The COVID-19 pandemic thrust the work-from-home (WFH) model on many organizations. Younger generations of tech-savvy employees took to it enthusiastically. WFH became a convenient and attractive option for employees who needed greater flexibility on the home-front—such as those caring for young children or ailing family members.
Corporate leaders adopted a more flexible HR approach to match the new reality. Most organizations reacted rapidly. They analyzed roles and responsibilities to determine which tasks were amenable to 100% remote work and arranged for the infrastructure to support WFH for as many employees as possible.
According to a Gartner survey of HR leaders (9 Future of Work Trends Post-COVID-19. June 2020), 32% of organizations replaced full-time workers with contingent works to save costs and maintain flexibility in workforce management.
Organizations quickly resorted to Business Continuity Plans (BCP). Downsizing physical ops became a top priority to save costs and keep the business running amid an unprecedented crisis.
Data from recent research by Gartner predicted that by 2030 the demand for remote working will increase by 30% as younger generations enter the workforce. The research also revealed that 54% of HR leaders felt that poor technology and/or infrastructure for remote working is the biggest barrier to effective remote working.
These drastic changes to the workforce will have a significant effect on the office and workspace requirements of companies.
Companies quickly realized the advantages of remote working: a trimmed workforce at the office, supported by a team working remotely. The result is a dramatic decrease in the amount of physical office space required. Downsizing their physical operations became an attractive option, especially in light of the harsh post-pandemic business landscape. But WFH presented other challenges—what do they do with paper documents stored in the office that take up expensive storage space? How will remote workers collaborate and share documents? What about information security and data privacy regulations?
Shifting paper records to off-site storage is an option but it adds a recurring rental cost. It also does not solve the other questions. There is a simple yet effective solution: Document digitization using a Scan to Zero service.
Scan-to-Zero is a service that stores paper records and scans a set amount of them per month. A pre-scheduled volume of hard copy records and archived documents are sent for scanning in small batches without any business downtime or disruption. The scanned documents then reside in a Document Management System (DMS) or on a Cloud server. The original paper records are kept in long-term storage till their retention date and sent for shredding on expiration.
The basis of a Scan-to-Zero project is a scheduled volume and a set frequency that suits your requirement and budget. It avoids a potentially large upfront project cost and gradually reduces your stockpile of paper documents. The scanning process is a continuous background activity that does not disrupt daily business operations. The digitized documents integrate seamlessly with your IT infrastructure at the front-end.
Let's consider some of the long-term benefits of using a Scan-to-Zero service to support your downsizing initiative:
Organizations spend huge sums on maintaining paper records of critical business operations. They must also retain certain legacy documents like historical records and compliance documents. Downsizing your office without a document scanning service will require off-site storage—another recurring cost. Switch to digital, and you stand to save considerable cost as Cloud storage is relatively cheaper than physical storage space. Scan to Zero makes your move to digital smooth and seamless.
Improved productivity and agility
Paper document storage follows a set lifecycle from record generation to expiration. Documents that have aged beyond their retention period must be identified, located, and destroyed—a time-consuming task. Regular document scanning streamlines the whole process, and your company becomes more productive as you do not have to allocate resources to handle paper documents. With Scan to Zero, there is zero downtime and documents are accessible in a matter of hours when required.
Hard copies of documents may get lost or damaged. They are also vulnerable to data breaches that may severely compromise the company's credibility and reputation. Scan to Zero secures your critical documents with advanced digital security protocols, restricts access only to authorized staff, and mitigates the risks of data breaches, physical damage, and theft.
Document digitization provides a centralized filing system that allows access to employees as per their function in the organization. It makes sharing easier, gives access to one or more users simultaneously from any location and at any time. It automatically keeps a log of the key usage metrics of access to any file in the DMS.
When you use a progressive digitization service like Scan to Zero, you can easily retrieve critical data during audits, making the whole exercise smooth and less stressful.
Digitization lets employees respond quickly to customer needs from wherever they are. They have quick and easy access to all digitized documents stored in a centralized system, usually on the Cloud. No more searching for records or delays in customer service. Scan to Zero service providers securely store your paper documents till they are ready for scanning—at no additional cost! Plus, they will provide you access to any document you wish to retrieve.
Looking for a scanning services provider for a Scan to Zero project? Talk to MES. Our Scan to Zero service progressively migrates your hard copy documents to a Cloud-based digital format at your own pace without disrupting your daily operations.
We understand that every scanning project is different, so we work out a custom proposal exclusively for you.
With Scan to Zero we:
Get a free quote today for our Scan-to-Zero service and get a handle on your office downsizing.