Plan Going Paperless in the Office
Before going paperless in the office, you should consider more than just the archiving of paperless documents. Instead, you should focus on paperless document management.
Steps
- Examine the paperless document life cycle. Take each form or paper you want to be paperless and examine its life cycle. Where does it originate from? Who does it go to next. Who after? Does anyone have to sign it or add information to it? Who might retrieve it later? Where is it's final place it will stay?
- Examine who has access to each paperless document. Do only upper level management need access? Do some need read only access, while others might need read and modification access?
- Decide what to do with paperless forms. Will the paperless document only be saved? Can it be typed into like a form? Is there any information that can be auto inserted into the paperless form?
- Examine Workflow. When going paperless in the office, you should consider workflow. In other words a paperless document can be created, and automatically dropped in a queue for one or more workers to pickup. Then, it can be digitally delivered to someone else in the office to perform some action on it like digitally signing it.
Tips
- Never look at going paperless as simply getting rid of physical paper and saving costs on ink and consumables.
- See how paperless document management can save your office time and make everyone more efficient.
- Always plan out each paperless form. Examine completely it's life cycle.
Warnings
- Consult with a professional before migrating your office to going paperless.
- Know applicable laws on physical paper retention before you destroy all paperless documents.
