Paper paper everywhere, but not a drop of efficiency to be seen.
That could be the mantra of government workers everywhere, who, in order to perform their important duties for citizens, often have to shift through mound and mounds of internal and external paperwork to get anything done. From clerks who must deal with enormous paper packets for agenda meetings to a government HR employee who’s faced with filling out dozens of sheets of paper for each new employee, most government workers are drowning in paperwork.
That’s why going paperless is such an important step for government to better do its services. A particularly good example is the city or county clerk and their agenda management packet process, as we mentioned above. Did you know a clerk can spend up to 40 hours a week JUST on these agenda packets and duties?
Going paperless can transform the job of a clerk — and almost everybody else in government. Take a look below. We charted out what a hypothetical government worker’s job looks like BEFORE going paperless — and after. (Hint: the after involves several more glasses of wine.)
| Before Paperless You May Have To… | After Going Paperless You can… |
| manually gather and schedule agenda items that exist in emails, spreadsheets and paper files. | take a hands-off approach, as an OnBase repository lets staff submit items through electronic forms and attach supporting documents. |
| run around getting reviews and input from a variety of folks – some of whom make their changes manually. | sit back as automation allows your co-workers to complete item approvals from their desktops, from within Outlook or from their smartphones and tablets. |
| stay after hours to print and collate, make last-minute changes and add ad-hoc items. | assemble agenda packets with one click. It automatically adds ordinance and resolution numbers, page numbers, placeholder pages and more. |
| spend a lot of time printing and racing around to distribute packets to all attendees. | meet green initiatives by eliminating paper-based agenda packets through electronic distribution. |
| capture the discussion, motions and votes during a meeting – which is overwhelming. | record proceedings quickly and easily with OnBase Minutes. |
| rush to create follow-up items and take all the discussions into account. | automate follow-up actions and track tabled agenda items to ensure they are brought forward for future meetings. Additions to minutes items are completed inside OnBase, so you can accurately record actions in one place. |
| compile yet another giant packet about what happened at the meeting, taking up time and paper, and figure out how to get it out. | create packages quickly and allow seamless electronic publishing and distribution. Once the minutes are completed, OnBase automates the creation of the minutes document and, with one click, it can be published online and distributed electronically. |
| stay late at work — again. | leave work on time, and can enjoy a well-deserved glass of wine with friends. |
