3 Steps For Your Company To Go Paperless

So, the time has finally come to wave goodbye to all those frustrating piles of paper, overflowing cabinets and important lost documents and say hello to a more efficient, affordable, eco-friendly and roomy workspace - what’s not to be excited about with the transition?

Rather than steps, you may want to think of these as phases, with each phase helping you to transition along your paperless path with ease. It’s important that you share these with your co-workers and employees so that everyone is on the same page at all times. This will help everyone feel as comfortable with the new changes as possible.

Why go paperless?

The decision to go paperless brings with it many benefits, like saving physical space, money on stationery, paper and ink, as well as doing your bit to help the environment. It also means that you can give your company the best chance of keeping up to date with the times, which is so important for any company growth to take place.

These days, most people prefer digital copies to hard copies, as they don’t take up physical space, nor can they be lost. They can also be easily shared with others and edited online, using software like online PDF editors. Unlike with paper, you will also be able to have multiple people working on the same document at the same time - no matter where they are.

You’ll save time which was otherwise spent searching for documents and also have an increased level of security over who can view the documents. This all leads to an increase in productivity and leaves customers feeling more safe and secure.

In addition, there won’t be any need to worry about printing costs, so you can make your documents and presentations as colourful and eccentric as you like. Using digital documents over paper also means that you can make documents and presentations more interactive, adding animations, sound and other features to bring your work to life.

This, in turn, leads to happier customers and helps to keep employees more engaged during presentations. With all the editing and creating software out there, there’s no doubt that digital media will stand miles apart from its printed counterparts.

Some ways your company can go paperless

Going paperless doesn’t have to happen in one day, but to get the ball going, you should share all the ways your company could go paperless, as well as the benefits of doing so with everyone in the workspace. From there, you can create a plan to phase out paper and replace it with digital data instead.

A few examples of where to start could include encouraging your employees to take digital notes, do presentations with software like PowerPoint and implement e-signature software. Your company can also change their customer communications to digital-only.

For example, you could send out invoices, receipts and letters all by email instead of in the mail. You should also invest in cloud storage, so you can finally get rid of all those complicated and inefficient file cabinet systems. Cloud storage providers enable you to inexpensively buy as much digital storage as you need in a secure environment.

If you do still have to make use of some paper in the workspace, try to encourage reusing and recycling the paper as far as possible to lower your carbon footprint.

How to deal with any resistance to the transition

The pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to going paperless. However, it’s true that you’ll no longer be able to claim that the dog ate your work.

Some people may even find other cons, which may affect them on a personal level. You should be prepared for this and realise that although going paperless is a dream for many, for some, it may be a very difficult transition, one which will require an adjustment period.

Not everyone is tech-savvy, while others may prefer the feeling of a hardcopy. If you experience any resistance during the move toward a paperless company, you may wish to phase paper out of the office instead of going cold turkey.

This can help those finding it a challenge to ease into things and help to avoid them feeling unheard, left behind and under pressure to conform swiftly.

Are you looking to promote your business?

South African retail businesses can create their free business listing on nichemarket. The more information you provide about your business, the easier it will be for your customers to find you online. 

Registering with nichemarket is easy; all you will need to do is head over to our sign-up form and follow the instructions. If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles.

• How to create a nichemarketer profile
• How to create a nichemarket business listing

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have time to spare, why not check out these related posts and dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is recycling.

• A Guide To Environmentally Friendly Living At Home
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• What It Takes To Become a Zero Waste Business
• How To Live In A Greener House
• 5 Reasons Why Your Business Should Be Going Green Now

Tags: Operations, Carbon Footprint, Green Business