The pioneers of transactional filing recognized that their agency management systems could be used as the sole source of client information and that a conventional filing system was no longer necessary. They didn't view t-filing as a goal in itself. On the way to the goal–a cultural change in which the agency management system became the primary source for documenting activity–the streamlining benefits of t-filing were a useful, though secondary, consequence. Agents who didn't understand this approached t-filing as if it were the destination. As a result, some agents failed to reach the real goal.
Similarly, some agents misunderstand the concept of "going paperless." They think it's just about getting rid of paper. For example, one agent recently asked my advice on purchasing a scanner. As we spoke about different scanners, I realized that he thought buying the scanner was all there was to going paperless. He intended to keep his paper files and add the scanner so he could find any missing paper documents in an electronic database. All this would have done for him would have been to create more work and more potential for an E&O claim, without improving efficiency. Scanning documents into a database should never be equated with going paperless, and it should never be undertaken simply to create a second filing system. Scanning paper takes time, even with a high-end scanner. Scanning alone will not bring about a net gain in efficiency.
Real gains in efficiency come from integrating a paperless model with such tools as Microsoft Outlook, desktop faxing, electronic form-filler programs and Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems. Combining all these tools into one streamlined system should be the real goal of a paperless effort, and the disappearance of paper will be just a secondary benefit.
When workflow considerations guide technology decisions, agencies become more efficient; when it's the other way around, agencies become less efficient. Faxes received electronically can be converted automatically to PDF files for storing or forwarding to another person. Faxing from the desktop, attaching e-mails to client files in the agency management system, using electronic activity notations within the system and using a VoIP system to store voice files electronically can all be part of a streamlined system that improves efficiency and customer service. Printing and saving all e-mails or scanning all paper documents to create a second filing system can do just the opposite.
Agencies contemplating the move to a paperless office environment should examine their current workflow and decide how they want to change it before they decide what technology they will need. Again, the goal is not just to buy the right scanner. In fact, over time an agency changes its scanning hardware as it refines its workflows and as its management of electronic documents becomes more comprehensive. Start by finding an agency that has successfully implemented a paperless workflow and ask them to share their experience. You will be more successful in your shift if you learn from other agencies' missteps rather than making them yourself.
Edgar J. Higgins Jr., CPCU, is the owner of Progressive Management Consulting and the Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton, N.Y. Readers may contact him at ed@edhiggins.com.
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