Building Strategy: How Workflow, Document Management and Portals Work Together

Workflow, document management, and portals are best thought of separately
— each with its own individual strategy. Let’s take a look at the
definitions:
Workflow — A sound workflow strategy enables you to move work through
your firm in a streamlined manner. From beginning to end, work moves forward
in a standardized fashion, eliminating bottlenecks and time wasted on unnecessary
tasks. When workflow is standardized, there is one way to complete it, and that
means heightened efficiency.

Document Management — It’s important to understand that a “document”
is more than a piece of paper. Documents include PDF files, Word docs, emails,
voicemails and other items. True document management incorporates how all files
in your firm are handled and managed.

Portals — Simply put, portals represent a secure online space where
practitioners perform transactions and exchange information with clients. A
sound portal strategy means that firms can deliver documents, exchange data,
and collaborate with clients on work in progress.

Now that we have a good understanding of the parts, let’s discuss the
concept of putting the pieces together. As you move forward, it’s important
to look at “strategy” at the highest level. To do this, you have
to ask yourself: “What is my firm’s core goal?” Most firms
will answer that the goal is to provide the highest level of customer service
possible by offering services that support maximum convenience for clients.
Once firms start thinking in more detail, the notion of offering “maximum
convenience” transforms into providing clients with a secure collaborative
environment, where they have 24/7 access to documents and to their trusted advisor.
Within this environment, work is exchanged in real-time, and processes are streamlined
for ultimate efficiency for both the firm and their clients.

With a solid high-level vision in place, you can start to see how these individual
strategies can be weaved together. Consider the following:

Portal Strategy — Based on the need for real-time
exchange of documents and data, firms require a solution that supports two-way
communication. Portals provide ease of information exchange and document delivery,
meaning that total collaboration is possible. At this point, it’s a
matter of selecting the right portal vendor for your needs. Portals differ
in how information is presented, so be sure to select the solution that allows
you to present docs and data in a logical, easily accessible way.

Document Management Strategy — A decision on document
management is not independent of portals. Firms need to consider solutions
that integrate nicely with their portal system, as well as make considerations
for scalability. As your client base grows, so will the number of portals
you support. Your document management system will have to grow with your portal
base to ensure ongoing efficiency and automation of your delivery process.

Also critical is presentation of information. Once you’ve decided
how you want to offer information with the client portal (i.e., financial
statement folder, tax return folder, etc.), your document management system
must mirror this structure. If the document management system is seamlessly
integrated with your portal solution, file structure becomes automated and
standardized.

Workflow Strategy — How work is handled is critical
to a firm’s level of efficiency. A firm can implement the very best
solutions, but if workflow and processes are not defined from beginning to
end, it will all fall apart. So once you’ve decided on the proper solutions
for your firm, I recommend sitting down and sketching out your optimal workflow.
Creating a picture is the first step toward implementation of true standardized
processes.

To help you better visualize this concept, consider a paperless tax workflow.
How does your optimal tax workflow look based on your portal and document management
strategies? Perhaps it flows like this: You begin by delivering the client’s
tax organizer within their portal; you have the client scan source docs and
upload them to their portal; you file source docs directly into your document
management solution; you ex-change information within the portal until the tax
return is approved; and finally, you deliver the final tax return in the portal
and file the final copies. Within your optimal workflow, you could also accept
payment within the client portal.

Hopefully, you can now begin to see how workflow, document management, and
portals work together to produce ultimate efficiency in your firm.

Independently, each provides a sound strategy. But together, if applied smartly
and with detailed thought, the sum is certainly greater that its parts. I encourage
you to look at and evaluate your current strategies to ensure that you are operating
at peak efficiency. If not, it’s time to sit down and map out your optimal
workflow and the solutions that will support it.