Paperless vs. Traditional Storage

According to studies, the average office worker in the US uses about 10,000 sheets of paper per year. Decades ago, the introduction of computers into our society made the idea of a “paperless” office a potential reality, but why then, is our national paper consumption higher than ever?

Let’s look at some percentages.

We estimate that around 45% of paper used in an office will be in the trash by the end of the day. Anything that does stick around longer than that, likely needs updating or edits within a month or two.  How many times have we been guilty of sending jobs to printers and then promptly forgetting about them? Perhaps reprinting a second time? Maybe someone else simply threw out the job when they found it later that day? That is the fate of about 20% of print jobs in any given office environment. When we think that companies spend more than $120 billion per year on paper documents, these percentages are staggering.

Additionally, time can be another valuable commodity that is wasted by the constant use of paper. We estimate that simply looking for the information we need in paper files, can take up to 40% of our day!

Clearly, its not surprising that 80% of offices today have interest in actively reducing paper consumption and boosting productivity.

Here are a few simple ways that you can begin the paperless process, right now:

1. USE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES WHERE YOU CAN. Many products out there make it very convenient to gather signatures for HR, contracts and consent forms or HIPAA and HITECH forms, to name a few. By simply using these, offices can significantly cut down on paper usage. Plus, as long as we acquire them correctly, electronic signatures hold the same legal standing and are even more secure than their hand-written counterparts.
2. EMAIL. Project updates, meeting schedules, approvals or estimates are things we can send and receive faster, digitally.  Additionally, having a record of correspondence is helpful with organization and accountability in the workplace.
3. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT. Here’s where we come in handy. Plenty of offices aren’t moving forward simply due to current volume. Imaging or scanning the amount of physical documents that they may have in storage facilities or taking up regular office space, seems like an impossibly complex task. This is why we exist. Our staff is highly skilled in the fast and accurate document conversion necessary for backlogged offices. We will maintain your current organization and help to make your office more efficient with digital archiving.

Perhaps it isn’t really logistically possible for any office to go entirely paperless, but these small steps can really help to control the excess.  Global Document Services is here to answer your questions, guide you in the process and help you get closer to the paperless goal.