Document Management for Judicial Industry

Located in Middleburg, Pennsylvania, the Snyder County Courthouse is the local court of law focused on the well-being of the community and regulations of the justice system. The courthouse is broken into several smaller divisions, one of those being the Snyder County Probation Department. With a population of over 40,500 residents, the Snyder County Probation Department is a fast-paced unit with a very high volume of day-to-day paperwork.

The majority of employees at the Probation Department spend each day typing, scanning, and answering phones. With a large base of clients, the office staff grew accustomed to using their scanning system on a daily basis for several hours each day. But as the flow of paperwork continued to grow, their scanning solution proved faulty, causing unnecessary errors when trying to process paperwork. Staff was scanning items three or four times just to get the documents entered into the system and often had to re-index data as the program was glitchy and inconsistent. Snyder County knew it was time to update with a new scanner and a new document management solution, which led them to Square 9’s award-winning GlobalSearch software.

The entire GlobalSearch implementation was simple and fast. Square 9 came in and provided direct training, enabling Snyder County to start using the software right away! With quick and easy training, staff members were instantly able to provide clients with information on parole officers, community service, violations, and more.

Today, GlobalSearch is used daily across the entire Probation Department and has allowed employees to gain better control over paperwork. From reducing paper, to streamlining document retention efforts, GlobalSearch has made a major impact. Before GlobalSearch, every year the Probation Department would have to purchase a new cabinet – which can be quite expensive overtime! Now Snyder County has eliminated the need for file cabinets by quickly and efficiently scanning records into a secure, yet accessible archive. Best of all, if a file needs to be reopened, all of the data is accurate and easily attainable. Then, as clients are “maxed off” their files become inactive, which is usually around the seven-year mark. So, Snyder Country is no longer using up office space for files that are past their retention dates. GlobalSearch has enabled them to become faster at completing paper-based tasks and much more organized overall with improved time management.

When someone needs to go in and make a change, for example, updating naming structure, they have all of the files together, so they can make a bulk update to all records relating to a particular individual. Not only does this save the time of updating each record individually, but it keeps information consistent, complete, and accurate.

Enjoying their success with GlobalSearch, Snyder County Courthouse is currently in the process of training Probation Officers to use the system more frequently. The goal is to have them easily search and retrieve the records they need within seconds, without relying on office staff. Previously they would have to be in the office, searching through file cabinets to grab the correct records. Now, the Probation Officers can use GlobalSearch both in and outside of the office to streamline their everyday tasks and improve productivity.

To learn more about Snyder County Courthouse, please visit www.snydercounty.org.

Interview: Angela Franquet, Office Administrator, Snyder County Probation Department

Q. What challenges led you to search for a document management solution?

Angela Franquet: We previously had an old scanning solution, which was very outdated. It was causing errors when we were trying to process our paperwork. Many times, we were scanning items three or four times just to get the documents entered into our system! We were also having to re-index data, and the entire process was proving to be glitchy and frustrating. We knew it was time to update with a new scanner and a new solution, which led us to Square 9’s GlobalSearch software.

Q. How do you feel the GlobalSearch implementation process went?

Franquet: The implementation started last summer, and the entire process was fairly fast. Square 9 came in and provided direct training. We started using the software right away, as it was not a long turnover. They’ve been very open with back and forth communication, and still very helpful after the initial implementation and after their Professional Services Analysts had left our facility.

Now we use the GlobalSearch software across our entire Probation Department. It helps us to quickly and efficiently scan records into an archive. GlobalSearch has helped us get control over our paperwork, from reducing the amount of physical paper, to streamlining document retention efforts. Our documents are securely stored digitally in the GlobalSearch system, and best of all, if we need to reopen a file everything is accurate and easily accessible.

Q. How has GlobalSearch document management software positively made an impact on your business?

Franquet: GlobalSearch has made a huge impact on our Probation Department. The software works great! GlobalSearch is extremely customizable so virtually anything you could need can be done. We are faster at completing our paper-based tasks and we are much more organized overall. GlobalSearch is a very reliable system that has helped us improve our time management to operate more efficiently. We have even decreased our use and need of filing cabinets. Before GlobalSearch, every year we would have to purchase a new cabinet – which can be quite expensive overtime! Now we scan records straight into the system and are freeing up more office space in the process.

Q. Would you recommend Square 9’s solutions and why?

Franquet: We knew instantly that we had selected the right product and went with the right vendor. We were extremely pleased from the very beginning. Since our start with Square 9, their team has been very helpful and very prompt. Square 9 remains very accessible, even with the small stuff. They continue to make sure we were fully situated and satisfied every step of the process. Our department handles sensitive records daily, so we can be fussy with our needs. But anything we wanted, Square 9 was able to help. They built us a unique organizational structure made of sub-folders detailing exactly what type of files would be where. Anything that we’ve asked for has always been done.