Gone are the days when traditional, manual paperwork dominates the office.
Businesses in this modern world no longer just exist physically, they have also imprinted their legacy in the digital world. Workplace operations are now expected to adopt changes in this fast-paced business environment. One of the most evident workplace transitions, from traditional to modern, is the initiative of companies to go paperless.
What does it mean to ‘go paperless’?
The term “paperless office” originated from a marketing slogan that means creating and working together digitally instead of using paper.
Companies that opt to go paperless transform business processes into a more environment-friendly workflow. A paperless office also helps employees become more productive, fosters creativity, and boosts efficiency since every document that they will be needing is just one click away.
To “go paperless” means to become more reliant on technology. It is truly revolutionary to see what modern technology can bring to the table nowadays.
What are the benefits of going paperless?
Did you know that technology plays a huge role in making a more sustainable workplace? Software relating to team collaboration, cloud-based storage, library template, and comprehensive document editor are just some of the examples of what an office can employ to achieve a paperless office. If you want to give it a spin and see it yourself, we recommend visiting online PDF editing software like PDFRun. It offers a myriad of solutions in document management.
By going through the paperless process, there will be an apparent cut in the overall cost of office supplies. It will also diminish the costs of phone lines, data entry, and other labor-related expenses.
Going paperless is a huge step in reducing waste and thus, protecting the environment in the long run. It will help in reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that will help in energy efficiency improvements and a possible decline of global warming.
Having a good environment also paves the way in improving the economy. It’s like a win-win situation—that’s why many companies immediately leaned on to this life-altering decision.
If you’re thinking of going paperless in your workplace, here are eight helpful tips to kick things off.
- Make sure to secure and check your computers.
To maximize the advantages of a paperless office, you have to be certain that the equipment you’ll be using can accommodate all your needs. Let one of the people from your Information Technology (IT) department install and evaluate proper hardware and software on your computer to keep it functioning accordingly.
- Practice digital communication.
Team collaborations can now be done using digital communication channels. Say goodbye to bulletin boards and printed materials, and start promoting emailing, Google ecosystem, Microsoft teams, and instant messaging applications.
Using easily shareable and editable file formats like Portable Document Format (PDFs) helps in reducing printing. There are easy-to-use applications out there that enable users to edit PDFs online, one of these is PDFRun’s online editor.
- Adopt electronic signature software.
Sending and receiving electronically signed documents will not only reduce waste but will also help prevent wasting significant time spent on paper-intensive processes. The convenience of collecting electronic signatures for legal forms, agreements, and other documents is now very attainable.
You can check out PDFRun’s electronic signature solutions to try out this feature.
- Encourage your officemates to practice the three R’s—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
To inspire your officemates in reducing the use of paper, you should lead by example. Start by reducing, reusing, and recycling paper materials on your workload when necessary. Little by little, you might soon influence them in doing the same thing.
- Organize your papers and files.
To completely devote yourself to going paperless, start scanning physical documents and save them to your company’s cloud storage. Organize them into categories. You can also sort these out by determining if it’s still useful or not.
Coordinate with your team to create a unified organizing or filing system and implement procedures in terms of storing and formatting that everyone should follow. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page.
- Expand the channels for client communication.
Now that you have completed transitioning internal communication digitally, it’s also time to notify your clients how they can communicate with you. Let them know that they can now have a faster and more accessible platform in talking about business through communication tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, Viber, and etc. to save printing and mailing expenses.
Digital client communication is also beneficial in tracking new and possible clients.
- Make use of mobile and desktop applications in doing your daily tasks.
Doing your daily work responsibility can now be easier with the help of recent discoveries and developments of various mobile and desktop applications.
With apps like Apple Notes, Microsoft OneNote, and the likes, you can take down notes during meetings and share them with specific people or other online platforms.
Scanning documents is more convenient nowadays with the help of apps like Adobe Scan, Cam Scanner, Document Scanner, and the likes.
No need for sticky notes and thick paper pads, because you can also download apps like Todoist, and Habitica for your to-do lists.
Project management apps are also widely available nowadays. You can install apps like Notion, Microsoft Project, and Basecamp.
- Implement effective data security.
Even though we can attain accessibility and convenience in the digital world, there are also risks that come with it. Many of today’s cloud-based storage offers data security that will help in ensuring that your files will be protected and that there will be no leakage of private information from your company.
Transforming your workplace to become paperless may take a little work as it will not instantly happen overnight. The benefits of going paperless are increasing every day. Some of the benefits are improvement in the environment, business efficiency, substantially easier work for the employees, and a more conducive and safer workplace.
With the modernization of time, remember to adapt to valuable changes and go with the flow. By doing so, may we not lose sight of what is truly important despite the so-called “trends” nowadays. The opportunity of a lifetime is in your hands. Evaluate your choices and do what’s best for you, the company, and the world.
