Choosing to convert to paperless is a great move for many offices nowadays. Not only is it an eco-friendly choice for your business, but is also a great move for organization and taking care of certain documents around the office. Here are some of our best tips for your conversion to paperless.
1. Take It Slow
One of the worst things you can do here is to complete the transfer too fast. This needs to be as slow and as methodical as possible. If you are too fast, there is a risk that something could easily become lost. You need to take it slow so you can be certain that everything has been properly accounted for.
You could decide to handle the conversion department by department, or any other way that you see fit. However, you choose to do it, make sure that no document is getting left behind. You need to ensure that everything is converted over to a paperless format. It could be incredibly trivial, or it might be one of the most important files in your office. All deserve the same care and attention during a conversion to a paperless system.
2. Have the Right Software Ready and Waiting
Before you even start the conversion, you need to ensure that you have the right software in place. By choosing something like CAFM software, you are going to have everything you need to ensure that the conversion from hard copy to digital copy happens smoothly.
It is not as simple as just making the change to become paperless. You need to make sure that you have the right infrastructure in place to replace some of the processes that you might have previously handled on paper. Make sure that this software is intuitive and easy to use, and be prepared to train your employees up on it to help the transfer pass smoothly.
3. Decide What to Archive
Just because you are making a switch to paperless does not necessarily mean that you are going to be destroying all of the documents that are moving to the new system. While you will be digitising many of them, there are some that you might want to also keep the paper copies of. Examples might include important contracts or other similar documents.
With these, it is important that they are properly archived and filed away for preservation. If you do choose to destroy a document instead, make sure that you are doing so correctly – especially if the file contains any sort of sensitive information.
Choosing to convert to a paperless office is a great move, but it is one that will take a lot of care and planning. Take the time to find the right path and rhythm for your business in this endeavor, especially if you are going to still be working as usual while the conversion takes place. With a lot of hard work, you will soon be finished and ready to embark on this new paperless chapter in your company’s history.
