The loss of documents and/or of information are expensive for companies either in revenues or either because they generate additional costs such as; litigation, useless research, and starting over work that has already been done.

Many employees have access and work in many different files of the company without preliminary notions of document management or simply of organization methods or filing systems.

Therefore, many users don’t realize that the names which they give to their files must respect certain standards so that the documents are easily accessible.

• How to name the document?
• How to establish a standard approach to name the files, which expresses the essence of the contents in a concise way?
• How to index the various files and documents by precise category, specific activity or type of document or author or area, etc.
• How to protect and manage various versions of contents.

This training on managing physical and electronic record will help you to:

1. Organize your information correctly
2. Classify files in a judicious way so that they can easily be traced
3. Standardize a uniform method of filing for each group of employees belonging to a group of specific activities (sales, purchases, finances, etc.)
4. Implement standards and procedures to better control your physical and electronics records and information.
5. Manage your electronic messages efficiently.

1. Define and understand the characteristics of a job folder
   • The goal of the file content, what for: information, action or decision?
   • A file for whom, for when?
   • What type of file need to be created: paper file or electronic file?
   
   
   
2. Collect and exploit useful information
   Gathering the existing information:
   • Link them
   • Eliminate the useless, the redundant, the obsolete
   Assembling a complete records
   • Verify the reliability of the ensemble
   
   
   
3. Analyze the information to choose the proper filing method
   • Analyze the information that needs to be process by the service and identify it’s advantages and the constraints
   • Implement the 4 filing principles
   • Review the various filing methods, their advantages and their inconvenients
   • Choose the more efficient filing method adapted to your environment
   
   
   
4. Organize the classification on the computer
   • Choosing a clear file tree for all, which reflect your activities
   • Being rigorous in the choice of the file names
   • Using best practices in filing email
   • Gaining time by using hyperlinks
   
   
   
5. Organize and ensure an effective follow-up of the electronic correspondence
   • Memo
   • Letters
   • Requisitioning
   • Emails, etc.
   • Priorities
   • Follow-up
   
   
   
6. Facilitate the access to information
   • Elaborate a classification plan
   • Choose relevant names for files
   • Structure the files in a practical and user friendly way
   • Synchronize the paper and electronic classification
   • Choose a adapted and necessary classification materials
   • Implement an effective approach to reorganize the filing system
   
   
   
7. Writing a filing procedure
   • Who borrows? Utility of the card and or to reduce the access on computer
   • Who refiles? Determine the persons in charge, the use of protected file or reduced access to electronic files
   • Where? How? Establish an electronic and paper archives plan, what is pertinent and for how long
   
   
   
8. Archiving
   • Record management, security procedure
   • Control access to the documents
   • How long must a document be archived legally