How Digital Mail Can Transform Your Office Services: A Chat with Mark Whitley
Innovate & Integrate
Is your organization bogged down by mountains of unprocessed mail, wasting time and resources on manual sorting and shredding, struggling to keep sensitive documents secure? Digital mail solutions can help alleviate these pain points, freeing up your team to prioritize higher-value tasks which will unlock more efficient office operations.
IST Management’s Digital mail solutions have revolutionized the way organizations manage their incoming and outgoing mail, transforming traditional paper-based processes into efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly alternatives. By converting hard mail into digital files, businesses can streamline their workflow, enhance security, and improve productivity. In today's fast-paced office environment, digital mail solutions offer a game-changing opportunity to optimize operations, reduce costs, and boost employee engagement, making it an essential component of modern office services.
Delving into the benefits of implementing digital mail solutions, we sat down with IST’s very own Operations Manager, Mark Whitley. With over 25 years of experience in the facilities management industry, Mark has worked with a very diverse client list across multiple industries, allowing him to gain a deep understanding of how digital mail has not only benefited life inside the mailroom but transformed office services across various industries.
The Problem with Traditional Mail
No matter what type of industry you’re in, traditional hard mail can be a significant headache for organizations, causing delays, inefficiencies, and security concerns. Mark gives us a closer look at some common challenges associated with traditional hard mail:
Difficulty in Tracking and Managing Large Volumes of Mail:
With large volumes of mail coming in every day, it can be challenging to keep track of who sent what, when, and where. When asked about managing high mail volumes, Mark tells us centralization is key. “Centralization is optimizing control. And the more you can control it, the safer it is, the more efficient you can make it,” says Mark.
Unidentified mail on a large scale creates room for delays and inefficiencies. Having to sort through countless documents is extremely time-consuming and costly. As you can imagine, “doing that in the 170 locations is unproductive. Doing that in a central location is production optimization,” says Mark.
Security Concerns Around Sensitive Documents:
Hard mail can pose security risks if sensitive documents are handled improperly. With physical documents, there's always a risk of theft, loss, or unauthorized access. This can have serious consequences, including data breaches and compliance issues.
Additionally, organizations that handle hard mail must comply with regulatory requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, which has strict guidelines for handling sensitive information. Failure to comply can result in significant fines and reputational damage. As Mark says, “Sarbanes-Oxley is a bad word to everybody, but it is a safe word at the same time, and it has a lot of requirements. And digital mail keeps you so close to your compliance in regards to those things that once we are doing it, you can't go back,” says Mark.
“It's the future. And it's here. And it helps lead the workflow of an organization.”
The Benefits of Digital Mail Solutions
Digital mail can effectively address the challenges that come with traditional hard mail. Mark provides some insight as to how IST’s digital mail solutions can help:
Improved Security through Encryption and Access Controls:
Digital mail solutions provide enhanced security features such as encryption and access controls, protecting sensitive documents from unauthorized access or theft. Mark explains how IST’s Digital Mail System, DocStor, provides an added level of security by utilizing secure and trackable links.
“DocStor communicates through their email system that you have received a piece of mail that has been digitized and is ready for you to review. It doesn't actually send it as an attachment, it sends it as a link to the server that will allow you to access that link and pull that document up at your leisure,” says Mark. The imaged mail is controlled in a secure server that can only be accessed when downloaded and saved into DocStor.
Digital mail solutions help organizations meet these security standards by providing robust encryption and access controls.
Enhanced Efficiency through Automation and Workflows:
Digital mail solutions automate many manual tasks associated with traditional hard mail, such as sorting, processing, and storage. This leads to significant time savings and improved productivity. As Mark notes, "digital mail may have been the impetus, but it is a tool that is showing them how to integrate digitally at a far greater level and speed than had experienced before."
By automating these tasks, organizations can focus on higher-value activities and improve their overall efficiency.
Implementing IST Management’s Digital Mail solutions can transform your office services operations by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing security. By considering the challenges of traditional hard mail and the benefits of digital mail solutions, you can make an informed decision about how to optimize your workflow.
If you're interested in learning more about IST's digital mail solution, check out Episode 35 of the Outside-IN podcast, to hear more from Mark Whitley on how we can help transform your office services with our digital mail solutions.
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