by Laura Schmitz

Many of you know by now that I am a loud and proud proponent for paperless processes and functionality. Do I have some deep-rooted resentment for the post-it
note? A debilitating allergy to envelope glue? A fateful and
traumatizing fax incident in my past? No, no and maybe. In fact I
have great respect for all of these things and think that each has an
honored place in good ole Americana, like the Disco ball
and the 8 track. Unfortunately, just like the Walkman, they have been
quickly replaced by ever-changing technologies faster than any of us who
began life prior to 1995 ever thought they could be. In fact, many of
us cling to post-it notes like they offer life saving oxygen. It’s time
to move on. Paperless is here to stay and offers the best way yet to
increase productivity, improve customer service inside and out and hold
our workforce accountable. No longer should we have file drawers full
of papers that you may or may not have access to or that may or may not
need to be shredded. In a paperless environment, everyone can have
access to the same information, simultaneously, without the cost of
toner, paper or time spent trying to un-jam a copy machine. Decisions
can be made with all the facts, bills can be paid faster, orders and
assignments can matched up better and there are overall less chance for
errors or wrong practices.

Usually around this point, somebody pipes up and says “That’s all great Laura, but OUR workers don’t know how to use the internet or email, our people HAVE to have their files and our candidates NEED to fill out our 100
page application”. Really? When was the last time you or anyone you
know looked something up in the actual white pages book? Bought and
wrestled with a road map? Filled out with a pen, your whole tax
return? Received an actual paper party invitation (I recently got an
Evite to a wedding for Pete’s sake!)?

View the entire post