Where the Heck Is It?

Do I really have to write a column on file management, one of the fundamentals on which a business operates and performs daily tasks? Well, from my perspective and that of the pragmatic techies who try to make things happen, you nontechies are making us tilt. Yes, tilt, meaning to step no further, question no deeper and make right whatever was done wrong. Across the nation, I fear many techies are tilting daily under the weight of upper management’s indifference to this problem.

We are evolving to the paperless office, but many companies have not really considered how much information they now store electronically. It is absolutely cheaper to store information on a hard drive, if you can find the information easily. Information you cannot find or that takes hours to find goes down in value. If you have no hard-copy backup, then it’s a problem. So what do you do?

First, acknowledge that file management is relevant to proactive management of your daily operations. Realize that hard-copy files will be replaced with electronic files in the months and years to come. As a result, it is imperative that the entire company, not just your IT staff, should have input about file management.

Second, if your hard-copy files are disorganized, perhaps you need to address personnel training and organizational management issues. Realize that going to a paperless office changes your working model. In the past, the physical location of files would limit access to the information; for example, confidential files would be located in the executive area, accounting files in the accounting area, estimating in estimating, etc.

Once you start to put much of this information in a public location (your server), the permissions and access to files need to be proactively managed. Electronic files need to reflect the normal security you have with hard-copy files.

Many builders I meet have a hard time understanding my concern when I recommend clearly documented file access. How would you feel if someone walked into your office and opened your most confidential hard-copy files? Put files in an electronic format with unrestricted access and permissions, and now anyone can look at any of them, and you won’t know a thing about it. Think about that the next time tech support urges you to assist with file management protocol.

As part of the management team, you must take part in the decision-making process. And some of the most important decisions to be made involve who should have file access, how files are named and where they are located. If you are one of those leaders who believe that “everyone works here for the good of the company and should have access to everything,” ask your builder buddies if they’ve had bad experiences with “file misappropriation.” (I think I just came up with a new term.) Also, ask them if they can find an important document on their server if their chief financial officer is out sick and the owner needs to handle the finances temporarily.

Implementing a file management process should not be that cumbersome or painful. To start, follow these suggestions:

Collect Primary Data — Interview your technical support manager or consultants who assist with such matters. I am sure they have an opinion on how well or poorly your files are managed. If you have in-house support, review your files with your IT manager to understand where you fall on the scale of well-managed versus poorly managed.

Develop a Strategy — Once you determine the “state of your files,” develop the strategy and tactics needed to improve file management. Be sure to weave it into your weekly staff meetings. You have to manage the details constantly to keep a system in alignment. Staff meetings also are good times to educate and remind people about the file structure.

It can be hard to start from scratch, so below are a few of the most worthwhile and cost-effective goals I have seen put into place. Once they’re implemented in a business environment, the results can mean significant improvements in efficiency and communication.