What's the Best Productivity Hack?

If we asked ten people on the street to list some of the most effective productivity-boosting tools for businesses, we’d probably hear all about AI platforms, and maybe a little bit about Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), as well as a few others.?

And what can we say? They’re not wrong. But they’d probably leave out a really great one that deserves a little attention and maybe — dare we say it — even a little love? <heavy sigh>

If you work in printing solutions, you’re kinda used to it. Printers and print software are kind of the “Jan Bradys” of the technology world. And Microsoft Copilot is definitely 2024’s “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.”?

Problems With Paper-Based or Manual Workflows

If you’re still using paper-based processes, some of these common issues probably hit close to home:

• Important contracts aren’t always renewed on time

• Forms take a long time to process
• Sensitive documents are sometimes seen by the wrong people
• Your print supply costs are going through the roof
• Your accounts payable and HR teams are struggling to handle their workloads
• Your clients sometimes find errors in their bills

Ouch. Too soon? Not sure if this is comforting or not, but recent stats say you’re not alone.?

• 45% of companies say that it has sometimes taken a week just to get a contract signed
• 83% of employees have admitted to recreating a document that they couldn’t find
• 21% of all productivity is estimated to be lost to document management issues

How Printers and Copiers Can Help Streamline Office Document Workflows

Modern printers aren’t as dumb as they look, and they can do a lot more than just print and scan.

If you connect yours to a document management system (DMS) with AI features, your printer can capture all kinds of things — like contact and company names and dates — and file and process them accordingly.?

But there’s so much more …?

10 Benefits of Digitizing Paper Documents With Copier/Printer Integrations

Maybe there’s someone out there who really, really loves mindless busywork and confusing file systems, but most of us don’t. So reducing that pile of papers gets you a lot more:?

1. Speed Through Onboarding

You’ve got a whole new team to meet and a new role to learn. And you’ve got a messy file system that makes no sense? That’s just mean. With DMS, it’s easy to create a filing system that makes sense and is easy to stick to. And HR is gonna love how simple it makes signing all of those onboarding docs.?

2. Get More Done in Less Time

You ever get to 3:00 on Friday and wonder where your time went? It’s probably frittered away on “busy work” that could be automated.?

3. Make Work Less Boring

When many people initially hear the word “automation,” they worry about their jobs. But THIS form of automation is about as threatening as a Roomba, and it’s just designed to do the types of boring tasks that people don’t want to do anyway.?

4. Avoid Errors?

Have you ever noticed you make mistakes when you’re not fully engaged with what you’re doing? Well, some employees at Citigroup can definitely relate. Recently, a few of them made a clerical error that sent almost $1 billion to Revlon Inc.’s lenders. Citigroup has had to file a lawsuit to try to get it back.?

5. Boost Innovation

When your workday is packed full of busy work, it’s harder to think big. It’s not just you. Multiply that throughout your entire organization, and can get a sense of how it’s draining your productivity and also your ability to innovate.?

6. Improve Customer Relationships?

Silly mistakes can erode trust. So eliminating a huge source of them is a step in the right direction. And with less busy work, human beings can also spend more time doing things we’re much better at — building and maintaining important relationships.?

7. Simplify Security and Compliance

DMS solutions can ensure that documents are properly classified, retained, and disposed of according to compliance requirements. And depending on the solution you choose, they might integrate with additional data loss prevention tools to automatically redact, encrypt, or block the printing of documents containing sensitive data.?

8. Reduce Information Silos

When everyone can access the information they need quickly and easily across every department, those information silos just start to disappear. That might not be a huge issue for smaller businesses with only one location, but it’s a big deal if you’re growing quickly, or you have a merger or acquisition on the horizon.?

9. Reduce Paper Storage Needs

With fewer paper-based processes, you can save more trees while freeing up space around the office. Massage chair, anyone??

10. Empower Remote Work

DMS solutions make it much easier for your employees in more departments to work from anywhere.?

Okay, so we don’t want to step on any toes, here. But even if remote work isn’t a goal for your business, offering employees more flexibility to stay home with a sick child or get more tasks done when they’re on the road can help you attract and retain your top talent.?

The Printer “Kicker”

First, an important Public Service Announcement: Don’t kick the printer!?

Basically, pairing your print environment with a DMS can simplify so many daily tasks that once you’ve done it, it’s really hard to think about going back. But if you need more than a list of benefits to convince your grand boss to look into it, try this on for size:?

Businesses that have effective data management are 23 times more likely to acquire customers.?

Whenever you get the opportunity to solve a ton of common workplace issues in one go, that’s a huge win. If that same solution can also help you outpace your competitors, it could change your trajectory.?

Of course, the important word there is “could.”?

A Recommendation That’s Much More Than a Hunch

No single tool is going to be the right solution for every single organization ever.?

But if your file systems are a mess, that alone is probably causing more problems than you think. Paper-related problems often go untracked and unnoticed. And when they fail, the blame is often misplaced.?

Human beings forget, and human beings make human mistakes. But we tend to be really good at innovating, building relationships, and solving all kinds of problems if we get the time to do it. That’s our story!?

Bottom line — if you haven’t considered printer workflow automation tools, give ‘em a little attention. These simple, cost-effective tools may help your bunch of helpful humans do far more “helpful human” things.?