Benefits of going paperless in the office
We live in a world that could use a lot of help when it comes to recycling and paper waste. Reducing or even eliminating your office’s use of paper would have a great impact and be a fantastic step in the right direction. There are countless ways to help the environment and go paperless in the office, and we’ve highlighted a few in this article, but before we get to that, let’s try to understand the wonderful benefits of going paperless at work.
1. Saving time
Going paperless and embracing the digital world can significantly improve productivity and save time. The time spend on organizing paper files, and figuring out what to do with them, can be used to do something more productive.
Putting all information on a digital tool can help automate where it will go and how it will be stored, meaning that the tool will do all the heavy work for you.
2. Saving space
Another aspect that could be significantly improved by going paperless in the office is space. Not many of us think about how much space paper can actually take, but having a room full of paper files can be quite a waste of space.
Storing information on a special platform can save up a ton of space in your office, and have you feeling less anxious about a large number of files you have to sort through to find something.
3. Security
Going paperless can help in the area of security as well. Physical hard copies of documents are not only hard to track, but may even get lost, mislabeled or misplaced, or even destroyed without anyone ever knowing.
Having all the important documents in a digital system can keep them safely locked up, and only accessible to whoever you would like to give access to for them. This is a full-proof way of managing your files securely.
4. One centralized location for all information
Instead of paper copies getting lost all over the place, having everything in one centralized location can spare you the headache of looking through cabinets and paper files, and even spending hours trying to find a missing document.
With a digital tool, it is easy to create the data and store it in a space where you know it will be, without the stress of losing it or getting it mixed up with something else.Â
5. Helping the environment
Lastly, and most importantly, you would be helping the environment by requiring less and less paper and trees to be cut down. The paper industry demands close to 80,000 to 160,000 trees to be cut per day, contributing not only to deforestation and loss of natural habitats but also significantly to air and water pollution.
To help reduce pollution and do your part in saving the environment, going paperless is an easy, convenient, and better way of dealing with files and documents.
Paperless office ideas
1. Discourage printing
Reduce your reliance on office printers by encouraging the use of easily shareable file types such as Portable Document Formats (PDFs), digital signature software, internal communication tech tools, and electronic record filing, all of which make it easier to go paperless.
Do you post announcements on a bulletin board? Or print the schedule for each meeting room and post it on the door? Try using digital signage, such as a meeting room scheduling system, to replace these, like Archie.
2. Note-taking apps
A great way to reduce the unnecessary use of paper is to simply look into note-taking apps. When it comes to taking notes, you don’t need to get paper out every time or invest in notebooks, but rather you can look into great ways to do it digitally. Not only will it allow you to reduce waste, but it will also help with keeping everything in order safely, rather than trying to juggle a bunch of papers with notes.
Some useful note-taking apps:
3. E-signatures
Another fantastic way to cut down on needless paper is to introduce e-signature and digital contracts to your office, rather than using a hard copy for each contract. This will reduce the amount of paper used and speed up the process of signing and sharing agreements with customers, clients, and visitors. Digital contracts are a huge way of going paperless at the office.
Some apps for e-signatures include:
- Adobe sign
- DocuSign
- HelloSign
Tip:Â Want it all in one? Archie not only manages your space and automates everything you need to save time, but also has automated options for digital contracts, including e-signature. Check out more about how Archie can help you go paperless at work here.
4. Automated electronic invoices
If your business is using invoices for its clients, a great way to go paperless is to introduce automated electric invoices that people get through their emails.
Physical invoices and checks can quickly accumulate, resulting in a large amount of paper waste. They are not only inefficient, but they can also pose a security risk. An invoice or check left on the wrong desk can readily be compromised by anyone.
Tip: Archie also supports electronic invoices, that are not only digital but 100% automated. This not only reduces paper but also frees you completely from dealing with invoices.
5. Re-thinking marketing
When it comes to marketing strategies, a great option is to simply move everything digitally. Instead of investing in paper products, or other physical materials, all your marketing for your business can be done online.
Not only will you reduce paper waste, but you will also advance more in the marketing strategy, as much of the audience is online. Going online with marketing will allow you to reach audiences that you wouldn’t be able to with posters or fliers or other types of paper products, among many other benefits.
6. Project management and communication apps
In most circumstances, managing tasks and projects is a part of an employee’s daily routine. To keep track of these, we’ve traditionally utilized post-its or to-do lists. Todoist and Google Tasks are two apps that help us manage tasks more efficiently and without using paper.
Project management tools like Notion and Hubspot are excellent for keeping track of timelines and deliverables, as well as allocating duties across multiple devices and platforms.
For cooperation, project management, and business notifications, every office should employ some type of computerized internal communications. You should think about your possibilities if you’re still reliant on passing paper. Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, Trello, and Asana are just a few examples.
7. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
While going mostly paperless in the office is sustainable and doable, we understand that not all offices can maintain getting rid of all their paper products. A great thing to do in this case is simply focusing on the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Reducing the amount of paper you use in the office is a great step in going paperless. Reducing could mean being more conscious about how much paper your office is using, or even cutting down on a few ways paper is used, like invoices or contracts.
Reusing paper could also be a good idea. If someone is using paper for taking notes, then encourage them to use the back of a paper that is already printed or written on. This can help the unnecessarily throw out of perfectly usable paper and instead, make the most of it.
Lastly, encourage as much recycling as possible. Make sure you have plenty of recycling bins that people can reach easily to encourage recycling. Make sure you also are taking care of the recycling every week, and that everything gets sorted and dealt with properly.
Conclusion
Going paperless in the office doesn’t have to be a difficult task. With the right tools and guidance, your office can make the change, and not only improve the everyday tasks, but also help contribute to more sustainable ways of conducting business!
