Petersfield Town Council transforms document management with Efalia ECM

Petersfield Town Council transforms document management with Efalia ECM

Petersfield Town Council faced the challenge of accessing decades of archived meeting minutes dating back to 1974, stored in physical filing cabinets and taking hours to search. By implementing Efalia ECM, the Council successfully digitised its entire archive and equipped staff with powerful search capabilities, transforming document retrieval from hours to minutes whilst creating a scalable platform for managing policies, procedures, and future digital workflows.

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Challenge

Petersfield Town Council's document management presented significant operational challenges, particularly when accessing historical records essential for informed decision-making and Council operations.

• Meeting minutes from 1974 onwards stored in physical filing cabinets

• Hours required to search through decades of archived documents manually

• Inability to quickly locate specific topics, decisions, or discussions from past meetings

• Inefficient workflows causing staff frustration and reduced productivity

• Need for a modern, digital solution to support today's operational requirements

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Solution

Following consultation between staff, councillors, and their IT partner, Petersfield Town Council selected Efalia ECM for its robust search capabilities, intuitive interface, and scalability to grow alongside the Council's evolving needs.

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ENGINE / APP / TECHNO

Efalia ECM

• Advanced document management and search functionality

• Digitisation of physical archive from 1974 to present

• Keyword, date, and topic search capabilities

• Automated addition of newly approved minutes

• Scalable platform for policies and procedures management

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Results

Dramatic efficiency gains and transformation of document accessibility

Petersfield Town Council successfully digitised over 50 years of meeting minutes, transforming document retrieval from hours to minutes through powerful search functionality. Staff received efficient training and quickly adopted the intuitive system, enabling real-time keyword and date searches across the entire archive. The solution has expanded beyond meeting minutes to encompass policies and procedures, with Council members now able to make faster, better-informed decisions. The positive feedback from the team reflects the system's impact on operational efficiency and decision-making quality.

• Complete archive digitisation: Meeting minutes from 1974 to present digitised and searchable

• Dramatic time savings: Document searches reduced from hours to minutes

• Real-time search capability: Instant access to keywords, dates, and historical decisions

• Automated updates: New minutes automatically added to the system upon approval

• Expanded functionality: System extended to manage policies and procedures

• Enhanced decision-making: Council members empowered with instant access to critical information

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Key Figures

• Archive scope: 50+ years of meeting minutes digitised (1974-present)

• Search efficiency: Minutes to find documents versus hours previously

• User adoption: 100% of staff trained and using the system effectively

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Return on Investment

• Operational efficiency: Dramatic reduction in time spent searching for historical documents

• Improved productivity: Staff freed from manual archive searches to focus on value-added tasks

• Better decision-making: Council members equipped with instant access to historical context

• Scalable solution: Platform expanding to manage policies, procedures, and future digital workflows

• Future-proof infrastructure: System positioned to evolve with Council's growing needs

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