How a cloud-based document management system can improve the health of your CU

If you think about it, the sheer volume and sensitivity of data that flows through your credit union in the form of digital and paper-based documents on a daily basis is incredible. One simple account or loan transaction typically generates multiple files and documents, most of which must be secured, retained and shared in some way. In fact, the process by which your credit union handles data and documents can often help you gauge the health of your overall institutional operations and member experience.

For example, consider these key indicators of credit union health:

• How seamless and secure are your internal document workflows?
• How efficient and productive are your staff?
• How would your members rate the quality of their transactional experiences?

Unless your institution is using a comprehensive, cloud-based document management system to support the performance of the key operational health indicators above, it is likely that there is significant room for improvement. Here are six ways that implementing a document management system like SmartVault can help you reach this goal:

1. Supporting a seamless document and data workflow that increases productivity. When your credit union implements the right document management system, it can help improve the health of your credit union by providing a solid structure for processing and transferring information inside and outside of it. As such, ensuring the capability of any potential document management platform to help you structure and streamline these processes is critical since they are major drivers of productivity. 
2. Adopting a completely customized platform that fits the specific needs of your credit union’s business units. A customizable document management system acts like a personalized secretary and librarian of all your credit union’s documents, rather than a basic filing cabinet. With features such as customized folder templates and granular access for employees and guests, the right document management system automates and simplifies workflow for every business unit of your credit union.
3. Providing the flexible, organized document system that enhances staff productivity. Using a cloud-based document management system that offers a flexible filing structure, your credit union can customize the set up and structure of electronic files to meet the specific requirements of your organization and any files that your members need to access. 
4. Offering file sharing and remote access capabilities for employees. Remote work continues to be a necessity due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is likely to be a lasting trend. It’s imperative to the health of your credit union that your employees can handle as many functions off-site as possible—while maintaining the required security and integrity of documents and sensitive member information. With a comprehensive document management system, each employee can log-in securely from their phone or laptop with their username and password, gaining access to only the files they have been granted permission for, allowing them to be productive anytime, anywhere.
5. Enabling eSignature capabilities to staff, members, and third-party vendors. From the perspectives of member service, security, and productivity, having the capability to collect electronic signatures via your credit union’s document management system is an important health check. Enabling eSignatures not only makes it easier and more convenient to get loans and other key documents signed remotely, it also increases the security of these documents and the sensitive data they contain. 
6. Keeping your credit union compliant with NCUA and other financial data security requirements. Nothing can undermine the health of your organization faster or more detrimentally than not following all security and data management regulations. The ability to meet all compliance requirements for internal and member data is absolutely essential, therefore, so is the ability of your document management system to keep your organization healthy in this regard. Solutions such as SmartVault offer robust security and encryption of all documents when they are stored on the platform’s servers as well as when they are in transit over the internet.

Electronic and paper documents flow endlessly across your credit union. The ability to manage them effectively from an operational standpoint so that you provide ideal member experience is an important indicator of your organization’s health. Consider the six ways a document management solution such as SmartVault may support these functions for your institution, then take action to implement the one that will have the most positive impact on the health of your credit union — inside and out.