As a consultant, a lot of clients always ask me about going paper free. I usually refer to this as “paper-lite” since paper still serves so many different purposes in the workplace. The last time I was asked about going paperless it caused me to rethink what it means to accomplish that. The first question I thought was, if less paper is produced, does that mean more digital documents are going to be created instead? What about going digital lite?
For me, part of the appeal of a paperless or paper-lite initiative means paper reduction may be accomplished through redefining business processes and eliminating the need for paper by rerouting documents electronically. This has huge appeal for me.
For example, many companies are starting to automate Accounts Payable processes by scanning paper invoices and routing them electronically. Or in some cases companies are able to receive invoices electronically and import them directly into their systems. Having invoices routed electronically through a workflow means employees aren’t sending invoices through email as attachments, printing them, getting them signed, scanning them back in and sending them off again to obtain additional authorization signatures using the same process. This produces a lot of additional paper and waste (time and energy).
However, in some scenarios, paper is still easier and faster to use. If managed properly, using paper can actually result in less accumulation of low quality items over time. For example, I spend a lot of time on my current contract connecting with users and learning about their recordkeeping habits. Since I don’t have any portable devices with which to take notes, I do it old-school style with a notepad. I frantically scribble notes which I later review at my desk when I’m coming up with strategies or recommendations. The best part is I can save my scrappy page of sloppy notes by dropping it into a folder until I don’t need it anymore. Then I shred it.
Whereas if I took notes electronically, I would be required to come up with a name, and maybe some metadata, in order to save the notes. I would also have to determine the best place to save the notes. This can often be challenging since my notes are amorphous by nature and usually contain a large variety of “stuff.” It’s hard to come up with a distinct name. Also, since the notes are often preliminary, I may not have an established place to save them digitally. In the future, I would have to remember where I saved the notes, what I named them, or maybe even try to recall the date I created them. I find this process much easier in paper where I can be blissfully chaotic and crazy with my notes, drop them into a folder, and shred them without hesitation after I’m done with them.
It seems to me that everybody gets fixated on not using paper for various reasons, instead of focusing on the reasons why we use paper or how we can make processes more efficient. When the focus is on eliminating paper without thinking fully about consequences what ends up happening is we produce a lot more low-quality digital residue that becomes onerous to get rid of (e.g. my preliminary notes). To me the solution is not to focus on going paperless, but to focus on how to be more streamlined and efficient in processes to ensure that only high-quality records are created, captured, and maintained, regardless of format.