Customer: Nazdar
Industry: Manufacturing
Business Solution: DocStar Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
Business Challenge: On-board new employees faster and reduce paper-based processes
From its humble beginnings in 1922 in the back of a small store in Chicago, Nazdar has grown into one of the major international manufacturers and distributors of screen, wide-format inkjet and narrow-web printing inks. Nazdar supplies ink worldwide through its extensive international distribution and manufacturing partners.
Headquartered in Shawnee, KS, Nazdar is a growing organization with more than 500 employees worldwide. Nazdar’s accounting department has relied on DocStar ECM since 2001 to streamline its accounts payable process by helping to capture and process all invoices and related documents. In 2013, Nazdar found that their paper-based HR processes were incurring unnecessary costs and becoming a burden to the HR staff.
“We really wanted to be paperless,” recalls Cindy Upshaw, HR Manager at Nazdar. “With over 40 years’ worth of active employee files, we needed a user-friendly document management system that could handle all of our complex legal and medical personnel information in one location.”
Nazdar staff knew from their positive experience with document management in their accounting department that the same technology could be leveraged to develop a sophisticated, user-friendly system that would eliminate their costly and time-consuming paper processes.
Prior to DocStar ECM, the Nazdar HR department was completely paper-driven, and had been for over 40 years. As the company expanded, so did the piles of paperwork. The company didn’t want to start from scratch with new forms and looked for a solution that would not only import their legacy paper documentation, but also to capture and identify their current document types.
“We looked at a couple options and DocStar ECM was the most competitive cost-wise and the easiest to work with,” said Cindy. “They were more willing to focus on our comfort level and needs, and do exactly what we wanted, where others took a more ‘cookie-cutter’ approach.”
Making the switch seemed daunting at first, but with the help of Matt Neuerburg of Select Imaging, a DocStar Business Partner, the process was relatively seamless. Back file conversion was the first step. “By utilizing DocStar ECM barcoding technology and DataLink, we were able to identify and label document types with a barcode to categorize them when scanned into the new system,” said Matt Neuerburg. “Using a high-speed scanner, we uploaded the legacy documents which were then automatically indexed based on their barcode. Based on Nazdar’s requirements, we automatically created segregated and secure personnel folders to store 40 years’ worth of data – that can now be searched and retrieved at any time.”
By mapping out both the HR and Personnel file types, and barcoding the document types for each file, the system will automatically read the barcode when scanned and send the form into the correct folder. HR Documents such as employee files, medical files and I-9 documents are stored electronically in individual folders, helping to reduce the storage burden and comply with records-keeping regulations.
“The hardest part was taking out all those staples,” Cindy laughed. “The preparation was very involved, but in the long run it made it so much easier for us. It has been a huge time and money saver for us not having to look back at paper files, but to have everything right at our fingertips.”
Once all the documents were captured and stored, Nazdar was able to use the new system to on-board new employees using the same look and feel as paper files.
Cindy can now secure documents automatically as well as monitor document completion, access and retrieval. “It is so easy for me to track and automate required documentation for our employee onboarding process,” she says. “Without the inconvenience and liability issues of having the files offsite, I can quickly pull up key forms for employees and do an audit to see if everything has been completed, without having to spend time researching files, copying or emailing.”
DocStar ECM provides security features to comply with HIPAA and protect employee privacy. Personal information for every employee and applicant’s information is safely stored in an electronic repository for quick and easy access. Now every resume, cover letter, internal memo, employee review, sick leave request, insurance information and more is traceable and easily maintained.
The company uses folder structures to file employees’ documents and by using a standard template, authorized staff can search by employee name or ID number and find needed information quickly and securely, eliminating file-sharing or shipping of sensitive documents.
“With DocStar ECM, I can pull up anything the employee needs – say insurance or tax information and email it to them directly. This really helps me protect employee confidentiality and get them the information they need quickly. We also have situations where a previous employee needs information from their file. I can pull that up too, without the expense and liability of requesting a document offsite.”
With a new system in place, the team at Nazdar has improved operational efficiency for both staff and management, and the system has the flexibility to add new functionality as needed. “We empower our clients by training them how to manage their own data,” said Matt. “By giving them the tools and training they need up front, they understand how to operate the system to meet their needs and figure out new ways to expand and improve within their departments, and interdepartmentally.”
Moving forward, Nazdar is looking to implement additional workflow optimization to help with document routing and approvals. “We are looking forward to adding additional workflow options to take us to the next level,” said Cindy. “The DocStar solution has been a huge timesaver for us, it’s wonderful. So quick and easy to use.”
