We’re welcoming a new team member to CPS, our new VP of Sales, Jamie Dunn. Jamie’s worked in imaging technology for two decades so he’s well-versed in ECM, especially in the public sector. We sat down with Jamie last week and asked him a few questions:
Where are most organizations that you encounter in terms of understanding ECM?
Mostly, there are two paths. One, the organization knows they have a big problem with paper and electronic files. They can’t find anything and it’s frustrating. So we come in and both educate and learn. We educate them on how document management and retention will keep them organized and they teach us about the way they work. In this case, we’re creating a digital file cabinet for them. The alternative path is the organization understands document management, uses the terminology but is looking for best practices. They may just be kicking the tires to understand other options or they are considering how to flex their system.
What is the role of the person you generally work with? Or what department do you find yourself working with?
For an agency, it’s almost always the clerk. It’s their responsibility to manage the records. IT is involved too as it’s a software purchase and implementation, and they need to support it. Generally projects go well when approached as a team with named stakeholders and an executive sponsor. When I work with the private sector, it’s usually a Director of Operations and of course IT. Over the past few years I’ve seen tech departments even further embedded in the purchase, so I’ve changed my approach. I’m not super technical, but I now have the opportunity to take one of our tech team with me to meet the client. And it’s great because they speak tech together and I work with the business side. Speaking the same language is critical and this supports my sales philosophy which is based on relationship building. People buy from and want to work with people they like. The more team members in a company or agency, I get to know the better. I’m Facebook friends with all my clients. Lookout California, I am looking for more friends :)
How does your typical organization (who is not government) get started with ECM? Say you’ve had one meeting and they have some basic understanding. What’s next?
First, they need to think about what their folder structure should be. Some organizations will tell us, “Our folder structure is a mess, help!” and others may have already gone through this exercise. Next, they need to standardize their naming conventions. We can’t move forward with documents named ‘Betty’s Invoice.” There are best practices for lexicons and we can help with that. I tell clients that in some ways the way you set up your Laserfiche system is your legacy. If you hit Lotto and quit tonight. Tomorrow morning, someone else should be able to come in, search on a document in Laserfiche and find what they are looking for.
Why did you join CPS?
Two reasons.
Reputation. CPS has the best support and services division in California. They all have about twenty years of Laserfiche implementations, that’s a deep bench. When you call CPS for help, you don’t leave a message and get a call back from some junior-level person. You get a senior person answering the call. So your problem is handled right then and there. Clients love this.
Tech-skills. The customizations, workflows, migrations, and integrations that CPS just pulls off are unmatched. For example, we have a Trusted Systems product that isn’t just ECM + WORM. Dispositions aren’t just secured (static) but can be user-triggered, so they are flexible. NO one else does this. No one. Also, we’ve got some great workflow process build-outs like contract management and invoicing.
Can I add one more? Deployment experience. No document management implementation is perfect overnight, it takes a bit of finesse. CPS has a great portfolio of implementations and experiences to draw from. Hence, when we are having the “how will Laserfiche work in your organization” conversation with the buying committee, we have relevant best practices and examples immediately at hand.
Last question, if you were a fish what kind of fish would you be?
Ummm, a Laser Fish :)
OK. Nevermind. Welcome to Complete Paperless, Jamie!
