How to Hire a Document Controller

Why hire a document controller?

Hiring a document controller for your company helps spot errors in documentation while improving efficiency. Choosing the right person as document controller is essential to maintaining all paperwork so it’s available for easy access and adheres to any related legal standards. They also:

• Are responsible for storing, scanning and copying documents
• Review all documents for accuracy and edit them if required
• Analyze and update all technical documents, such as workflows or manuals

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance document controller

A company might consider hiring a freelance document controller for a one-time project or infrequent work. This saves the company money when compared to hiring a full-time employee. Businesses may also hire interim freelance document controllers when their full-time controller needs time off. 

Companies that manage frequent projects, however, should hire a full-time document controller to ensure all internal and external documents are maintained accurately and delivered to departments as required. It’s also cheaper for the company to use a full-time hire due to lower hourly costs when compared to a freelancer. 

What are the ranks of document controllers?

There’s a well-defined chain of control in the field of document control. Some of the positions include:

• Document controller: The document controller is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the field. They may manage internal and external documents, keep a list of currently circulating files, distribute documents to relevant employees on time and create reports on the document’s progress.
• Senior document controller: A senior document controller often has the same role and responsibilities as an entry-level document controller, but they earn this title with experience. 
• Lead document controller: Lead document controllers are supervisory employees who oversee the work of a team of document controllers. They’re responsible for leading the team, implementing document control systems and communicating with the company if there’s a document control issue. 
• Document control manager: The document control manager oversees the work of the entire department. They closely monitor sensitive situations, ensure compliance with document control regulations and administrate the document control system. 

Where to find document controllers

To find the right document controller for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Search online. Because there aren’t many people with document controller experience, it may not be enough to search your community for a potential hire. Look online to see if any quality candidates are advertising their services and make contact to gauge their level of interest in the job.
• Post help wanted signs. Hanging notices about the position may attract candidates. 
• Network. Someone in your document control team may have connections with other document controllers who could be looking for work. Ask around and reach out to potential candidates to set up interviews. 
• Post your job online. Try posting your document controller job on Indeed to find and attract quality document controller candidates.

What are the ranks of document controllers?

There’s a well-defined chain of control in the field of document control. Some of the positions include:

• Document controller: The document controller is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the field. They may manage internal and external documents, keep a list of currently circulating files, distribute documents to relevant employees on time and create reports on the document’s progress.
• Senior document controller: A senior document controller often has the same role and responsibilities as an entry-level document controller, but they earn this title with experience. 
• Lead document controller: Lead document controllers are supervisory employees who oversee the work of a team of document controllers. They’re responsible for leading the team, implementing document control systems and communicating with the company if there’s a document control issue. 
• Document control manager: The document control manager oversees the work of the entire department. They closely monitor sensitive situations, ensure compliance with document control regulations and administrate the document control system. 

Writing a document controller job description

It’s vital to creating a detailed job description with a list of the duties, responsibilities and required skill set to find suitable document controller candidates.

When writing your document controller job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on document controller jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Document control
• Document controller
• Clerical
• Administrative
• Accounting manager
• Administration
• Construction
• Document scanning
• Front desk
• Quality assurance

Interviewing document controller candidates

In the interview process for suitable candidates for document controller, comparing the skills and qualifications of all potential applicants is essential, including:

• Proficiency in the field of document management using the necessary software
• Knowledge and experience in storing documents in an organized manner
• How they’ve excelled at enhancing company effectiveness by minimizing time wastage and increasing efficiency by improving document access and storage

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of document controller interview questions for examples (with sample answers).