Going Paperless: What Are Your Best Tips for Making It Work in the Office?

Dear All,

We have implemented a policy of a paperless office. Can you suggest some useful tips to implement the same?

Thanks & regards,
Chitra

Hello Chitra Anand,

Firstly, consider increasing the use of emails. Discourage the use of photocopiers and printers. If feasible, centralize the location of photocopiers and printers. Centralize paper and stationary purchases and aim to reduce purchases every month. Review all carbon copies to assess whether they are necessary or relevant. Introduce incentives for reducing paperwork. Utilize more information boards and fewer notice boards. Increase the use of SMS for communication. Organize regular cleaning sessions to remove unwanted paper. Review all magazine, newspaper, and catalogue subscriptions and aim to reduce them.

Regards,
Rajasekar KR

Use custom-based software to avoid paper use in the office. Employees/departments using papers should keep strict vigilance and be informed that unnecessary use of paper will affect performance evaluation, in the case of individuals or the department as a whole.

Dear Chitra,

A paperless office cannot always be 100% foolproof. Information and password security are always vulnerable to breaches unless tight security arrangements of international standards are in place. Information from all servers should immediately and automatically be transferred to the main server. The main server should always be out of reach of employees other than the Manager (IT) or the CIO. Additionally, there should be a mirroring system of the main server.

In addition to the soft documents in the server, there should be a reliable additional backup system. Policy documents and company resolutions should always be kept in hard copies so that if the server fails at any time, your original hard copies can save the company from disaster.

Remember, today's hackers are more intelligent than the IT managers. Therefore, a disaster management system should always be ready in the paperless office.

PS Dhingra
Vigilance & Transformation Management Consultant
Dhingra Group of Management & Educational Consultants
New Delhi