Deciding to replace a document on a website with an electronic form is as simple as collecting or capturing customer information in a user-friendly format. Most of us have personal data saved in our browser, making it a few clicks away from completion. If your customer has already found the web page relating to their needs, it's a logical next step compared to working with a PDF that was intended for printing.

What happens next with the information collected? A few years ago, the best next step may have been sending an email to a help desk staff member with the collected information, then a duplicate effort begins where the customer information is keyed into another system.

Today initiating a workflow with an electronic form is completely reasonable, and a possible next step for automation. Connecting back-office systems and customer-facing interactions reduces the time employees spend duplicating each other’s work and gets your organization closer to its potential for automation while accelerating customer interactions.

By: Allison Parlett

Whether you are dealing with student records, registration forms, accounting files, financial aid, or any other departmental processes, the most efficient way to use the information and get it to your main system is to scan the documents at the time they are created or received.

If you wait until the end of the process, many people across your organization will have photocopied, faxed, emailed, sorted, filed, and re-filed, creating massive amounts of unnecessary work, expense, and wasted resources.

A survey of higher education institutions across the country reveals that student records are most often not scanned until they arrive at the Registrar's Office. The records of students not accepted are usually scanned and indexed separately from the students that are.

All you have gained in this scenario is space. Less than 5% of these records will be reviewed and researched. Processing files at the time a student applies is more work upfront but pays off quickly. The ability to review complete student profiles early can result in better admission decisions. Content management automates the flow of work by producing electronic work packages, tracking missing documents, notifying students, and updating the student information system in real-time.

There are many types of content solutions available today. These stand-alone imaging systems store documents departmentally, much like a file cabinet sitting in your office. But what if you need access to information from another department or need approval? In this scenario, it is still a manual workflow process that needs human intervention in the form of emailing, attaching, copying, printing, notifying, and waiting. In reality, this system is only an archive library.

Many organizations are now using solutions that are enterprise-driven. The difference between a point system and an enterprise solution. The content is ingested into the system as soon as it is created and routed throughout the business process with automated workflow, approval requests, and updates to the PeopleSoft software or other ERP system.

Finance talks to Accounting, student enrollment files are available to Admissions, and Financial Aid files to the Bursar. The system tracks and sorts graduate and undergraduate applications and supporting documents, i.e., it knows what an international student needs and tracks the status of the incoming information. Transcript data is uploaded digitally to your student information system and a copy of the file is stored in the repository.

Recognize your options for content management. Technology can do the work for you.

By: Allison Parlett