Digital Records – Finding the right balance in the workplace

Do you know what your office “sweet spot” is when it comes to records management? Social media, blogs and the Internet is abuzz with talk about the slow transition from paper to digital records in offices and workplaces around the world. Studies have shown that for every dollar in paper costs, managing that paper can cost up to $10 more per employee. So where are offices at in respect to the digital revolution?

Clearly, the push to be more efficient has been going on for a couple decades, as businesses try to lower their costs while increasing their profits. Paper is a big part of that equation. Reducing the amount of paper you have to buy, process, store and destroy will save money. Records management companies have come up with all kinds of ways help businesses be more efficient and more productive.

Here are a few things to consider:

• Access – How often do you need to retrieve or share a document? If this answer is not often, then creating documents digitally at the time they are created, allows you to send and store the original – or an updated version – at very low cost. Workflow automation software and records management systems can simplify this process for any business.
• Storage – Do you take up valuable office space with storage of paper documents? If the “records room” has become a holding pen for old documents and sales receipts, clearly a case can be made that your office could benefit from moving to digital record-keeping, opening up valuable space for more productive work.
• Efficiency – Taking confusion and the opportunity for human error out of records management increases the productivity of your employees. Records can be indexed and retrieved quickly – versus the alternative of digging through filing cabinets – and employees can be more efficient.

There will always be a place for paper in the office. But doing a workplace assessment and consulting a records management professional can tell you right where your office needs to be when making the decision to move to digital records.