10 TIPS TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITYCanon Europe interviewed 3,800 business professionals in Europe, the Middle East and South Africa to

learn where improvements can be made in workflow, employee satisfaction and security in today’s increasingly digital workplace.

DRAW THE BIG PICTURETraining programmes must illustrate the link between information and business performance.

WORK TOGETHERCollaborative workspaces that allow employees to create and edit documents simultaneously drive faster project completion and reduce confusion that arises from multiple file versions.

Research respondents said that a lack of consistent format for documents, between paper and digital and between o�ce locations, made their jobs significantly more di�cult.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, restricting documents to specific stakeholders can speed processes and increase productivity. Role-based permissions help ensure that creators are the only ones making edits, approvers are reading without writing and so on.

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9 10STREAMLINE PAPERSHARE SMARTLY

Our research shows that incorporating material about document management, storage policies, security tools and file sharing into training programmes results in employees who understand the mission-critical role that information plays in the organisation.

1 CENTRALISE STORAGEThe first step to maximising productivity is getting everyone on the same page, literally and figuratively.

Move away from individual workers storing files on their devices and set up a versatile storage solution that provides seamless access to files wherever workers may be.

2 CLOSE THE DISTANCERemote workers are often ‘left out in the cold’ when an information management strategy is put into place.

Centralisation must support secure remote access from multiple device types. A cloud-based or -enabled solution may be worth investigating

According to the research,

41 percent of workers store information on individual devices.

41% 50+More than half of remote workers said they were frustrated by lost information.

3 SET THE STANDARDOur research shows that the average worker spends 25 minutes per day searching for archived files. One of the easiest ways to save time and money is by establishing a uniform convention for folders and filenames.

Append the date and version number for easy tracking and consider metatags for departments, stakeholders and other relevant factors.

4ENFORCE THE STANDARDOnce a standard is set for naming folders and filenames, incentivise workers to use it. Reward consistent compliance and, if necessary, discipline those who can’t or won’t adhere to the protocol.

Positive reinforcement for individuals and/or workgroups is an e�ective strategy for increasing acceptance of a new policy.

5 REIN IN EMAILUnstructured data - which includes email messages, text files, images and so on – is notoriously hard to organise and manage.

An information management framework that reads metadata and creates searchable indexes – along with standard practices for storing email - enables employees to work more quickly and smoothly with all file types.

6 KEEP ON TEACHINGMany of the respondents from our research complained that they were never taught how to use the business tools at their disposal.

Training sessions that are built into the orientation process for new hires, plus monthly refreshers and instruction on new tools or practices, can go a long way toward increasing employee productivity.

Nearly half (48 percent) said they were expected to learn on their own.

41% 50+ 54%

One-third said they had no formal training on storing and managing information.

Only 54 percent said they feel able to use their business tech to its fullest capability.

Smart companies are using high-volume scanners to digitise paper records, make them searchable and integrate them into a unified workflow. Electronic forms should mirror paper forms wherever possible to eliminate extra steps and data entry errors.

Workflow management software can ensure that each document and project stays on-track. If a document must be shared with third parties, encryption and secure file transfer tools

For further commentary on how the successful management of information can benefit your business, visit www.canon.co.uk/exceptional