We hear so many businesses say they are striving for a paperless office – and we’re sure you do too (or are you one of them?). The reality is, the occasional piece of paper is still landing on most of our desks most days of the week – right? Let’s be realistic here; can your office achieve 100% paperless operations in 2018? If, like most of us, you answered ‘no, not 100%’ join us in embracing the ‘less paper office’.

It’s been more than 30 years since computers became commonplace in offices, and today it’s difficult to imagine operating without one. You would think that with the ability and sophistication of our computers, software and applications we have available to us (really, at minimal effort and minimal cost too), the paperless office would be a reality for most us by now. But it’s not.

For some businesses, the concept of paperless is far from being reached! Manual time sheets, handwritten phone messages, bank cheques or printed emails anyone?

For some businesses, reliance on printed paper has declined dramatically in recent years as technologies like email, pdfs, online editing, cloud-based accounting, task management software, CRM software and intranets have been embraced by staff and customers. 

A big advancement towards the less paper office has come in the way of tablets, laptops and smart phones. Employees with tablets are now able to take their ‘paperwork’ with them offsite, accept payments and signatures, invoice as they leave a job, email receipts, take photos and complete digital forms onsite. It’s a time-saving action as much as a cost-saving, waste-reducing action. A meeting now means employees can review and edit documents together within a meeting, as opposed to printing 10 copies, then one staff member managing 10 sets of edits.

Interestingly, the term ‘paperless office’ was reportedly first coined in the 1970s, predicting offices would be paperless by the 1990s. In actual fact, paper use in offices increased into the 1990s. Today though, printing is experiencing a small but increasing decline throughout business, worldwide. Technology is eroding the printing industry through e-books, e-publications, more capable websites and apps, and more conscious paper usage. As well as reducing volume of paper used, these cloud computing and mobile computing tools mean offices no longer need the same kind of printers either.

“…rather than pursue the ideal of the paperless office, we should work toward a future in which paper and electronic document tools work in concert.”

In 2003, a book titled The Myth of the Paperless Office was published, analysing why the internet and use of email has increased the use of printing in offices, when in theory it should have done the opposite. 

The authors, Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper, use the tools of tools of ethnography and cognitive psychology to look at paper use and why certain human traits and desires will make the 100% paperless office difficult to attain. They say that rather than pursue the ideal of the paperless office, we should work toward a future in which paper and electronic document tools work in concert and organisational processes make optimal use of both. 

The Information Technology industry has adapted quickly to new products and technologies – we have to! – and across Australia they have started to diversify their product range to include printers and printing products in competition with the photocopier industry. These IT providers are already deeply embedded into businesses as trusted advisors and were highly influential in their recommendations for printing products.

For a business that had its roots in printing and photocopying, our own business has required diversification in order to survive the ‘less paper office’ and indeed the paperless office when it’s eventually adapted by the mainstream. For Delta, that has meant developing and growing our IT support department and software solutions and expanding our offering to become the first Optus Business Centre north of Brisbane. This means Delta has evolved into a one-stop vendor for paper, digital and telco.

Business is always about evolution; being agile and adapting to survive. The onslaught of innovative technology for our offices is thrilling for businesses. While it may not be possible for your business to be 100% paperless office in the immediate future, you can certainly become a ‘less paper office’ and we can help you get there.

Whether it’s a different printer, more sophisticated printer, cloud or mobile computing software or products, telco or we can advise what may assist your business in using less paper and save you time and dollars in the process. Contact our team to discuss options that will suit you. 

deltaoffice.com.au