Papers are dirty, they take up space, they make you feel like you’re drowning in them. Switching to the paperless office can let you work more efficiently and reap the rewards of having less clutter. Replacing paper seems like a daunting task, but with these paperless office best practices, it’ll be a lot easier.
Did you know that the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year and 6,800 of the 10,000 sheets used are wasted (source). However, going paperless is a challenging task and going unplanned will risk total failure of implementation. That is why we created this guide to help you find different ways to go paperless at the office.
Paperless office best practices and tips
- Reduce printing
- Prioritize change management
- Create skilled committee
- Build your implementation roadmap
- Use digital signatures
- Use an electronic document management system
- Invest in OCR
- Keep a file backup
- Use cloud storage
- Handle document security
- Start planning for process digitalization
- Encourage digital collaboration
- Update internal procedures
1- Reduce printing
Reducing printing is one of the core best practices for a paperless office because it directly minimizes paper consumption, leading to significant environmental and cost-saving benefits. By shifting to digital workflows, organizations reduce their reliance on physical documents, decreasing the need for printing and storage space.
This also enhances efficiency, as digital documents are easier to share, search, and access from multiple locations. Additionally, reducing printing promotes sustainability by lowering paper waste, cutting down on ink and toner usage, and reducing the energy associated with printing and maintaining printers, contributing to an overall greener office environment.
2- Prioritize change management
In my opinion, prioritizing change management is essential for a successful transition to a paperless office because it helps ensure that employees adopt new digital tools and processes effectively. Shifting from paper-based workflows to digital systems can be a significant adjustment, and without proper guidance, training, and communication, there may be resistance or confusion.
Change management addresses these challenges by preparing employees for the transition, offering support throughout the process, and fostering a culture that embraces digital solutions. It also helps to align the paperless initiative with the organization’s broader goals, ensuring long-term success and sustained efficiency improvements.
3- Create skilled committee
A committee made up of IT experts, project managers, and department representatives can oversee the transition, troubleshoot issues, and ensure that the needs of various departments are considered. For example, if an organization is shifting to a digital document management system, the committee can identify the specific requirements of each department such as legal needing secure document storage or HR requiring easy retrieval of employee records and tailor the solution accordingly.
This collaborative approach not only streamlines the process but also ensures that all team members are equipped to handle the shift, maximizing the chances of success.
4- Build your implementation roadmap
Building an implementation roadmap is crucial because it provides a clear, structured plan that outlines each step of the process. This roadmap helps organizations stay on track by setting specific milestones, timelines, and goals for moving from paper-based to digital workflows.
It also identifies key resources, technologies, and personnel needed at each stage, minimizing the risk of delays or miscommunication. A well-defined implementation roadmap allows for better planning, risk management, and accountability, ensuring that all stakeholders understand their roles and the overall objectives.
By breaking the project into manageable phases, the roadmap ensures smoother execution and increases the likelihood of a successful long-term adoption of paperless practices.
5- Use digital signatures
Since countries are passing more and more regulations requiring electronic document authentication, digital signatures are currently becoming more and more legally binding.
The operational time reduction is greatly impacted by signing papers digitally because it is now necessary to validate documents, especially for firms that operate globally.
6- Use an electronic document management system
Document management systems can help going paperless by organizing and storing documents on a digital system. This can be done by scanning and uploading documents to the system.
The system will then create separate folders for each type of document, such as invoices, receipts, proposals & more. Users will be able to easily search and retrieve any needed document without ever having to go through physical storage files or worry about being
There are commercial and open source DMS. Depending on your requirements, term of usage, and budget you have the ability to choose the best for your company.
7- Invest in OCR software
The best OCR software is the key to going paperless. It can convert paper documents into digital documents. It is important for offices to have this software because it can help save space, reduce weight and make for a more organized office environment.
Additionally, while converting to digital format, the text on the paper may be recognized and converted into digital format, making it simpler to find this document in the future.
8- Keep a file backup
The most important paperless office best practices is to keep an updated backup of your digital documents periodically.
In the event of a disaster, paper documents may be lost or gone without a trace. Reproducing or duplicating a destroyed paper typically costs an organization a sizable sum of money each year. Digital documents can, however, be readily and securely backed up so that you can quickly restore them in an emergency.
9- Use cloud storage
Store all of your documents on the internet so that they can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, even if there is a power outage or natural disaster at home.
There are many advantages to moving to the cloud, but the two most important ones are lower hardware costs and less time spent on system maintenance. allowing your staff more time to concentrate on more crucial responsibilities.
10- Handle document security
Paper documents are vulnerable to falling into the wrong hands and exposing important information. You may put strong security measures in place for documents to prevent sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands or being exposed while relying on digitized papers.
Hyperautomation trends can enhance this by leveraging AI-driven encryption, automated access controls, and real-time monitoring to ensure sensitive information is protected, compliance is maintained, and unauthorized access is promptly detected and mitigated.
11- Start planning for process digitalization
Having electronic documentation in place is the first step to taking to start enhancing the efficiency of your internal procedures. You should begin preparing to automate internal company processes and document workflow using tools such as accounts payable automation tools when this stage is mature, and workers are comfortable working in this manner to improve efficiency and agility of operations.
12- Encourage digital collaboration
Collaboration is a huge part of the workplace. It has become more important as we live and work in more remote locations. Implementing paperless office best practices can help to increase collaboration and reduce the amount of waste that is produced.
Using team collaboration tools can help your employees rely more and more on electronic documents and share them easily with other colleagues to finalize tasks faster.
13- Update internal procedures
Updating internal procedures is a vital best practice for transitioning to a paperless office because existing processes often rely on paper-based methods that may not align with new digital workflows. By revising internal procedures, organizations can ensure that their operations are optimized for a digital environment, making it easier for employees to adapt and perform tasks efficiently.
For example, instead of requiring physical signatures, a company can update its procedures to use e-signatures, which speeds up approval processes and reduces delays. Updating procedures also helps in establishing new guidelines for document storage, retrieval, and sharing, ensuring that the shift to paperless operations is sustainable and compliant with organizational policies. This modernization fosters consistency, improves productivity, and enhances overall operational efficiency.