Document Imaging Newbie? You’re Not Alone.
Document imaging technology has been around for quite a while, but some banks and credit unions are just now working through their implementations.
Sound familiar?
If you’re new to imaging, you might feel a little overwhelmed. That’s OK, we’re here to help! Our team at Alogent has helped hundreds of financial institutions drive business value through imaging. This blog shares a few considerations as you continue your journey on the “imaging maturity curve.”
Signs You’re a “Document Imaging Newbie”
Financial institutions adopt imaging software for a variety of reasons. In our experience, some of the most common goals include:
- Minimizing risk of information loss
- Reducing paper, printing, and courier expenses
- Increasing access to information
- Streamlining audit prep
Digitizing documents almost immediately reduces risk of information loss, but, without the right approach, new problems quickly emerge:
Messy Information Environment: For some, the path of least resistance is asking IT to spin up a shared information repository that’s built with in-house tools. Although better than nothing, this approach often fails due to the amount of information that must be captured, imaged, QC’d, organized, and properly retained. Inconsistent naming conventions, outdated records, and manual purge workflows pose real challenges to homegrown solutions.
Prolonged Friction with Auditors & Examiners: Digitized records open the door to virtual audits—assuming that staff can efficiently locate requested information. Disorganized electronic repositories may actually impede audit and exam prep, especially when shadow files (paper versions of digitized records) continue circulating throughout the institution.
Manual Post-Close Workflows: Traditionally, bankers relied on checklists when preparing paper loan files. Migrating to a digital environment does not necessarily guarantee a better post-close workflow.
Unreliable Exception Reporting: Missing and expiring documents must be tracked, regardless of whether paper or digital records are utilized. For many institutions, this means reliance on spreadsheets and manual ticklers that operate independently from imaging. It’s a missed opportunity that often leads to unreliable reporting.
Low Adoption Rates: Due to the aforementioned challenges, some banks and credit unions get stuck in the “newbie” phase and experience low adoption rates. When this happens, financial institutions struggle to achieve their primary goals.
Your Next Move as an Imaging Newbie
If your institution sounds like an “imaging newbie,” don’t lose hope. The good news is that you’re no longer behind the curve—you just need a game plan for continued advancement.
Here are three suggestions:
1. Gather a list of user feedback, such as when your commercial lending team makes it known that they “can never find anything.” Ask people to be specific and explain what they mean, why they’re frustrated, and their ideas for improvement.
2. Organize the feedback into a digestible format and identify key “pain points” that inhibit the imaging’s impact. Is it a process and technology issue, or are people just unwilling (or unable) to change?
3. Formalize your findings into specific recommendations. Maybe the confusion relates to a simple training issue. Or, perhaps, your underlying imaging environment needs to be fundamentally reimagined with a purpose-built system like AccuAccount or FASTdocs.
Contact Alogent to learn about our document imaging software for financial institutions.
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