We’re often told that businesses should be paperless – the paperless office is very much a ‘thing’. And although there are some great reasons why this is a good idea in theory, including the fact that it’s a sustainable way to run a business, in practice it doesn’t always work so well. That’s mainly due to the fact that your business, whatever it might be, will very often still need to use paper.
If you’re considering trying to make your business greener, you might think that going paperless is the right option, but before you take that step, keep reading to find out why your business still needs paper (and don’t worry – there are loads of other ways to run a green business, so if you do decide you can’t become paperless, you can still do your bit for the planet).
4 Reasons Why Your Business Still Needs Paper
#1: Better Productivity
There’s just something helpful about holding a physical piece of paper in your hands rather than looking at a screen – that tactile experience can really boost productivity, especially if you’ve got a to-do list that you can tick off or scratch through as you get stuff done. It’s a physical act that’s just not the same on a screen and perhaps not as motivating either.
In fact, studies have actually shown that writing on a piece of paper (compared to typing something) can help much more when it comes to retaining information, so if you’re in a meeting or a brainstorming session, making notes by hand if often the best option.
On top of that, when you’re using paper, you won’t have all the digital distractions you’d have if you were on a laptop or other device – the temptation to quickly check social media or look at your emails or even do a spot of online shopping is huge, but if you’re writing on paper, that temptation isn’t going to be so strong.
#2: Security
Digital storage is fantastic, and it’s very secure if you use it in the right way, but there’s still a risk involved, and there’s the chance that a cybercriminal could get into your systems and steal sensitive information and data such as banking details and customer names and addresses.
Paper documents don’t have that issue attached – as long as you keep them safe (perhaps in an actual safe, for example), they should be secure, and even if they’re not your first port of call because you want to use the digital versions, having paper copies of things is a handy backup, just in case. Technology is a wonderful thing, but it can go wrong, and if you’ve got a physical backup of the documents you need, your business shouldn’t be too disrupted if there’s a power failure or some other issue, for example.
#3: The Human Touch
What’s missing a lot of the time in today’s businesses? The answer is the human touch – we spend so much time behind screens working on digital documents and sending things to one another through the amazing technological advances we enjoy today that we can often forget that the human touch can make a big difference in terms of how much customers enjoy working with your business and standing out from the crowd.
Paper gives you the chance to add a level of personalization and engagement to things that digital processes just can’t achieve, which is why having specially printed letterheads and using them to send letters, invoices, and so on, can really help – it’s sure to make your business stand out. The same can be true of adding a handwritten note to your packaging, for example, plus other similar ideas. The point is that this kind of human touch shows attention to detail and a special kind of thoughtfulness that digital messages just can’t manage.
#4: The Law
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the law and compliance, because if you ever need to work with local law firms, you’ll find that in many industries it’s still required to keep paper records of correspondence and documents, including tax records.
You’ll often need to keep paper versions of things for a set number of years (how long depends on what it is and what it’s for, so always check as it will generally be different from regulatory body to regulatory body), and if you throw them out or shred them because you want to have a paperless office, you could get into serious trouble, including being fined, not to mention the fact that you might not have evidence to help you with other issues in the future should you need it. Contracts, tax records, and various other documents all need to exist in paper form, so make sure you’ve got what you need, just in case lawyers require them.
So, what do you think about these reasons why your business still needs paper? What is your preference and what will you be implementing at your place of work?
