Public records requests – whether submitted by constituents or media entities – require a process that many government agencies haven’t yet modernized. Oftentimes, employees must hunt down paper documents from multiple departments, get approvals, and make manual redactions in what becomes a lengthy process. With the latest updates to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), government agencies are under more pressure than ever to fulfill these requests within a given number of days. It’s clear that these circumstances present a problem.
The solution? A software system that fully automates the process – from start to finish.
Simplify and Standardize Your Process
In an office that still relies on paper records, filing cabinets, or spreadsheets, the process for completing a public record request can look completely different from one case to the next, depending on which department it relates to. The time spent tracking down the right person with the right documents could be better spent on primary responsibilities, and can easily lead to frustration.
With our public record request software, all the difficult parts of completing a request are removed. In place of these difficulties are features that will make your process simple, including:
- Electronic Request Collection
- Whether a request is made online, by phone, through email or even on paper, it can be easily reformatted and entered into your system
- Automatic Routing, Tracking, and Notifications
- Requests are automatically routed to the assigned user, based on the department and information they refer to
- A dashboard feature allows every request to be tracked so that they are never lost along the way, and so it’s always clear what needs to be done next
- Users are automatically notified when they have an assignment related to a request, allowing them to be completed much faster
- Built-In Compliance
- For documents with confidential information, built-in redaction tools allow users to remove what’s necessary without slowing down the process
- The speed of the process takes away the worry of missing a FOIA-mandated deadline
With public record request software, the complex becomes simple, the difficult becomes easy, and the frustrating becomes efficient. Government agencies of all sizes have the opportunity to easily comply with recent FOIA mandates while saving time and money. If your office is in need of a solution, our experts can help your public records process become an efficient tool, rather than a hindrance, for your agency.
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