Paperless: The Wave of the Future
At Compete to Conserve we are challenging ourselves to be a paperless business. As an internet based company, with staff all over the place, we are on our computers all day. Keeping digital files makes sense, plus it does not require any extra energy use since our computers are usually on.
I first realized that we could run an almost-paperless business when my office printer broke about a month ago. Instead of fixing it, I looked at is as a blessing and used it as an opportunity to re-train myself. To be completely honest with you, I haven’t missed my printer at all.(Well, almost never, I did need my friend to print out some movie tickets the other day)
Transitioning to paperless was easy considering all the choices we have with today’s technology. It’s sooooo, last year to use paper. For example, we(CtoC team) started exchanging information by passing flash drives back and forth. We also us Google Docs much more to share and edit documents between us. We are rarely in the same room, though when we get together we still use digital formats. It helps that we are all nerds and feel much more comfortable with our computers in front of us. Laptops make a much better shield then a piece on paper.
Join us and challenge yourself and others to go paperless or simply join the conversation with our community.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:31 am
Hello, dears: Your going “paperless” caught my attention. I am a recent retiree, government employee, entitled Records Management Analyst. Mother hen would like to caution you that a record is a record regardless of format. You may be saving paper but please be sure to consult a records manager about your files and retrieval system. I have advised many a customer with extremely important public records (law enforcement, public health, natural resources, transportation, etc.) about organizing the records, and being consistent in filing nomenclature so you know where to find it. There should be a purging system to eliminate obsolete information or to put it, if relevant, into archives (historical company records, not just a place to hide junk and clutter). So, declutter and save paper, but don’t fill your system with crap. Just because you can’t see it in a pile or in file cabinet, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. And, no, the answer is not to get more gigabytes. Nite, nite. PS - retirement is wonderful.
I can’t count how many times I’ve asked to see directories only to observe a disorganized electronic abyss. Oh, and one more thing…(kidding). Well, there is one more thing. A technie usually knows NOTHING about true records management.
By the way, I’m a “tree hugger” and a Master Home Environmentalist (volunteer) for the American Lung Association. Much of what you discuss is near and dear to my heart. One of my zealous efforts is to educate people about air filtration systems, e.g. ozone generators (cleaners, ionizers, deionizers, etc. that are extremely unhealthy for the lungs. This is my first visit to your site and I look forward to seeing your new version.
Thanks for all you do, Anne