Your people can no longer rely on filing cabinets and paper-based documentation to access and keep track of workplace information. This article will cover best practices and tools for effective digital documentation in your remote workplace.
1. Write Concisely
Readers treasure concise writing, more so in a remote workplace where people can’t just pop over to ask for clarification. This means it’s vital to properly organize your thoughts and be as clear as possible in your documentation. When writing workplace documents, avoid redundant phrases, long sentences, and unnecessary jargon.
Use bulleted lists to highlight key information and separate large chunks of text into paragraphs. This is especially helpful when you wish to communicate large amounts of information, as it breaks the text into digestible bites and makes it easier to scan. In addition, you also want to use words everyone in your workplace will understand, regardless of technical expertise. Lastly, always self-edit your work to improve your writing before sending it out; an extra pair of eyes can also help catch any errors.
2. Store Digital Documents in a Centralized Location
Easy access to workplace documents is critical for a remote workforce. No one wants to waste time searching through Slack messages or old emails to find vital information. You can set up an internal wiki or use a knowledge base software to overcome this challenge. An internal wiki provides a centralized, searchable repository for all your workplace documentation, including company policies, meeting notes, how-to tutorials, and onboarding documents, to name a few.
3. Enforce Access Control Policies
While having a central repository of workplace documents is essential, you also want to manage who can access and make document changes. You might have specific documents that are only relevant to certain departments, or sensitive files that only administrators should access. This helps you maintain document security and prevent accidental or unauthorized changes. So, when choosing your workplace documentation tool, select one that supports this feature and customize the access control settings to match your organizational needs.
For instance, Document360 provides multiple accounts that let you decide the level of access each user has to your documentation. Tettra also includes a permissions system that allows you to control who can edit, view, or publish specific documents.
4. Observe Online Security Best Practices
Enforcing access control policies helps, but it’s not enough to protect your workplace documents from security threats. As more and more businesses move online, cybercrime is on the rise, so you need to take extra precautions to ensure your digital documentation is safe from hackers.
To create an effective digital documentation strategy with security in mind, you want to avoid common remote work security mistakes like using personal devices for work tasks, sharing passwords, and neglecting to install security updates. In addition, besides creating strong passwords, you want to ensure that you change them regularly to reduce the risk of being hacked. Furthermore, you can also encrypt your workplace documents to add an extra layer of protection. And lastly, don’t forget to use a VPN to keep your data safe and secure, especially when working on public Wi-Fi.
5. Keep Backups
Despite your best efforts, there’s always a chance that your workplace documents could get lost or corrupted. While using knowledge base tools as your primary storage solution helps reduce the risk of data loss, you still want to keep backups in case something goes wrong. That’s because these solutions can also experience technical issues beyond your control, which, at the very least, means that you won’t have access to your documents during that period.
To be on the safe side, you can consider auxiliary backup solutions like Google Drive and local storage devices. Of course, you don’t want to have to keep track of multiple copies of the same document, so establish a clear backup strategy before using any workplace documentation tools. This way, you can be confident that your documents are always available when you need them.
6. Digitize Your Paper Documents
If you’re still relying on paper-based documentation, now is the time to switch to digital copies or, at the very least, create digital copies. Not only does this make it easier to manage large volumes of files, but it also improves accessibility, collaboration, and security.
You can use a scanner to digitize your paper documents. Once you have digital copies of your documents, you can then upload them to your workplace documentation tool of choice for easy access and collaboration.
7. Use Clear Indexing for Quick Identification
If you have a lot of documents, it can be challenging to keep track of them. That’s why using a clear indexing system for your workplace documents is essential. This way, you can easily find the files you need—when you need them. There are a few different ways to index your documents; for instance, you can start by categorizing them by type, date, or project. This will make it easier to find specific documents when you need them.
Another option is to use keywords to index your workplace documents. This can be especially helpful if you have a lot of files and need to be able to search for them quickly. Whatever indexing system you use, ensure it’s consistent and easy to understand.
Your Remote Teams Need a Smart Documentation Strategy
Remote workplace documentation is essential for the smooth running of your organization. By creating an effective digital documentation strategy, you can ensure that your teams can quickly access the information they need and remain productive.
