Your company needs to start using electronic documents right now. This type of document is less expensive, more environmentally friendly and more efficient than its physical alternatives. The key to making the switch from physical documents to digital ones is your team. Your employees are the ones who will be using your newly digitized documents, so it's imperative that you prepare them for this change. To this end, you cannot assume that your employees will effectively adapt to electronic document management. You must make this happen. Here is how:
Give your employees an easy way to convert paper documents to digital files
Even if you have converted every single document your company has ever had, it's likely that your analog employees will continue to receive and create paper documents. If they don't have a channel to convert paper to digital files, your team members won't be able to go completely digital.
You can resolve this problem by investing in a rapid document conversion solution. This will make it extremely easy for your employees to convert any future documents into digital files.
Immediately back up and secure your digital files
A common – and reasonable – concern that employees have about digital document management is data security. Under normal circumstances, digital documents are vulnerable to cyber attacks and sudden data loss. This can make an employee hesitant, or even resistant to using electronic documents. This is especially true if your company routinely works with sensitive information.
You can allay these concerns by investing in digital security and backup solutions. This will ensure that your electronic files are protected at all times.
Invest in a system that streamlines electronic document management
Simply making your company/s documents electronic is a great first step towards having a paperless office. However, this is only the first step. Your employees will have a difficult time managing your company’s volumes of documents – even in electronic form – on their own. This is because digital files simply stored on your computer is chaotic (imagine having all of your paper documents thrown about the office with no filing cabinets to keep them organized). You need an electronic document management solution that will make your documents easy to organize, access and manage.
Tip: For optimal results, your document management solution should be cloud-based. This is because a cloud-based solution will give your employees more control and access over your documents than ever.
Train your employees how to use your electronic document management system
Trying to use a new system that you don’t understand is counterproductive. That’s why after you have your electronic document management system in place, you must make sure that you employees know how to use it. To this end, you should thoroughly train each of your team members how to use the system. If you aren’t sure how to go about doing this, consult the help of an expert in the software that you are using.
Are your employees prepared to go digital?
At this point, doing paperless is an unavoidable upgrade that you will have to make to your office. As you bring your office into the future, make sure that you don’t leave your employees behind. You need them to be able to get the most out of your new electronic documents.