Going paperless not only helps the environment, it also keeps your office more organized. Less paper storage leads to lower operating costs, however, many business owners put off going paperless. Despite the many benefits, they’re just not sure how to start transitioning to a paperless office. But going paperless at work can be easy—just follow the tips below.
Four Tips for Transitioning to a Paperless Office
1: Choose a Secure DMS
Even when going paperless, you will need somewhere safe to store your most important files. It’s important to invest in a secure document management system (DMS). The right electronic storage software can both organize and protect your files. Your software should allow you to control document access, back up data in case of disaster, and follow HIPAA and other regulations to protect sensitive data.
2: Set Clear Goals
Transitioning to a new storage system can easily become overwhelming if you don’t set goals ahead of time. Clear goals, such as due dates for employees to complete their training, and a deadline for physical documents to be uploaded into the new system, will help the transition go smoothly. Setting goals keeps everyone on the same page and makes it easier to track your progress.
3: Organize Your Paper Documents
It’s important to have your paper documents organized and ready to upload before implementing a DMS. This will make scanning documents and organizing them in the new digital system go much more smoothly. If you want to be able to edit your scanned documents, make sure to choose a printer or DMS with optical character recognition (OCR). This feature allows you to edit scanned documents instead of just viewing them.
4: Motivate and Train Employees
Going paperless can seem like a daunting task, even to employees who support the idea.
Here’s how to encourage your employees to start going paperless at work:
- Let them know how going paperless benefits them, and how it saves time and effort.
- Invest in high-quality tools that make the transition easier, like an interactive whiteboard for digital meetings, and a DMS for digital file storage.
- Embrace electronic signatures—have employees scan their signature as an image that can be attached to documents.
- Get rid of fax machines to reduce paper usage, and switch to cloud faxing instead.
- Require passcodes on printers to eliminate unnecessary printing tasks.
- Implement a clean desk policy to minimize paper waste.
- Schedule a meeting where you can answer employee questions and discuss training.
It’s essential to train your employees on the new system and policies before you go paperless at work. Employees who feel confident in using the new software will have an easier time transitioning. Making sure that your employees understand the new policies on scanning, printing, and naming files will ensure a smooth transition.
The Best DMS Software in Northern California & Reno, Nevada
If you’re ready to start transitioning to a paperless office, contact WiZiX Technology Group. We enable business owners to run green, efficient offices with the latest DMS technology. We’re a proud authorized reseller of Docuware, a secure document management system that streamlines file organization. Call us at 866-846-1411 to learn more about DocuWare or to schedule a demo.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (2/15/2023). Photo by Uneebo Office Design on Unsplash