Unit 4 - Filing Systems
Filing Systems
Creating an efficient filing system is critical to the success of many organizations today. Even though a significant number of organizations have already transitioned their records from paper to electronic filing systems, some organizations are still operating by a dual record keeping systems. One in specific are records held in various kinds of health and medical practices.
This said, it is important for any record system to be created in a fashion that makes everyone’s jobs much easier to perform. In addition to reserving the proper storage space for the records, the administrative office will need to order enough hard copy files to hold the paper forms that they accumulate over time. So, for admins who are tasked with either creating or maintaining an effective filing system, it is important that they know the best ways to set them up. Based on the operation or the purpose, the filing system can be set-up with one of the following in mind:
Alphabetical
Alphabetical filing systems are normally set-up when a small employer is creating a system for the employees that they hire. Which means, any documentation that they gather on their employees can be placed in individual folders with the employees' last name (first) and first name (second).
Numerical
Numerical filing systems are normally best fit for larger employer personnel systems. This is because large companies and corporations track their employees via computer systems, which are based on numerical employee IDs. Therefore, the records that they set up in paper and electronic forms must contain the numerical IDs as the filing systems identification system.
By Subject
It is also important to note that some filing systems are created by using the subject. Subject filing systems are normally used when people are storing a lot of correspondence, reports, research and the like.
Geographical
Geographical filing systems can be used when an organization services different areas of the country or abroad. Which means, if an employee has been assigned to different regions in their company, they may set up their record keeping filing systems based on geographical locations.
Chronological
This type of filing system sorts documents according to the sequence of date of receipt or creation.
Combination
In some cases, an operation or an individual may need a combination filing system. These systems can help to track more than one type of transaction so that people can keep things organized.