Paper (I Am Not) by Brad Greenlee | CC BY 2.0
If you haven’t already guessed by reading our blog, Mediafly prides itself on being a paperless office. For me, this was an entire new way of working. I had become quite accustomed to leafing through manila folders and hefty binders when searching for documents. So the more I learned about Mediafly’s commitment to digital content, the more I found myself in a bit of a panic, thinking “No paper? Really?
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before I got used to the concept of a paperless office. In addition to making daily processes more efficient and organized, it also allows for easier communication across departments. Instead of pestering my colleagues with questions like, “Which folder did you say that document was in—the green polka dot one, or the striped yellow one?”, I’m able to save us all a lot of time by adopting best practices in digital content management and knowing that we all used a single content repository. The results have been increased productivity, collaboration and consistency in messaging.
Mediafly isn’t the only company to understand how transformational the process of going paperless can be. The concept of a paperless office is highlighted in a recent BCW article I came across entitled, “10 Reasons to Strive For a Paperless Office.” In the article, author Christina Bowe makes the claim that while a paperless office may seem like a “pipe dream” to many executives, it can be made a reality with the help of a clear methodology and accountability.
Bowe’s reasons for converting to a paperless enterprise are compiled, below. Check them out to learn how a paperless office can benefit your organization.
- Easy Storage: Rather than being shoved into a folder or tossed on top of a pile that resembles the leaning tower of Pisa, paper documents can be scanned or stored electronically. The cloud or a digital content management system can eliminate document storage headaches and office clutter.
- Automatic Audit Trail: Storing documents electronically makes them much more accessible for future use. In addition to smoothing out editing and updating processes, electronic documents also ease audit processes.
- Time Savings: File cabinets are not only unsightly, they’re also a pain to dig through. With electronic documents, you can say goodbye to paper cuts, and instead, embrace the quickness of a digital search engine when hunting for your next document.
- Simplicity: A fussy printer can really put a damper on your day. Avoid this hassle with electronic storage, which allows you to perform tasks with the mere touch of a button or click of a mouse.
- Accessibility: Instead of having multiple users make various changes to a single document, electronic storage allows for a handful of editors to work on the same document, at the same time. This makes the collaboration process a lot more efficient.
- Business Development: With digital content management, business becomes more seamless. This means management has more time to focus more on cultivating new business.
- Security: Electronic storage allows only authorized users to retrieve documents stored on secured servers. This minimizes security breaches as well as misplaced documents.
- Email Efficiency: An effective document management system can communicate with internal server-based email systems to present emails like documents. This saves you time when searching for documents.
- ROI: Thanks to increased productivity, organizations usually experience a quick return on investment with document management systems. Usage reports can be leveraged to see which content is having the most impact in the field providing insight to the marketing team on which content to develop and what content needs to be reevaluated.
While the switch to a paperless office may seem daunting, it’s important to remember that the organizations who accept change and adapt accordingly are often the ones to succeed in the long run.
How has your organization adapted in response to the changing digital environment?
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