The paperless office coined as a marketing slogan in
the early days of the IBM computer has not yet arrived. For proof, just step
into the office of any small business.
At a time when almost every employee has access to a
computer terminal, and when mobile devices with pixel densities
indistinguishable from that of print media are now commonplace, it's strange
that the usage of paper hasn’t been reduced.
Today’s businesses probably can’t go completely
paperless, but these tips will at least keep them wasting money on paper and
start improving productivity.
Paperless Office Not Without Limitations
One big reason is that, when it comes to eradicating
paper, organizations should be realistic. Completely eliminating
paper may not be economical or even practical for everyone. The
realities of paper in our society force even the most tech-savvy businesses,
even start-ups with no legacy processes and habits, to contend with external
forces such as client needs and regulatory or legal requirements. Moreover,
industries such as law and auditing may not be good candidates to go
paperless due to the historical prevalence of paper.
With this in mind, here are some practical strategies
for significantly reducing your overall volume of paper usage. We also take a
closer look at how you can better equip your employees to work more effectively
in a paperless environment.
Reduce, Discourage Paper Usage
The first step toward reducing paper usage is simply
emphasizing the move toward reducing paper usage. This can be done in
a variety of no or low-cost initiatives that underscore the seriousness of the
paperless drive.
1. Track
the number of pages printed per person, generate a monthly report and email it
to everyone. Obviously, this works best if the ability to track printing is
already supported by the existing multifunctional machine or printer server.
2. Make
it less convenient to print. Reduce the number of printers in your office by
consolidating smaller, low-end machine with printers capable of higher print
volumes at a central location. Without printers on their desks, employees are
less likely to print frivolously; this has the added benefit of improving
cost-effectiveness.
3. Request
paperless statements from banks and service providers such as the
telecommunications company. Make a conscious effort to pay bills online, too,
as this reduces not just the use of paper checks and envelopes needed to post
them but also improves overall productivity.
4. While
it's decidedly low-tech, actively advocating a culture of reuse and recycling
can change prevailing attitudes toward paper usage. An empty box for collecting
non-confidential documents for recycling can help, as do email signatures that
discourage the unnecessary printing of emails messages.
5. Do
away with physical signing printed documents, particularly internal ones. Even
for external contracts, the need for a signature has roots more in historical
precedence than the actual legal requirement.
6. Reproduce
internal documents on Wikis or online notebooks such as Google, Docs
or Evernote instead. The latter supports the sharing of entire
notebooks or individual notes, which is handy for disseminating both
static and dynamic materials such as an employee handbook or meeting notes.
7. Completely
discard fax from the business process and replace paper forms
with fillable PDF forms that are submitted via email or a
Web browser. The free PDFescape online tool will create PDF files
with the relevant form fields, while paid applications such as Nitro Pro 9 and
Acrobat XI offer more sophisticated functionality.
Support Infrastructure to Enable Paperless Office
Getting the right infrastructure can go a long way
going paperless office. Below are a number of software tools, services and
pieces of hardware that can be put in place to support the paperless
office.
8. Consider
a dual or multi-monitor setup. One common reason that workers print documents
is the need to cross-reference them with another document. You
can reduce wasteful printing by setting up a multi-monitor
workstation. Giving employees two (or three) screens provides more digital real
estate and offers a productivity boost at the same time. LCD monitors typically
outlast computer upgrades too, so this is one cost you'll only need to pay
once.
9. In
order to work with vendors and clients that insist on using the fax machine,
sign up for an online fax provider that will email an incoming fax direct to
your inbox. This mature market includes various free and paid options that
essentially eliminate the need for a physical fax machine. For
example, the eFax paid option allows users to send up to 150 pages
per month from an email message, through an online portal, or from a mobile
app.
10. Digitizing
paper notes and printed literature makes it easy to share documents
electronically and lowers the temptation to make photocopies. Aside from
network scanners, recent years have seen the rise of "personal"
scanner meant for a small group or even individual use.
11. Optical
character recognition (OCR) software turns the static images or PDF files
created by hardware scanners into editable files that are substantially more
useful.
12. For
the inevitable paperwork that must be printed, using both sides can
cut paper usage by half. Printers that support duplex printing today
are highly reliable and available at just a slight premium over non-duplex
capable models. In fact, many mid-end printers set this feature as default.
Up the Ante on Paperless Productivity
Of course, digitizing documents isn't just about
reducing waste. In many cases, digitized notes offer the convenience
of being searchable and occupy no physical space when stored as binary
bits on a storage drive. Why not take it to the next level and attempt to
increase personal productivity through the use of digitization
technologies?
13. On
this front, a variety of smartphone apps,
including CamCard and WorldCard Mobile, will
capture the content of business cards and generate a digital contact.
14. Meanwhile,
for businesses that don't own a hardware scanner, apps such
as TurboScan and Scanner Pro can capture documents with
a smartphone's built-in camera. These files can be subsequently uploaded to a cloud storage
service, where they can be shared and subsequently viewed
from a smartphone or tablet.
Successfully reducing the use of paper isn't a
one-time event. It's a series of continuous efforts to move away from paper
and establish a culture that frowns on waste. Re-architecting
business processes to reduce paper usage is an unavoidable activity,
but adopting the right tools can go a long way toward creating an environment
to support the paperless office.
Ultimately, businesses shouldn't stop at eliminating
paper but should push for greater digitization in order to reap its
full benefits.
