How to Start Your Enterprise Scanning Project Scanbition Frameworks Steve Irons, President DocSolid Scanbition (noun, new): 1. An ambition and a plan for enterprise scanning. 2. Using best practice document scanning to reduce the costs and inefficiencies of paper, firm wide. As in: We ve had casual scanning at our copiers for years, but until we got Scanbition we had no meaningful initiative to reduce the burdens of paper. Scanbition Framework (noun, new): 1. A high-level plan to begin, then extend enterprise scanning in a law firm, taking into account the technology and paper culture of the firm. As in: We selected a Scanbition Framework, then executed that plan to adopt scanning as a best practice across the firm. When a law firm determines it wants to get serious about scanning (the onset of Scanbition), it generally has an initial and a long term objective. For long term objectives we hear aggressive ambitions to go paperless in the practice areas or Eliminate offsite records storage. Initial objectives are more grounded in practicality, such as Start scanning closed matters instead of sending them offsite to records storage or Start scanning all incoming paper for the IP Practice Group. Start is the key word. How do you start? How do you move from tedious, one-document-at-a-time scanning, to scanning all the paper? When the only scanning experience has been casual scanning at the copier, best practice enterprise scanning is a big leap forward. It must fit the culture, the workflow, and the operational future of the Firm. This requires a Plan, considering: What are our specific goals for paper document scanning? What volume of incoming paper will we need to address with this project? How does the paper arrive and get managed as it heads to the scan capture workflow? Who profiles the documents into the DMS? Who scans? Who QCs? How do we identify and serve the range of scanning needs, firm wide? Copyright 2014 DocSolid V3 1
How do we apply security, process integrity and QC to the overall job? How do we intersect with and apply Records policies? How do we engage the Records staff? Do we have physical records retirement policy? Do we shred? How? When? What staffing, infrastructure and application resources are required? Who owns this new operation? How do we measure productivity and, most importantly, ROI? To tackle these Scanbition questions, and others, you must develop an approach to the project that marries the overall objectives with the firm s culture about paper, the ROI targets, and the investment resources. To clarify the optional approaches to enterprise scanning, DocSolid offers these Scanbition Frameworks, which have been used successfully by our customers. These frameworks put your project into an operating context, give you a way to start, and then complete your scanning initiative. 1. Scan and Retire File Room 2. Target Image Enthusiasts 3. Scan and Maintain the File Room 4. Scan and Shred Closed Matters 5. Start with Accounting 1. Scan and Retire the File Room Scan and Retire the File Room is the most aggressive approach to an enterprise scanning initiative. The premise is that all incoming paper headed for the file room will instead be scanned, profiled and stored in the DMS. Then the paper is retired (a process that ends with shredding). The file room is also retired. Workflow is established to channel inbound paper documents, usually to the legal secretary, but possibly through Records or an extended mailroom operation. After documents are scanned, profiled and stored in the DMS, they are distributed digitally, if required. The paper proceeds through a process that applies records retention and destruction policy. Quality controls check that the scanning process has properly captured and stored the related images. The few types of paper documents that must be retained physically are separated out. Eventually, based on a firm s policy, the bulk of the paper can be shredded. The result is that previously managed paper records are now available digitally from the DMS, as part of the active digital matter file. Attorneys and staff become much more efficient because the entire matter is managed, retrieved and shared from the DMS. File room operations become largely unnecessary and can eventually be shut down, or greatly reduced. The square footage dedicated to file space firm wide is dramatically reduced, as is the corresponding cost for such real estate. And the flow of paper to offsite storage is shut off, along with that cost. This results in substantial ROI in cost reductions and productivity improvements. Scan and Retire the File Room delivers a high-impact ROI. Its aggressive approach to enterprise scanning requires strong executive backing because of the change and cultural adjustments it brings. And this framework needs a powerful new scanning operation, and tight workflows for capture. KwikTag Legal s separation of profiling and scanning workflows enable the kind of productivity, integrity and automatic process audits necessary for such a big undertaking. Portions of the labor can be outsourced to facilities management operations. Copyright 2014 DocSolid V3 2
