In response to the climate emergency and COVID, organizations worldwide are transforming how they operate by taking paper out of their core business processes. Not only does this help your business achieve its corporate environmental objectives, but it also enables greater agility, operational efficiency and flexibility.
One thing the pandemic has shown us is that traditional “physical” workflows are not conducive to remote working. Organizations need to be able to keep workflows moving, wherever their employees, business partners, or customers are.
By accelerating digital transformation and paperless working, organizations have been able to more efficiently:
- Ensure business continuity
- Streamline business processes
- Reduce business decision making time
- Increase customer satisfaction
- Guarantee compliance
- Reduce paper document storage space and cost
But eliminating paper documents can be complex and often requires overcoming the following challenges:
- Upfront cost
- Management buy-in
- Physical sign-in authority requirements
- User preference
- User ability/competency
- Short-term business disruption
- Practicalities of customer and supplier interactions
- Legal and compliance implications
However, all these challenges can be easily mitigated if you deploy the right technology alongside a robust workflow design.
ETA framework – Envision. Technology. Adoption.
Envision
Before starting any transformational project, it is important to set out the main objectives and document a proper plan to identify potential problems as well as opportunities for operational efficiency. Taking this practical approach will ensure any new solution aligns with your existing technology stack and more importantly will ensure any files are stored correctly with the right retention, disposition and policies necessary to adhere to corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Technology
While seemingly obvious, the following bullets detail some of the areas that need consideration when developing a paperless strategy:
- Document Management
- Electronic Forms
- Scanning – legacy and new
- Robotic Process Automation
- E-Signature Solution(s)
- Digital Workflow
- Compliance and Governance
- Knowledge Networks
Adoption
The final phase of your journey – user adoption - is paramount to a successful implementation. The key elements include:
- Executive sponsorship
- Training
- Employee engagement
- Change management
- BAU integration
- Support
If you want a more efficient, climate-friendly and secure method of document management, a paperless-office strategy ticks all the boxes. To learn how Proventeq’s ETA framework can help you transform faster and more pain-free, get in touch today.
