Office workers frustrated by poor information management systems

Information management practices that aren't up to scratch could have an impact of how well employees do their jobs – and how productive they are.

An M-Files survey of 1500 office workers across the globe - including New Zealand and Australia - found that 82% of workers believe poor information management is damaging their productivity in the workplace. Poor information management includes difficulty navigating different systems and locations to find the right version of a file they are looking for.

91% of respondents reported that their job would be easier if they could quickly and easily access the most current version of a document, without having to worry about the system or repository in which it resides.

Improper or incorrect document labels were a hassle for 42% of respondents, while 41% said information was frequently stored in the wrong folder or system. 29% said that information was misplaced or lost.

The survey also found that 26% of respondents faced challenges determining which system or repository to search, while 26 percent were unsure whether they found the current version of a document

The findings show that many businesses still store information using manual methods, and often with outdated hierarchical folder structures across disparate and often unintegrated systems.

Modern intelligent information management systems allow users to search for information using context established by the type of document, such as a contract or proposal, and its relationships to customers, projects, cases or literally any other organisational element important to the business, M-Files states.

This removes much of the complexity for staff, enabling them to intelligently organise and easily retrieve the most relevant and current information without having to worry about where it's actually stored.

According to M-Files senior vice president of marketing, Greg Milliken, there is a clear need for change in information practices across all businesses, no matter how small or big they are, and no matter where they are in their transition to a digital workplace.

"With the exponential proliferation of information in today's business environment, many companies are failing to give their employees quick and easy access to the information they need, severely reducing productivity," says Milliken.

"To combat this, enterprises will need to adopt intelligent information management solutions that dramatically change the way they manage and process information, enabling workers to focus on adding more value to the organisation.

Detailed findings from the study can be found in the M-Files 2019 Global Intelligent Information Management Benchmark Report.