As organizations embrace more flexible ways of working, secure and efficient access to information has become essential. For VRT, the public broadcaster of the Flemish Community of Belgium, modernizing HR document management became a key step in supporting remote work, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring secure access to sensitive employee information.

By partnering with IRIS IMS, VRT transformed a fully paper-based HR archive into a centralized digital environment powered by IRISNext. The project enabled secure access to employee records from any location, streamlined document retrieval, and established a scalable foundation for future document management initiatives across the organization.

VRT (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie) is the public broadcaster serving the Flemish Community of Belgium. Headquartered in Brussels, the organization operates television channels, radio stations, and digital platforms including VRT 1, Canvas, Ketnet, and VRT MAX. VRT’s mission is to inform, educate, and entertain while contributing to cultural diversity and social engagement.

To support greater workplace flexibility and prepare for relocation to a new office environment, VRT sought a digital document management solution for its Human Resources department. The objective was to eliminate dependence on physical records, provide location-independent access to employee documents, and improve document retrieval through metadata-based search capabilities. The project was also designed with scalability in mind, allowing future expansion to additional departments.

Before the implementation of IRISNext, all HR records were maintained exclusively as physical files stored on-site. Access to these documents was limited to employees present in the office, creating operational constraints and reducing flexibility for HR teams.

The HR department faced several operational challenges linked to paper-based document management. Because employee records existed only in physical form, remote access was impossible, limiting the ability of HR personnel to work efficiently outside the office. Locating specific documents often required manual searches through archives, consuming valuable time and slowing administrative processes. Additionally, the absence of digital backups increased the risk of document loss, deterioration, or accidental damage.

Managing confidential employee information also required a solution capable of enforcing strict security controls and supporting compliance with data protection requirements. VRT needed a secure cloud-based platform that would allow users to authenticate directly within the application without relying on external system integrations. The organization also required a scalable environment capable of supporting future growth and broader adoption.

A significant challenge was the digitization of approximately 90,000 physical HR documents, which needed to be scanned, indexed, and organized in a way that would facilitate fast and reliable retrieval.

IRIS IMS delivered a complete digitization and document management solution based on IRISNext. The project covered the entire document lifecycle, including collection, scanning, indexing, and migration of HR records into the new cloud-based platform. Leveraging its extensive digitization expertise, IRIS ensured a smooth transition from paper archives to a fully digital document environment.

Before full deployment, a Proof of Concept (PoC) was conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed solution. The implementation followed a phased approach, beginning with the transportation and scanning of physical documents at IRIS facilities. During processing, automatic document separation and metadata indexing were applied to ensure that records could be categorized and retrieved efficiently within IRISNext. Once the migration was completed, dedicated user training sessions were organized to help HR employees quickly adopt the new platform.

The solution combined IRISPowerscan for document scanning, OCR processing, and metadata extraction with IRISNext as the central cloud-based document management platform. Together, these technologies provided secure storage, advanced search capabilities, and remote access to HR documentation.