How can schools improve their paperless processes?
Over the past several years, many schools have moved to make at least some aspects of their day-to-day operations paperless – whether in the classroom or behind the scenes. The good news is that this can lead to greater efficiency and fewer costs, which is vital as teachers see more demands on their time and administrators deal with tightening budgets.
However, more can often be done to squeeze additional efficacy out of paperless adoption. One way for decision-makers to start this process is ensuring there is buy-in on the processes' proper use throughout the school or system, according to School Leaders Now. When everyone is in the right mindset to put document management software and scanning services to their best possible use, it will be far more likely for all involved to push these platforms in the right direction.
Taking the next step
If everyone seems to be generally on board with such a platform and using it regularly, it might also be wise for administrators to solicit suggestions from teachers and other platform users to see if there are ways to further improve implementation and efficiency, the report said. That level of collaboration, understanding and insight can go a long way toward boosting the return on the investment schools have already made, and inform better decisions about investment in the future.
Where to focus
Other issues that can sometimes arise when dealing with these hurdles include addressing the security of such platforms and increasing the sustainability of administrative processes, according to Weduc. When decision-makers are taking a hard look at what they can do to make sure they're getting the most out of document management platforms and other paperless processes, these might be areas where they can focus in particular.
Taking a holistic view of what works with current document scanning and management strategies and what doesn't will often pay off for any administrators who put in the right effort. Being able to better understand all the inputs and outputs of such a platform helps ensure better decision-making that boosts ROI and internal efficiency on an ongoing basis.
