Transitioning To A Paperless Office: Tips To Follow

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Businesses nowadays, irrespective of their industry or size, are deploying new and advanced technologies. It is helping them improve their efficiency and reach new milestones. Not to mention, using digital solutions also helps to reduce the burden on environmental resources. The prime example would be consistent efforts to transition into a paperless organization. 

Nevertheless, this transition is easier said than done, especially when employees are used to manual work, particularly related to data recording, collection, and evaluation. 

What Are The Benefits Of A Paperless Office?

A paperless office provides numerous perks to the organization, helping the company fulfill its CSR (corporate social responsibility). Doing so will also offer you an edge over competitors and improve your brand image. For now, let’s have a look at the major benefits of a paperless office:

  • Cost Saving: One of the major perks of going paperless or green is that it helps in saving money. Organizations often bear major costs, including packaging, storage, printing, operational, and data recovery. As all the necessary data is kept digital, it will help save time and make training new employees easier. 

  • Elevated Productivity: Employees, new or old, can easily get access to the necessary information within a few clicks. It will help save time and boost their productivity. It is especially helpful if the organization has a BYOD (bring your own device) policy. This will make remote work nearly effortless. 

  • Better Data Protection: You might also agree that saving and protecting data in digital format is much easier than taking care of physical documents. The chances of a file getting damaged or lost due to unforeseen circumstances are less here. Additionally, you can encrypt information to restrict unauthorized access. 

Transitioning To Paperless Office

This transition may seem like a lot of work; however, once you have a clear idea in your mind, it’ll become pretty easy. 

  • Take Small Steps

Every significant transition begins with small steps. So, you must also identify the areas where avoiding paper use is easy. For instance, whenever you hire new employees, all the documentation and induction could be done in digital format. For an effective onboarding process, you can also provide employees access to software, programs, or electronic files to help them understand the working culture without using paper. 

  • Organize The Existing Database

Most companies have kept paper documents and files containing different data types. Before you begin collecting and recording new data online, you need to digitize the existing data. It would be wise to save the data in the cloud and encrypt the important documents. It will make accessing the necessary data easier and help avoid the risk of a data breach. It would help if you also organized them in alphabetical order so that it’s easy to locate and update. 

  • Provide Training To Staff

Staff training is one of the critical factors in transitioning to a paperless office. Unlike the new employees, chances are, old employees are not well-versed with the latest trends and technologies. That’s why they rely on manual or traditional methods of working. Providing them with appropriate and regular training will ensure that they understand the new method of working and are ready to adapt to them. If it seems necessary, you can go with one-on-one training of employees. It will particularly help if the technology or program you are deploying is complex. 

  • Inform Stakeholders About Changes

Informing your stakeholders, including customers, clients and investors, is also important when your organization is undergoing numerous changes. This is because, during the transitioning phase, the productivity and efficiency of employees are altered. They need to let go of old methods of working and slowly but surely adapt to the new techniques. Informing stakeholders will ensure they understand any possible changes or delays in the organization’s work. It will also ensure that they follow the same guidelines regarding their work. 

  • Evaluate The Changes Made

Last but not the least, you must regularly evaluate the changes made in the company’s working operations. Analyze the use of paper after deploying new technology. Observe how well employees are adapting and learning a paperless working culture. If it seems necessary, make further changes for smooth transitioning. 

Paperless Solutions You Can Use:

Deciding on the appropriate electronic or digital tools can get challenging during this transition. Below are some suggestions you can try: 

  • PDF: Portable document format (PDF) is a digital document allowing the user to revise, edit and send the document to another party. It is often used during presentations. 

  • E-Forms: It is similar to PDF in numerous aspects but allows the user to add their digital signature. Many contracts sent online include E-forms. 

  • Email: Emails make exchanging information and communication between numerous parties easier. You can also use Google Chats for everyday communication with the employees. 

To Sum It All Up

These are a few ways in which you can transition seamlessly to a paperless office. Obviously, it is a time-consuming process; however, once your employees start using digital technologies, your business efficiency will begin to improve.

Author Bio: 

Mandy Strain has been working as a content head at Outreach Monks for the past three years. He takes a deep interest in educating his audience on business and tech-related subjects. When not writing, you can find him diving deep into the pages of literature.