>>But the corporation is thinking of sending these documents
electronically to eliminate the paper form.<<

A good thought but not necessarily the approach I would recommend. From
the sound of it, you are sending out bits and pieces of information that
become part of a bigger manual or document.  If so, you are correct,
sending out the files will increase your organizations storage and
printing expenses.

However, an alternative would be to not send out the information at all.
Post it to a website and let them retrieve it as needed.  If the
information is confidential, make the site secured.  Send out emails
noting important changes with links to the modified portions, otherwise
just make sure they know the most update information can always be found
at www.infoUneed.whatever.

Doing this will greatly simplify your distribution, reduce printing and
mailing expenses and get the information to the folks faster.  Some will
continue to go out faithfully and print everything that is new, over
time, the folks that do will be fewer and fewer.

If you decide to take a different route and send out the electronic
files, create a single package the contains everything, whether revised
or not, and send it as a package.  Folks will replace all of an
electronic file, they will rarely (never say never) ever update an
electronic document with another.  Besides why would you want sales
folks to be replicating something that is easily done once, but is very
inefficient when done by many.

Finally, if you really want to know what your field staff will do,
create a couple of different scenarios  for a couple of subsets of test
subjects.  Don't offer any explanation and follow up in a week to ask
them how they handled the recent submission.  Then ask them if they
would have preferred it some other way (you define the options).  Also
ask them for suggestions for the most efficient way to reach the desired
goal. You might be surprised at their answers.

Anyway, that has been my experience in the past.

Bill R

Bill Roach, CRM
Enterprise EDMS Coordinator
State of North Dakota
ITD/Records Management
701-328-3589

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