With the KnowledgeLake ECM solution running on Microsoft SharePoint, the Edmonton Catholic School District is on the path to achieving its goal of virtually eliminating paper documents from its HR processes. By going with the solution, the school district also benefitted from the extensive expertise delivered by the KnowledgeLake technical staff. Additionally, the solution lays the groundwork for a more ambitious effort to reduce or even eliminate the need for paper documents throughout the school district’s different departments.
Eliminates Paper Processes
Once the KnowledgeLake technology was installed, the district's Human Resource Services department immediately began scanning a huge backlog of thousands of existing documents—and making sure that any new paper documents are immediately digitized, tagged with key information for future searches, and published on the school district intranet.
"The solution fit with the integration and compatibility of our existing processes, and is helping us meet our goals of having paperless human resources files and transparent individual access for employees so they can see their own files," says Tourangeau. "The KnowledgeLake technology is helping us increase the efficiency of the HR department by reducing paper and the time it takes to find information. Plus, we can be more environmentally responsible by eliminating paper waste."
ECM Technology—and Expertise
The school district's access to KnowledgeLake expertise helped officials in the deployment and with ongoing assistance in optimizing the performance of their ECM solution.
"I know we could not have done this deployment as well without the assistance of KnowledgeLake’s staff working together with our own SharePoint architects," Tourangeau says. "The combination of expertise at our district level, together with the KnowledgeLake staff, helped us to be successful in implementing this solution within the Human Resources department. I definitely would recommend KnowledgeLake Professional Services to other organizations."
Technology for Future Improvements
The KnowledgeLake solution provides a powerful yet easy-to-use solution that is helping the Edmonton Catholic School District reduce the need for paper documents while increasing the ability of managers and employees to quickly find important information. Tourangeau says she expects that the technology will become widespread throughout the school district.
"Eventually we hope to implement this in multiple departments and ultimately, in the long term, for use in our schools," she says. "It makes sense to maximize the knowledge and software that we’ve gained through this process, and to expand it. The power and ease of use of the KnowledgeLake solution makes me think that this will happen sooner rather than later."