For years, businesses have been told that a paperless office is truly the way of the future. However, during day to day business operations you likely still use paper documents as a way to keep information moving and within your line of sight. This forces one to think, will paper documents ever truly be a thing of the past? Or, are we destined to keep paper documents floating around the office regardless of the technology that comes our way?
How We Were Raised
There’s no arguing that how we were raised plays a big part in our everyday lives, from the way we form relationships to the way we make grocery shopping lists. On average, the Canadian workforce is comprised of nearly 80% of those over the age of 25, and even older for those in a corporate business environment. This age group was born on the cusp of the heavy influence of technology, and many of us grew up still using a pen and paper to make notes. For this reason alone, our dependency on paper documents comes from the fact it’s just the way we were raised.
Ease of Compatibility
When using a paper document to relay information, there is little to no issue about the possibility of compatibility issues. Unlike with a digital document, that may have been saved in one file format only to have to be opened in another, paper documents are accessible by almost everyone.
Guaranteed Security
For those employees who may not be as technologically up to date, the security of digital documents may still be questionable. Paper documents can be immediately shredded to the point of no recognition, but digital documents require a multiple step process to truly disappear. As time goes on this concern will be lesser, but reassuring senior staff members that digital documents are safe may be difficult.
So if paper documents are likely to stay around for a few years more, how can you still work towards having the most technologically advanced and eco-friendly office possible? Scanning your paper documents makes sure that every piece of information you need is accessible on your computer at all times, so no matter where you are you can get the documents you need. Additionally, this ensures that one piece of paper can be seen by many people at once, and you won’t need to worry about tracking people down to get the information you need.
For more information about document scanning, contact us at MES today!