Going paperless – The common barriers to entry

Posted: 15.07.09  |  Created by: Kurt Carlsen

The long lived dominance of paper in the workplace is coming to an end but nobody expects the “paperless office” to be 100% paper free…not for a while at least!

The mobility, user-friendliness and legality provided by paper based documents cannot be easily replaced by electronic documents. What can be achieved is a significant reduction in the volume of paper a business must deal with, through:

•    The onsite storage of scanned documents reducing storage costs
•    The replacement of redundant paper forms with electronic forms
•    The reduction of multiple draft documents
•    The elimination of duplicates of the same documents.

“The paperless office” represents the opportunity for a business to improve efficiency by creating functioning, shareable, secure and fully searchable libraries of information.

Many organisations have good intentions to “go paperless” but when they try “decision paralyses” sets in and the project too often ends up on the back burner. The following explains some of the common barriers and how this paralyses can be quickly overcome.

1) I like to read paper …not off a screen!
Given that we do not expect businesses to be completely paper-free, we still see a place for selectively printing documents when needed. But instead of printing the entire 200 page document, why not simply print the pages you need to review and do that double sided or in draft mode to reduce paper wastage.

2) I need to retain the signature for legal reasons!
Again, we are not suggesting that businesses scan and shred their contracts or other documents that include a signature.  Most of our clients retain their original contracts in a paper form but these documents are filed either offsite in cheaper storage or secured correctly in a locked filing system to reduce the risk of inappropriate access. The fact that it may take a little more time to access the paper documents is not an issue as staff can access scanned copies in seconds and need the original only rarely.

3) What about backing up the electronic documents?
Right now, most businesses have one copy of their paper files. If they have a fire, flood, burglary or similar disaster they run the risk of losing the lot (unless they photocopy everything and store it offsite). With an electronic document management system, backup can be a simple task and the business can have 100% copy of all critical documents.

4) Our business is not techno savvy enough to go paperless?
Think back 10 years. Back then email was just becoming mainstream. Now it is by far the most used form of business written communication. Your business would not function without email.

The same scenario applies to going paperless. So long as you choose a document management system that is easy to use and fits your business (not the other way around) your people will embrace the concept and will not know how your business operated in the paper world within 2 years of implementing. 

5) I don’t have time to create a paperless system
Don’t… there are hundreds of mature paperless office systems available to suit all businesses and budgets. Leave it to the experts and concentrate on your core business.

6) My people won’t use it; they are too set in their ways.
Without doubt, people and business culture is the biggest hurdle for a businesses wishing to implement a paperless office. This makes choosing a simple solution that seamlessly integrates with your current work processes so vital.
Once your staff start finishing tasks in seconds (not hours), delivering better customer service and can go home on time, they will start the love the paperless office concept. For some people they can still use paper.

The new generation of workers, Generation Y, has, by and large, earned their digital stripes. They are technology savvy and, coincidentally, they’re also environmentally conscious.

Add those two together and you get a generation of employees that might finally push to make the paperless office a reality.

Written by Kurt Carlsen, Sales Director, Redmap.

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