It’s all on the computer!

Ever heard this one; “all the information is on the computer?” Of course it is. That’s why we have filing cabinets!

I just returned from an appointment where the Office Administrator told me that all of their records where on the computer. Trying to be a good solutions provider I asked, “Then why do you have these filing cabinets?” To no surprise, her response was very familiar, “These are our accounting records. We’ve always done it this way.”

Even with all of this technology, doesn’t it seem like we still have two separate worlds? The Digital world: access me anytime, in seconds, and yes, we can email it, print it, you name it, even carry it around on a ‘thumb drive’ because it’s neat and compact. Yet our paper world exists because someone just had to put that little ol’ signature on it to make a document legal.

Have you seen the ads for a laptop computer where the guy turns the screen around and the customer signs it, like he just created a totally digital document? That is until the little four point font comes in at the bottom reading, “electronic signature may not be legally binding in most states.” Great. Get my hopes up and then slap them back down with the legalese of documents and signatures.

From where I sit in this Document Imaging - Document Content - Content Management world, there are some really easy steps for you to consider that might help you understand if there is a paper way to manage the paper load:

• Ask yourself or your staff what paper records they have and why they keep them.
• Figure out if they have any evidentiary information on the documents like signatures or handwritten annotations that differ from the digital version.
• Start having employees recognize when they should keep paper and when they should keep the digital version.
• Help employees understand that you could have both versions in one 'folder' at their desktop and not have to worry about all this duplication. Relieve the worry and stress of disaster recovery.

“But Mark” you say, “how do we do all of this and maintain our current workload?” Easy, get started with the smallest application you can think of. Perhaps start with terminated employee files or facilities management records. Find something with about 5-10 drawers worth of paper per year and just get started.

Still don’t know what to do? Call Stefani Allen at 816- 221-0123 and tell her you want to learn how to take the first step. Join us at one of our free quarterly webinars. It’s only three hours out of your day and the Lasagna we serve for lunch is fabulous.