Traditional paper-based processes have been a staple in the workplace for centuries now, as the paper is used for a variety of tasks such as filing, managing documents, signing contracts and more. However, in today’s fast-paced world, these manual processes can now be ineffective and time-consuming.

DocuSign research reveals that employees spend an average of three hours per contract – storing and managing documents. Paper-based processes are also costly, as the costs associated with printing, sending, and storing documents can add up to an average of US$36 per agreement.

In today’s ever-evolving world, organisations are going through a rapid shift in the way they work. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about an unexpected and accelerated shift to remote work protocols, shaking up traditional workflows and amplifying existing inefficiencies.

This has spurred businesses to adopt digital workflows and negate the need for paper-based processes. The pandemic proved that we don’t need paper to get work done – so why are some businesses still holding on to cumbersome paper? What if there was a better way to work?

Here are three reasons why you should ditch paper and make the switch.

Paperless productivity: Faster business, money saved

One advantage that was brought about by the forced transition to digital due to the pandemic is productivity gains. Setting up a digital agreement with e-signature software takes far less time than the traditional method of printing, gathering all parties to sign pen-to-paper and filing documents away in a physical cabinet.

Not to mention, businesses can eliminate most stationary costs and reduce the frequency of manual tasks – saying goodbye to fixing printer jams and sorting through mountains of paper.

Capital C Corporation is a case in point. By using DocuSign’s integration with SingPass to verify client credentials and speed up loan processes, the company managed to reduce its average time to process, sign and approve a loan from two days to four hours.

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Given the fast pace of the financial services industry, this is critical. Relationship managers can devote more time to client services because of the time saved, allowing the company to more than double its business loan volume since implementation.

Against the backdrop of the shift to hybrid work, a seamless digital ecosystem will also enhance usability and enable greater collaboration among your employees. For example, DocuSign’s integration for Slack allows employees to navigate the full agreement process right from within Slack. This entails pulling up documents for signature to multiple recipients directly where teamwork occurs – no switching apps, no time wasted, and no productivity lost.

Round-the-clock security for greater peace of mind

Paper-based agreements are highly susceptible to human error as documents must physically pass through several people before reaching the intended recipient. For example, an employee can mistakenly leave a sensitive document out in the open or improperly dispose of a paper that can cause a data leak. Furthermore, data stored in these papers are vulnerable to forgery and tampering.

With e-signatures, organisations can have the assurance that their data is secure. E-signature technology is usually supported with multiple layers of security that make them difficult to tamper with, such as authentication methods like SMS or ID verification. Other security processes include tamper-evident seals and certification of completion, which provide information like the associated IP address, timestamp and name of the signer recorded.

As we’ve seen with customers, there is also an excellent opportunity to maintain transparency and greater control over various workflows. This is due to the audit trail that e-signatures typically have, which records when and where a document was signed, as well as by whom.

High security is a necessity for businesses as it reduces compensation, liabilities, and other legal expenses that a company might incur. More importantly, it improves the customer service journey, and customers can rely on your company to collect and securely store their data.

Greener processes for a cleaner future

The lifecycle of paper is not only eating at business productivity but also damaging the environment. As the paper is the fifth largest consumer of energy in the world, it takes a whopping 10 litres of water to make just one piece of regular A4 paper.

By switching to digital solutions, DocuSign customers have collectively saved over 55.8 billion sheets of paper, 5.9 billion gallons of water and over 326 million pounds of waste. Since implementing DocuSign’s eSignature and Sign with Singpass, Capital C Corporation has effectively removed 95 per cent of its physical document handling costs – drastically reducing its paper footprint and, consequently, overall environmental impact.

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Now more than ever, consumers are increasingly eco-conscious. A recent PwC survey found that half of all global consumers surveyed have become more conscious of their impact on the environment, which is why businesses should take steps to work towards cultivating responsible operations by digitalising their processes.

Driving digitalisation efforts

All industries can gain a competitive advantage by doing away with paper and digitising. One of the simplest steps to take is to transition from paper-based processes to more cost-effective digital solutions such as e-signatures.

Simply by signing electronically, companies can improve operational efficiency and drive business outcomes, making it an all-around valuable workplace tool. I hope that more traditional businesses use this opportunity to start digitalising their business.

This way, we also eliminate paper – and much of the work – from paperwork.

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