Paperless Communication: Saving Trees and Your Bottom Line

Digital communication is more dynamic and efficient than traditional paper-based communication methods, aside from its environmental impacts.

Many companies are transitioning to paperless communication in order to save money and increase productivity, and are saving countless acres of natural resources in the process.

The average office employee uses an estimated 10,000 sheets of paper each year (equal to a 10-foot Douglas fir tree) which as one might imagine, puts a huge impact on the world’s tree population. So, in addition to decreasing overhead expenses, going green in your office can have a positive impact on the environment. The benefits of going paperless reach far beyond the environment, too. More than half of businesses report full ROI in less than a year after going paperless, showing that a focus on sustainability can be beneficial to your bottom line, as well.

Regardless of the area of communication in which you may still be using snail mail or print-out packets, Ving can replace your current methods and help you transition into the digital world of paperless communication today. Here are a few reasons why Ving is the tool for managers who want to know how effective they are with the information they share.

Internal Communication

You could probably wallpaper your whole office with all of the internal memos printed out and sent around in just one quarter of the year. It’s no surprise that important information gets lost in stacks upon stacks of paper. Sharing internal memos digitally can have a surprising impact on productivity and engagement, since with Ving you can know who has interacted and absorbed the information you’ve shared with them. Different situations call for different types of digital communication platforms, but you can usually follow these simple rules of thumb:

• Fewer than 6 words: Instant conversation is best through instant messaging apps like texting or Slack.

• More than a sentence, but no more than 2 paragraphs of simple text: Short burst of information without any attachments can be facilitated through email.

• Multiple paragraphs of text with attachments: More in-depth or important information that everyone needs to see is best communicated through a Ving digital packet.

Policy Changes

Changes to company policies that need to be shared with your entire organization can be communicated in minutes using digital packets. Most importantly, with Ving you know who has received and acted upon the information you’ve shared. Vings are great for company culture things, too! Having a casual Friday this week? Share a Ving with details and a fun video to let your employees know about it. Presenting it in a fun way will get everyone excited, increasing your office engagement while you can feel comfortable knowing everyone is informed on the guidelines for casual attire.

Meeting Prep

Preparing for meetings is an area that all organizations struggle with, but can be simplified with digital communication. Meetings can take up a huge chunk of your day, and are only prolonged further if employees haven’t prepared beforehand by looking at the agenda, areas of focus for the meeting, and the outline of decisions to be made. Instead of giving team members a folder with print-outs of your slide deck and notes to review before the meeting, save a tree and share it in a digital packet. Employees can review the information on any device, when it works best for them — allowing even the busiest members of your team to come prepared for the meeting.

Onboarding and Training

The process of training and onboarding new employees is truly the foundation to building a successful organization. It is important to provide employees the tools and knowledge they need to be successful and productive in their positions. Research shows that employees who go through a structured onboarding program are nearly 60% more likely to remain with the organization after three years. Since employee retention is important to your bottom line, streamlining your onboarding process for new hires is a valuable investment for success.

One benefit of having a digital onboarding process is that structure is easy to maintain and replicate for each new hire. Create a series of Ving digital packets once, and reuse them for each new employee you need to onboard. Include a company handbook, a welcome video from your CEO, and a question set for any questions they might have during onboarding.

Creating Vings for training can save you time, as well. As employees work through the Vings you’ve created for training, you can track progress in real time to quickly identify who needs personal outreach and who is ready to begin working. Over time, you’ll know what types of information your employees interact with most — making it easy for you to shape your training program for maximum engagement.

As you explore the many benefits of paperless communication within your organization, use Ving and see the difference engaging, trackable digital packets can make on your productivity and engagement.