Can you make all your paperwork digital?

We’ve all had this experience. You know a particular document exists – you remember reading it just last week – but can’t for the life of you find it anywhere. It’s not in the pile of papers on your desk – or the pile you moved off the desk onto the floor when you came into the office this morning. It’s not in any of the folders on your shelf. But, then again, isn’t there a folder missing from the line-up? Where did that get to?

It’s relentless.?

Paperwork is the thorn in the side of any business looking to be more productive and organised. So, isn’t it time to eradicate the conundrum entirely?

The current situation

Paperwork, by its very nature, is messy, disorganised, and an unreliable form of information storage and sharing. Multi-site organisations will often find themselves with huge folders of paper for each individual site – often containing a lot of the?same?information.?

Back offices will store reams of paper in the forms of manuals, handbooks, welcome information, key contacts, what to do in X situation. Paperwork is used to mark off when certain location, venue, or health and safety checks have been completed. Some may contain vital learning and training information – as well as plenty of outdated training information from a decade ago.

Which is the crux of the issue with paperwork. It’s near impossible to keep organised, up to date, and easily accessible.?51% of employees?say they have avoided sharing a document with a co-worker because they couldn’t find it. Or they simply realised it would take too long to find. While?35% of remote workers?report being unable to access important documents or information when at home.

The problem with paperwork

With hard-copy paperwork, it will quickly become out of date, and you’ll almost never know the last time it was updated. So you might be referencing information that’s not even valid anymore. It’s also expensive to re-issue when changes inevitably happen. How often does an on-site process get tweaked slightly? Or a colleague changes addresses? Every time a new page is printed, it costs time and resources. And who’s responsible for keeping on top of it all?

Hard-copy paperwork is also unsearchable. This means your staff could spend hours poring over documents looking for a particular piece of information, instead of just searching for it in seconds. It’s also easily damaged or misplaced, not to mention entirely inaccessible for remote workers. And in terms of privacy and confidentiality, you can’t monitor or restrict who can access certain information.?

The perks of going digital?

Thankfully, not only is it easy to start producing all new company paperwork online, it’s also possible to move all those ring binders and messy piles of paper into digital storage, too.

It’s well worth the time investment of taking your content and converting it into online actions (this is especially easy if you already have a PDF version of your forms). This way, you have consistent, up-to-date, easily accessible information for all staff across multiple sites. You can be confident everyone is always referring to the most accurate documents and can easily edit paperwork in real time without worrying about old information still circulating afterwards.

When it comes to checks and tests, you can replace all paperwork with regularly scheduled audits to be completed using any mobile device. Whether it’s safety standards, visual merchandising, store layout, or fire risk assessments, your workforce can access the most recent audit information in real time from anywhere.

New staff and training

Any new starter handbooks can be transformed into digital packs to be read on any device. While any forms that need filling in can be centrally stored for use across the entire organisation. You can ensure all key contact and organisational information is always up to date and that staff aren’t chasing people on the wrong number or in the wrong department.?

Bringing all your content online also empowers you to take a more blended approach to training. You can use varying module types to suit different types of information, making for a more engaging learning experience for all staff. For example, instead of reading a 50-page document, new starters could watch videos, complete quizzes, or fill out worksheets.

Despite all the great progress technology has made for the business world, paperwork is still a big barrier to many organisations’ efficiency and productivity. The sooner you invest a little time into moving all your key documents and content online, the quicker your staff can reap all the benefits of consistently updated, easily accessible, reliable information and documentation.

Inform People?provides a robust digital platform for all your organisation’s important information and documents. From reliable, regularly scheduled audits complete with reminders and real time reporting, to our Knowledge Base module for seamless information sharing, we strive to keep every member of your workforce informed, engaged, and empowered to do their best work. To find out more, get in touch with us on 0161 713 4104.