How to Easily Become a Paperless Office?

Even though the concept of paperless offices was around since the early days of IBM computers, it has not been completely implemented so far. Even after decades of conceiving an environment friendly office, businesses still struggle to go paperless literally. But many organizations are working on minimizing paper usage by undertaking Document Scanning to digitize most of their existing documents. While it is quite challenging to go completely paperless, offices can adopt the following practices to attain that goal in the near future:

Reduce Access to Printers

One of the easiest ways to reduce printing is to reduce the access to printers. Either reduce the number of printers or keep them in common areas so that employees will be hesitant to take printouts frequently. This is a proven strategy that works well in offices where there are many employees and the organization has already made its intentions in going paperless clear.

Adopt Digitization

One of the most efficient methods to Go Paperless is by digitizing the business processes and documentations involved. Once digitized, you will have lesser physical documents to deal with. Digitizing the existing paper documents and ongoing processes will reduce papers to a great extent. Once a digital process is in place, you can definitely avoid using papers in future.

Use e-mails and electronic transfer wherever possible

By using emails and electronic data transfer, you can avoid printing and papers to a great extent. You can also instruct your banks to send e-statements, ask your vendors to send the invoices by email. These two avoids external papers coming into the office. The internal affairs can be better managed by reducing printing and recycling paper that has already been used.

Recycle Paper

You can segregate paper for recycling and get the recycling agents to collect them regularly from your office. Document Imaging Service providers come handy when it comes to digitizing existing paper documents. You can get all such papers and documents scanned and stored in digital media and get rid of old papers that are no longer required.

Automate Processes

In most of the businesses and offices, supervisors or seniors have to physically sign the documents at various stages to make it valid. Process automation will ensure that after every process, the authorized signatory provides an e-signature instead of a physical signature on a paper. This way, process automation will reduce paper printing.

Reduce Internal Printing

Make sure that all internal processes use only digital authorization. Reduce paper printing internally. Make use of emails and other electronic media for file transfer. When you have such bulk data, Document Indexing will help you to get easy access to bulk information stored digitally.

Make it an organizational policy not to print papers. The more you stress on going paperless, the more you will be able to implement this policy strictly. Soon it would become an organizational culture. You can conduct awareness programs within the office and maybe in your nearby offices too to reduce the usage of paper. Proper digitization and outsourcing will definitely reduce the usage of paper in offices helping them go as much paperless as possible.