Scan and Retire the File Room is an effective Scanbition Framework for firms with these Reduce the real estate and other costs for paper file rooms and storage Move offices to smaller square footage space Improve the efficiency of the attorneys and staff by building a fully digital matter file 2. Target Image Enthusiasts This framework is based on the principles of adoption, specifically that eager participants in document scanning and image viewing are going to be the most successful, and that laggards who love the paper file are going to need collegial success stories to embrace the change. Using the Target Image Enthusiasts framework, a firm profiles and scans all incoming paper documents to the DMS, but only for the practice groups that are eager to remove paper from their operations. Then, based on project success in these practice areas, the rollout bandwagon extends to each of the next practice groups who want to hop on board. This is a farming approach to enterprise scanning and image retrieval. But don t confuse it with a trial. A trial implies that the decision to proceed is dependent on results or impressions. Target Image Enthusiasts presumes a commitment to enterprise scanning, and uses this method to contain cultural resistance while a rollout spreads. The practice groups who start scanning go digital, replacing their paper files with images integrated to the digital DMS matter. Attorneys get the big benefit of integrated images in the digital matter, where they belong. And the staff fits the scanning workflow into their daily disciplines. Target Image Enthusiasts gives eager adopters the image solution they ve been clamoring for, and engages them in the success of the overall project as participants, an active source for solution improvements, and advocates. They become the stakeholders that spark the project forward. This is a similar but safer approach than the imposition of a Scan and Retire the File Room framework, but the ROI is softer because the rest of the firm is still dealing with paper records in the conventional manner, and that cost is not addressed initially. Target Image Enthusiasts is an effective Scanbition Framework for firms with these Measured rollout of enterprise scanning, based on user advocacy Soften the cultural change by dealing with scanning-eager practice groups first Generate independent internal success stories for practice groups enabled with imaging [Cite your source here.] 3. Scan and Maintain the File Room This framework is based on the principle of accommodating the old-school culture of paper, while going digital. Using the Scan and Maintain the File Room framework, a firm profiles and scans to the DMS all incoming paper documents, but still manages a paper Redweld (paper file) during the matter s active lifecycle. The firm may choose to keep a paper file for every matter, or only for the designated matters for which the attorney has a paper preference. Copyright 2014 DocSolid V3 3
DocSolid s survey with over one hundred firms shows that about half of the attorney population today prefers working with a paper file, and the other half wants everything digital and available from the DMS. So the Scan and Maintain the File Room approach runs a dual system during the active lifecycle of the matter, to do both. This accommodates all preferences about the use of paper and images, and softens the adoption curve with attorneys who want to progress gradually toward a digital workplace. When the matter is retired, all related paper is already scanned, profiled, and in the DMS, and after a QC and retirement process the paper can be shredded. This results in substantial hard savings by eliminating long term records storage, and unifying overall retention and disposition practices everything is digital. Operationally, there is less cost reduction up front because a paper file room operation needs to be maintained. But as the years pass, the digital advantages of image retrieval sell themselves across the firm, and paper-preferring attorneys gradually climb on the digital bandwagon. Scan and Maintain the File Room is an effective Scanbition Framework for firms with these Stop the growth of offsite storage costs Accommodate both paper and digital work preferences Establish an enterprise scanning platform for gradual transition to a paper free operation 4. Scan and Shred Closed Matters This framework is based on an initial, hard goal of eliminating long term records storage costs, and establishing Records as the place to start enterprise scanning competency. Using the Scan and Shred Closed Matters framework, a firm scans inactive matter files instead of sending them to offsite storage. Firms get a quantified payback by cutting off the growing cost and risk of offsite records storage, and establish a scanning muscle that enables gradual migration to integrated DMS scanning for active matters. When matters are closed, practice areas review and send corresponding paper files to Records. Records profiles and scans to the DMS all inserts (folders) in the matter Redweld (expanding file). Documents and document groupings are OCR d to create searchable PDF files. An extensive QC process ensures accurate image capture and storage as archived files in the DMS. Records policy is applied and the paper documents are scheduled for destruction, not boxed for offsite storage. Any subsequent retrieval from the inactive records base is serviced by DMS image retrieval of the scanned files. Note that scanning matters after they close does not extend the digital advantage into the active lifecycle of the matter. But once the system is in place and operating well, moving the scan workflow to capture just-arrived documents to the DMS is easier and the capabilities are quantified, so gradual migration of scanning from the back office (Records) to the front office (Practice Areas) can be paced into a firm s paper-to-digital culture and adoption patterns. Scanning and shredding closed matters, year one is going to be more expensive in labor than yearone offsite box storage costs. But over the years, scanning and shredding closed matters will provide a meaningful cost reduction compared to the perennial, mounting cots of box records storage. DocSolid s studies show that the 10-year total cost (labor, supplies, storage, retrieval, destruction and Copyright 2014 DocSolid V3 4
