For a company to be successful, employers and managers must know how they can nurture and sustain a culture of respect in their organization.

A majority of employees regard respect as the most important leadership trait. However, more and more employees continue to report massive instances of disrespectful behavior from their seniors.

Surprisingly, many leaders do not fully comprehend the main elements of workplace respect. Thus, even the most genuine initiatives aimed at establishing a respectful workplace are treated with open suspicion.

So, how do you create a workplace that prioritizes respect?

Know the Types of Respect

Respect is generally classified into two types. All employees are entitled to owed respect. However, it is common for some employees to outperform others and become essential to a company’s growth. These rare crop of employees deserve earned respect.

A seasoned team leader knows how to infuse the two types of respect into the daily operations of the company. You can use owed respect to increase cohesiveness among employees and earned respect to motivate exceptional employees.

Be Consistent

Always display a great degree of equality when showing respect to employees. Low-level employees are adept at noting seemingly negligible cues that they may interpret as respect or disrespect. Feelings of being ignored or favored are likely to develop within the lower ranks. To prevent the emergence of such an unsuitable workplace culture, you should set a consistent level of respect across the workplace.

Be Sincere

Nothing creates an atmosphere of respect than unhindered expressions of honesty. Flattering and suspicious compliments can cause havoc to your company’s culture of respect.

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