In our previous blog post, we briefly discussed a handful of the benefits of going paperless. It wouldn’t be fair to solely discuss the pros of going paperless, or push the idea that going completely paperless is possible.
So, in this week’s blog we are going to discuss some difficulties on transitioning to a paperless office and provide a strategy on how to alleviate some of the speed-bumps one may encounter so that the process is as stress-free as possible.
Although it may seem obvious to you, there are many reasons why you can’t just cut out paper. Such reasons include the fact that contracts, government documents and employment forms are originally distributed and signed on paper. So as much as we want to believe that going 100% paperless is a legitimate option, it unfortunately is not.
On top of it being impossible to go 100% paperless, and as much as we hate to say it, there are cons to having a paperless office. These cons include:
- Having to pay for IT if your company doesn’t already have an IT department
- Maintaining tight security
- Human error when scanning
- Training people who have a hard time with technology or are perhaps reluctant to learn
Fortunately, all of these dilemmas can be easily alleviated if a smart strategy is implemented in order to make the transition process.
The first thing you may want to do is contact a lawyer to get an idea of which papers you absolutely need to keep in storage for legal reasons. It would also be smart to verify that your company’s insurance covers the loss of electronic documents or the hardware required to store them.
After you have done this you can start experimenting with various technologies in order to suit the needs of your employees.
Start by thinking small.
There’s no need to overwhelm yourself and your employees with vast amount of training and expenses, only to find out it makes your office less efficient.
Once you and your company become more comfortable with the idea of going paperless, you can begin to implement more technologies and procedures and before you know it you’ll be reaping the benefits discussed in our previous blog post.
I hope this strategy helps your transition into the paperless world. Has your company just transitioned or is considering transitioning?
Let us know what steps you took to make the process easy for you and your employees!