retirement fees) of storing a box of records is about $60 for a large firm, and much more for a smaller firm paying higher fees. And this storage cost gets much higher for storage beyond 10 years. (Most firms are storing their records for longer than 10 years, with no operating plan to fix this.) Alternatively, the total cost to scan a box consist primarily of labor costs, which are about $50 per box. So scanning invests more up front, but provides a gradual, then significant, payback both in hard dollars and in risk reduction, uniform records disposition, and broad digital advantage. Importantly, DocSolid s customers who have employed the Scan and Shred Closed Matters approach have quickly flexed their developed scanning muscle to begin capturing incoming paper during the active lifecycle of the matter. This movement lowers the cost of scanning and provides a significant ROI improvement by providing digital advantage during the active lifecycle of the matter. Both active and retired scanning workflows store profiled, searchable PDF images in the DMS. Scan and Shred Closed Matters is a proven way to initiate enterprise scanning, establish a scan QC destruction competency, financial payback and modernized retention destruction best practices. In most firms, front office (practice area) scanning adoption needs to be sold to the users. In Accounting, users can be told that scanning is going to be implemented. So this Scanbition framework let s a firm get started with the told approach, and build a case for the sold approach. Note that scanning and image use in Accounting can either be a front-end or back-end process. Front-end scanning captures paper on the way into the firm, and automates subsequent workflow by using images instead of physical paper. Invoice approvals, matching and overall processing become more productive and more accurate. Back-end scanning means the paper runs through its traditional course of movements, and batch scanning of finished transactions is done after the transactions are closed. Back-end scanning in accounting gives no workflow advantages for processing, generally focusing on digital storage as its advantage. Scan and Shred Closed Matters is an effective Scanbition Framework for firms with these Cut off the growth of offsite storage costs Build a scanning muscle in the Records Department for scan capture competency that can be leveraged throughout the firm Establish a back-office scanning platform for the firm, and lay a foundation for scanning during the active lifecycle of the paper, either in the front-office or as a Records services function 5. Start with Accounting This This Accounting Department project automates paper-based workflows by by scanning incoming paper paper invoices and and other other accounting documents, integrated with with the the existing accounting software, to to facilitate facilitate electronic electronic filing and filing retrieval. and retrieval. After establishing After establishing success success with this with first this scanning first scanning project, project, the firm the extends firm its developed extends its scanning, developed integration scanning, integration and workflow and competencies workflow competencies to other areas to other of areas firm of specifically the the firm practice specifically areas. The the objective practice areas. is to get The an objective ROI on scanning is to get in an a ROI paper-burdened on scanning in back-office, a paper-burdened where user back-office, resistance where isn t an user issue. resistance Then use isn t the an internal issue. case Then study use the built internal by that case successful study built project by that to inspire the successful practice areas project to to pursue inspire similar the practice paper-to-digital areas pursue advantages. similar paper-to-digital advantages. In most firms, front office (practice area) scanning adoption needs to be sold to the users. In Accounting, users can be told that scanning is going to be implemented. So this Scanbition framework let s a firm get started with the told approach, and build a case for the sold approach. Note that Copyright 2014 DocSolid V3 5
scanning and image use in Accounting can either be a front-end or back-end process. Front-end scanning captures paper on the way into the firm, and automates subsequent workflow by using images instead of physical paper. Invoice approvals, matching and overall processing become more productive and more accurate. Back-end scanning means the paper runs through its traditional course of movements, and batch scanning of finished transactions is done after the transactions are closed. Back-end scanning in accounting gives no workflow advantages for processing, generally focusing on digital storage as its advantage. For a firm looking to maximize the payback from scanning by automating workflows, front-end scanning is the best approach. Its methods must be productive, to increase overall efficiencies. And this scanning operation must be tightly integrated with the accounting software. Therefore, the project becomes a strong test of the enterprise scanning system, which must later be tightly integrated with the DMS software when it migrates to the practice areas. Accounting software vendors often have their own integrated scanning solution, but these are onetrick-pony solutions, for accounting only, and therefore cannot be leveraged to an enterprise scanning platform. Scanning to the DMS in the practice areas, in Records, HR and other applications will require another solution, so it s best to select a solution for accounting that can be rolled out for use in the rest of the firm. Start with Accounting is an effective Scanbition Framework for firms with these Automate Accounting workflows by scanning related paper Establish ROI on the project in Accounting, where hard cost reductions are easiest to quantify Build an internal case study in the firm by a successful project in Accounting, then use this success to sponsor scanning rollout to the rest of the firm For more information on this and other DocSolid whitepapers, contact consulting@docsolid.com, or use the information [Cite your source request here.] form at the Contact Us page at www.docsolid.com. Steve Irons is the President of DocSolid, a market-leading provider of enterprise scanning solutions for the legal market. He has founded three document imaging ventures, holds 9 patents, and is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Northern Arizona University. sirons@docsolid.com Copyright 2014 DocSolid V3 6