Government agencies rapidly devising paperless strategies

A multitude of government agencies are devising ways to go paperless to boost efficiency and cut spending so that investments can be allocated for more useful purposes. As these departments seek to make information more easily available to workers and citizens, electronic document management systems are a viable solution for enabling these initiatives.

The Sacramento Bee reported that California's human resources headquarters in the capital of Sacramento has been looking to leverage the latest digital technologies to improve HR processes. Although California already has an online job system, the state's mission has been to make all applications, tests and notices completely paperless. According to the news source, California's online job portal still isn't entirely user-friendly, either. For example, while the words "attorney" and "custodian" will produce job listings, "lawyer" or "janitor" will not generate any results. In order to address this, CalHR spokeswoman Pat McConahay explained that the new document management system will take the process paperless and make it more searchable and usable.

In an announcement for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Tonya Schreiber, deputy assistant administrator, reported that other organizations across the government are seeing the benefits to modernizing processes and information management solutions. She revealed that in an effort to enhance current business practices, FEMA is participating in these initiatives.

"If we continue to use systems that are mostly paper-based and rely on outdated technology, FEMA will not inherit all the benefits that could accompany the FEMA Workplace Transformation," she stated."

Vast improvements
Schreiber cited the U.S. Veteran's Administration (VA) as another department that has utilized electronic systems for compensation and pension processing. She explained that this transition has allowed the VA to more flexibly meet client needs and improve quality of service. FEMA's modernization project has a dedicated workgroup comprised of members who have been tasked to examine current paper-based systems and determine strategies for converting them into digital processes. The objectives for these efforts, according to Schreiber, are to reduce redundancy, create electronic workflow systems and eventually make FEMA into an entirely paperless environment. Ultimately, these efforts are part of a larger goal to make FEMA a "mission-centric mobile workplace." Schreiber pointed out that this transition will also enable employees to gain more timely reimbursement through electronic signatures that eliminate the need to print, sign and scan travel vouchers.

By embracing new digital technologies to manage and process information, enterprises can accelerate productivity while also providing enhanced services to customers and members.

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