The concept of going paperless is not new at all. It has been in existence since around 1960, just like how people have thought of building flying cars. A lot of people think that “paperless” is a mere concept that cannot be put into action. In the workplace, it’s pretty easy to ask, “how can we go paperless in our office when it is still littered with fax machines, printers and mails from the local post office?” There is also the argument about invoices, receipts, contracts and legal documents—how can a business live without these? It may seem hard but there are other things that you can do to achieve a paperless office.
A paperless office is not entirely possible, that is , if you want to achieve a 100% paperless office. But, as mentioned, there are things that you can do to at least lessen paper consumption in your office. Before you specifically act on it, you need to first realize that there are actually two types of paper documents that are being stored in your office: transient and records. Records are those that need to stay in our office for a longer time because they are “permanent records” of your company’s transactions and correspondences. On the other hand, transient documents are those that can be discarded, say, in a few years as they are also records but they have a specific life span.
The first step that you need to take in achieving a paperless office is to create an objective or goal. Make sure that your goal is something spans years as changes needs to be gradual. Going paperless in your office means that there are things, systems and processes that you need to change and in order for the transition to be smooth, it has to be slow but sure.
For instance, before you switch your faxing services to online fax service providers, you need to first inform your employees that you will be switching to a new service and tell your clients of your new fax number. Since online faxing is an entirely different process, you need to educate your employees on how it can be done and how the process should be carried out. You cannot just junk your fax machine and use a new fax number because this can significantly impact your business productivity.
You also need to make sure to check your priorities. For instance, if efficiency is more important to you than the environment, then you cannot print on the back side any paper when they will be fed on copiers. Used papers can cause more paper jams and in turn, can reduce your output. Of course, there are also systems and processes that provide both efficiency and love for the environment like online fax. Whenever possible, opt for systems that will allow you to hit two birds in one stone—create a more effective office system while taking care of the environment. That is not impossible for people who actually care and want to go green.
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