April 18, 2011
Homefield IT
Many businesses are now beginning to adapt a paperless policy, as doing so can go a long way in enhancing productivity and making operations much more efficient, while being much more cost-effective at the same time.
As companies are not only being more conscious of the environmental impact of how they do business but also of how they can create a much more efficient and productive system for operations, one trend that has emerged over the years is the move towards making offices use less paper.
While this may seem like a small issue, it actually impacts your business more than you might think. Just calculate the cost of buying paper for your entire business over the course of a whole year. A transition to a paperless office can not only save money, but can also affect operations by making things much more convenient and efficient. Here are some advantages of going paperless:
1. Cost effectiveness
Going paperless significantly reduces costs spent on buying not only paper, but also costly printer consumables such as toner and inks. You also lessen the overall usage of your printers, reducing maintenance and repair costs and increasing the lifetime of your printer.
2. Neater and greener
One of the most obvious advantages of going paperless is that it makes everything much neater. Remember those messy IN and OUT trays you couldn’t make heads or tails of? All gone. And with less paper to throw away, there’s also less waste. Plus, it’s much more environmentally friendly – using less paper, disposable printer consumables, and electricity means you’re doing your part to have a green office.
3. Save space
Storing paper requires file cabinets, and file cabinets take up space. In one example, a company converted the massive documentation they were required to archive to digital copies, and eliminated an entire room of file cabinets. They were then able to use that valuable square footage as office space for a new salesperson.
4. Better security
A paperless operation also enables you to better secure the data that you store. For example, you can set limits on the kind of data and information that is available to employees and workers based on their position and job description. Unlike file cabinets that can be broken into easily, causing possible theft or lost, storing data and information electronically not only makes it much more difficult to obtain that data, but online backups also give you a contingency in case of unforeseen circumstances or natural disasters that can compromise your data.
5. Better productivity
Electronic storage and data management allow authorized employees to have access to information faster and more efficiently. A simple query or search term allows employees to find what they need in a jiffy, allowing them to get their assigned tasks done faster. With well organized file sharing and other document collaboration options, your people can get the documents they need in real time.
6. Telecommuting and remote working
Enabling your team to work from home and while on the road is a key to productivity and keeping your company nimble. However, when you’re out of the office nothing is more frustrating than not having access to a document you need to act on. When your documents are in digital format, you and your employees have the information and documents they need at their fingertips to keep moving forward.
Different businesses need different systems and approaches to going paperless. If you’re interested in a paperless office, please contact us and we’ll be happy to present a solution that best meets your unique requirements.