• Home
• Problem Solved
• Paperless Office

Paperless Office

If paper was eliminated we could reduce the burden on the planet, improve the environment and make businesses more efficient.

A first wave of the paperless office efforts was disappointing. Paper is cheap, portable and people just like paper too much. Perhaps some of those early attempts were too ambitious.

Today, organisations are taking a fresh approach in using less paper - literally 'paper- less', not completely without paper. Imaging, workflow, double-sided printing, electronic forms and e-payments are a set of technologies that enable organisations to plan for using less paper.

So what are the tips for ensuring a successful paper-less program?

Have a plan. We all hear about managers whose philosophy seems to be 'Ready Fire Aim'. Think about your goals, customers and partners. How can you use a paper-less strategy to make your organisation better, faster, cheaper and more sustainable? Record your success.

Break it up. Don't try to digest the whole paper less experience in one go, unless you are absolutely sure it's the only way. What are the major advantages of going paper-less? Are there things that will show results right away but still fit into your long term plan?

Technology is only ever part of the solution. Whatever tools you find, you will need clear policies and procedures to make sure processes are backed up by staff behaviour that drives your paper less program.

Plan for better access and retrieval. Stop re-inventing the wheel. Don't keep re-writing documents that you know exist somewhere in the organisation. Enlist some qualified help and develop a way of classifying your information that makes sense to everyone.

Work on-screen. Edit and review documents using built in software functions. Use imaging, OCR and electronic workflow to speed up tasks and reduce waste.

Prioritise information. Treat each piece of information with the respect it deserves. Client contracts need to be treated differently to out of date price lists. Get help working out what needs to be kept and for how long.

Don't buy the first piece of technology that impresses! Get to know the tools that can help your business, understand the technology and develop relationships with system vendors before making major purchases.

Monitor and adjust technology to meet your needs. The information market place is constantly evolving so build as flexibly as you can to be ready to upgrade to tools that do a better job when you need them to.

Engage your staff. It's likely your staff and customers have some great ideas. Let people see and own the benefits, give them a role in making this work.

Train your staff. Many tools and technologies are sold as being intuitive - 'just like the web'. Many people don't find the web intuitive at all so if you want people to 'do the right thing' you have to be able to show them how to do it and why!