NGO helps people faster and more effectively with ECM

Every individual is unique and adds to the rich diversity of our society. So it goes without saying that people both with and without disabilities should live and work together. Unfortunately, the reality is often very different. This makes it all the more important to support measures that promote awareness and integration such as those carried out by the German NGO charity Aktion Mensch since 1964 through proceeds from its lottery. Today, with end-to-end digital processes, this work is continuing better than ever.

With up to 1,000 sponsored projects per month and approximately 30,000 project partners, processes at Aktion Mensch have to be highly organized – and ideally managed in digital format from start to finish. Working with both digital and paper-based processes costs valuable time – especially when partners have to wait for support. For this reason, Aktion Mensch decided on the enterprise content management (ECM) solution Doxis from SER. Aktion Mensch is now not only able to digitalize and accelerate grant processes, but also to implement cross-departmental solutions that drive the digitalization of the entire organization and make daily work easier for the team.

“It was important to us that all users could get on well with the new system right from the start. The Doxis user interfaces are familiar to users of Microsoft applications, which makes it easy for them to use,” states Ivonne Berger, Project Manager DIAS & Doxis at Aktion Mensch. In the past, they processed grant applications in parallel on paper and digitally with an outdated legacy system. Today, all of the documents are available in Doxis and the integrated DIAS application system. Thanks to document management functions such as digital files, version control, easy document filing and extensive search functions as well as workflows for document steering, applications can now be processed much more easily and efficiently. “Our employees were able to test Doxis for a year and actively shape the new way of working through their feedback. This approach has made the change process much easier for all of us,” states Ivonne Berger. Change agents, serving as multipliers, spread the positive word throughout the organization and helped to further increase its acceptance among employees.

With Doxis, Aktion Mensch has achieved its goal of supporting people even better through digitalization. Approximately 30,000 project partners have access to the DIAS online application portal, which is integrated with Doxis. There they are able to upload completed application documents quickly and conveniently. Doxis transfers these documents, stores them in the proper eFile for applications and project partners, and starts processing them directly in DIAS. “In the past, colleagues had to search through files and do most of the work on paper. All of the approval steps were also documented accordingly on paper. These days are over now: We do it all digitally in DIAS and Doxis,” explains Ivonne Berger.

If project partners mail in documents, they also don’t have to wait as long for a response: Letters are digitized immediately, classified using the Doxis Classification & Extraction Service, and automatically assigned to the proper business context and responsible person. “Since we started using the Doxis Classification & Extraction Service, our mail has been distributed to the right employees much more quickly. They can respond on the same day. Our project partners are of course very happy about this improved response time.”

In selecting Doxis as an ECM platform, Aktion Mensch intended from the start to roll out the document management system and continue with further solutions in other departments: “With Doxis, users have several functionalities in one system that forms their digital workplace. One central platform is ideal for the IT department because maintenance and management are concentrated on just one system,” adds Ivonne Berger. Aktion Mensch has also implemented an organization-wide contract management system with Doxis. Furthermore, the NGO charity processes invoices automatically and uses additional eFile solutions, for example, for supplier management.

Thanks to the early involvement of employees, acceptance is very high for the new solutions. "You have to get the employees onboard and make it easy for them to get started and work with the solution," explains Ivonne Berger. Employees regularly learn on the intranet about any new changes planned. The next step is to facilitate employee work on the go with the mobile Doxis client. Transparency at all levels in communication builds trust across the teams. In addition, the change can also be felt in terms of space. Aktion Mensch has found a new use for the archive space with some 1,500 meters of shelving that has become free: State-of-the-art workplaces and meeting areas energize employees and build enthusiasm about the next exciting digital changes.