The State of Optimized Organizations

81%

collect all signatures digitally

73%

have digitized all forms and documents

97%

have an initiative to eliminate paper

Digital transformation efforts at Optimized organizations flourish because they understand the many benefits of digitization. Thanks to this, it’s easier to get buy-in from all stakeholders to eliminate paper.

Discover where paper hides.

More than two-thirds of organizations in our survey have an initiative to eliminate paper. To reach this paperless future, most organizations are beginning to replace paper forms and documents with digital versions. Optimized organizations are closest to completely removing paper from the workplace, with 73% reporting all of their documents and forms are digitized.

More than two-thirds of organizations in our survey have an initiative to eliminate paper.

Optimized organizations are more likely to use digital forms and documents

All are paper-based

More than half are paper-based

More than half are digital

All are digital

What best describes the forms and documents at your organization?

Although most organizations have made great strides toward becoming fully digitized, only 15% of our total respondents have reached this ideal. Of those fully digitized, 59% have been digitized for three or more years. This means there’s a lot of catching up to do for less digitally mature organizations.

There’s been great progress in digitization across different types of workflows, but there is still a lot of room for progress. Although 76% of organizations have digitized at least half of their forms and documents, companies are still reliant on paper in some ways.

Only 15% of orgs are fully digitized, which means 85% are still being held back by Big Paper.

Companies still rely on paper in some ways

85%

use paper forms and documents to some extent

24%

rely on paper for more than half of their documents and forms

45%

collect signatures through paper documents

40%

run more than half of their workflows on paper

Where is paper still a problem? Our research shows that requiring physical signatures on documents uses the most paper. 36% of organizations we surveyed rely on wet signatures for more than half of their documentation. Respondents identified legal documents, healthcare records, insurance processing, and student documentation as workflows within their organizations that still include paper processes.

Realize the many benefits of going digital.

It’s clear that eliminating paper is a big reason organizations are choosing to go digital, but what benefits of digitization are they really seeking? The top reason organizations are using digital forms and documents is to improve efficiency.

Improving efficiency is the top reason organizations use digital forms and documents

Improve efficiency

82%

Improve security

55%

Improve customer
experience

48%

Reduce mistakes

43%

Improve employee
experience

43%

Become more
compliant

38%

Become more
competitive

24%

Other

Why does your organization use digital forms and documents?

But the most digitally mature organizations realize that moving away from paper and into digital workflows has greater benefits than simply increasing efficiency. Optimized organizations choose to invest in digitization because of its ability to improve:

Security

Customers want to know their data is easily accessible to them but secure against outside threats and vulnerabilities; digitization provides the best of both worlds.

Employee Experiences

Gen Z, the first digitally native generation, is entering the workforce and has different expectations of workplace technology.

Data Accuracy

Digitally mature organizations know time is money and realize digitization is a way to minimize manual data entry and human errors.

Customer Experience

Digitization is key to providing customers the fast, easy, on-demand service they’ve come to expect.

What automation experts say:

“Workflow automation allows teams of all shapes and sizes to truly optimize the human capital resources they have at their disposal. Effectively, an investment in automation allows you to multiply the efficacy of your most valuable resource: your people.”

Seamus Ruiz-Earle

CEO and Founder, Carabiner Group

“Digital transformation, in my mind, is first and foremost getting off of paper and making it electronic. Think about how many companies are still using paper files. If you can eliminate the need to get up, walk across the room to the file cabinet, and go through 70 pages to find a customer file, that's still an automation. It shouldn't take me 20 minutes just to go pull a file. The only place paper can go is one of three places: a desk, a file cabinet, or the trash.”

Dan Colby

Business Strategist & Technologist, Process Distillery

“You're not doing your job right if you're pushing paper back and forth. You’re digging yourself a hole by not automating what you're doing on a day-to-day basis. Some of the people we work with are so stressed out from ensuring paperwork is correct and are three months behind on their books. There are tools that can automate all that so you can start focusing on more important strategic insights, like analyzing the data or scaling and adjusting processes.”

Chase Friedman

Managing Director, Venn Technology

Prioritize eliminating paper.