5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Go Paperless

Did you know the average office worker still uses approximately 10,000 sheets of paper a year? That’s a lot of paper. And when multiplied by the number of employees in your organization, it’s more than just a lot of paper – it’s a lot of clutter, lost documents, hard-to-find files, and potentially wasted storage space.

Without paper cluttering your office and slowing down your processes, you can improve turn times and offer better, more responsive customer service. The right digital solution lets you instantly access documents, eliminate bulky filing cabinets, and stop wasting money on real estate for storing files. But perhaps the most satisfying result is expediting your critical processes – like invoice processing, HR onboarding, and mailroom management.

There are various solutions for achieving a paperless office, such as document scanning, document management, and workflow automation. But before adopting any solutions, you should consider a few key points to ensure your organization can achieve the benefits above.

Here are 5 questions you should ask yourself before going paperless:

1. Which area of your business has the most paper clutter?

Start by identifying the areas or departments that struggle the most with paper. If you’re unsure where to start, take a look at your human resources and accounts payable departments first.

Your human resources department, for instance, may be struggling with the great deal of paperwork the hiring process often generates. Large amounts of paper may also hinder the team’s ability to effectively manage employee files and keep up with HR compliance standards.

In accounts payable, the invoices that come in by mail and email pile up quickly, often overwhelming staff and resulting in late payments. Therefore, AP and HR departments are excellent areas for mailroom outsourcing and electronic document management. With these solutions, you can put an end to departmental inefficiency and unnecessary costs.

2. Which business processes are the slowest?

Now that you’ve identified the area of your business that struggles with paper clutter the most, dig in a little further to find out which specific processes are the culprits. Talk to your employees to understand the processes they feel are the slowest or most inefficient, then map them out together step by step, noting important information like the purpose of each stage, how much time it takes, and who is responsible. This crucial step will help you or the document scanning company you partner with tailor a process that fits your organization’s specific needs.

3. How will you store your documents once they’re digitized?

Do you have a plan for electronic content management after your documents have been scanned and digitized? Document management software is a great choice because it’s secure, simple-to-use, and scalable. Whether you decide to host the software on your in-house servers or in the cloud, your digitized documents will be logically organized and instantly accessible anywhere.

Once files are securely stored in your document management software, decide what you want to do with the original paperwork. If you’d like to purge the files and save space in your office, look to a reputable document management partner for help. They can work with an NAID-certified shredding company to securely destroy your documents and return a certificate of destruction to you.

4. How can going paperless help you achieve your business goals?

It’s crucial to understand how going paperless could impact your business objectives. Are you looking to enable remote work? Or provide a better hybrid work environment?

According to an Upwork survey, it’s predicted that by 2025, 28% of office workers will be fully remote. Your remote employees need a way to easily access documents anywhere. By digitizing files and implementing a trusted content management software solution, you can provide them with just that.

You can also ensure business continuity by going paperless. You can rest assured that your digitized files will remain safe and easily accessible, so you can continue operating no matter what.

5. Do you already have a trusted partner for going paperless?

Partnering with the right business process outsourcing (BPO) company will make transitioning to a paperless office simple. A good partner will handle the document scanning process no matter what type or how many documents you have.

Furthermore, they will help you choose the right document management software and set up workflows that eliminate the pain points you discovered during the process mapping stage. Your BPO partner should be able to take care of all the repetitive tasks, so your business can focus on value-added work.

Going Paperless with MetaSource

Going paperless saves money and time, streamlines repetitive tasks, enables remote work, and allows your employees to focus on objectives that move your business forward rather than ones that hold you back.

MetaSource offers multiple BPO and automation solutions to assist organizations in going paperless, such as digital mailroom, document scanning, workflow automation, and document management software. As a SOC 2 Type 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant digital solution company with 30+ years of experience, we can help you effectively achieve a paperless workplace.

Contact MetaSource for more information on how we can help your organization go paperless.

For tips on what to look for when choosing a BPO partner, download our guide: 8 Reasons to Choose MetaSource as Your BPO Partner.