Administrations can benefit from corporations in many ways, such as adopting the best practices of corporations in their municipalities. In a free market, companies try to be as effective as possible in order to distinguish themselves from the competition. As a result, when successful companies adopt or implement new trends or innovative procedures, it is fair to say that they have been implemented because they have helped the company achieve its efficiency goal. .

Numerous studies show that leading companies have dropped paper files and adopted enterprise content management systems (CEMs) that contain automated business processes. These studies demonstrate the power of these systems in the way they help these companies succeed in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the administrations dragged their feet to adopt them. This could be understandable if the paper procedures were not essential to the administrations, but they are. In fact, administrative procedures require much more paper than those in the private sector .

Administrations deal with paperwork in all departments, from building permits to accounts receivable from finance to human resources training and many more. All levels have paper-intensive procedures, but especially local governments, as many paper procedures fall within the scope of municipal responsibilities. For example, think about finding and retrieving paper documents. It takes a lot of time and is expensive compared to the number of hours employees spend doing both of these tasks. They could spend these hours doing the many more essential tasks performed by local governments. Local governments are responsible for how taxes are spent and should consider these systems more effective as essential. This is not the case given the low importance accorded by local administrations using a lot of paper on approaching file procedures.

Two possible explanations for this phenomenon:

(1) Local governments believe that existing systems are already effective, or (2) because of budget cuts, many local governments have tighter budgets than corporations, which leads to the inability to fund new implementations even if they believe that these procedures are more effective. The IDC study touches on these ideas; officials responded that they believe their current systems are much less efficient than those of private companies.

The solution as to why local governments have not adopted ECM procedures seems to be related to reasoning (2), notably that public servants do not believe they can afford to adopt the GCE. However, GCE solutions are not only more efficient, but they can lead to significant cost savings in the long run. And, the officials know it. In addition, the IDC study reveals that public servants believe that implementing these procedures could result in savings similar to those generated in the private sector.

Implementing systems could also reduce employee stress and, as a result, potentially reduce turnover. It is assumed that the high rate of turnover among jurisdictions, especially among younger workers, is due in part to the slow pace of government adoption of advanced technology standards and practices. The adoption of GCE also offers many other benefits, especially when you decide to work with an experienced organization to work with local governments and understand their unique needs.

Ricoh has worked with villages, small towns, major cities and municipalities across Canada and employs professionals who are very knowledgeable about compliance and records management legislation in each province and territory. We have deployed our solutions in hundreds of successful companies and we want to use our expertise to help your administration save money, be more efficient, be more compliant and reduce turnover. We are an award-winning, internationally recognized company and will provide your administration with state-of-the-art technology and comprehensive support.

It’s time to join the leading private sector companies and look to the future by adopting the GCE. Visit our website for more information.