The Scan Dock: An E-BizDocs Record Management Blog

BusinessWest Online, the business journal of Western Massachusetts, recently posted an article on the impact that lowering our use of paper can have on the environment and on our workflow. You can read the article here.

Brenda Olesuk

Firm Administrator, Meyers Brothers Kalicka in Holyoke

Our industry, I’m proud to say, took this seriously a long time ago.

Our company has been paperless for years. That means a number of things. All our products — tax returns, financial statements, all those products that used to be done by hand with a ledger — are now done with software programs that have online imaging. We’re able to do all the work, and everything is PDFed and maintained in those programs.

It completely eliminates the need for inefficient file cabinets. Client documents, health and human resources materials, even marketing and office stuff can be maintained virtually.

Corey Murphy

President, First American Insurance in Chicopee

First American Insurance recently scanned and shredded 30 boxes of paper.

In our industry, we generate a tremendous amount of paper. But, like every aspect of financial services — a broad category that also includes banks and credit unions, accountants, and investment firms, among others — the insurance industry is trying to generate less of it.

All the carriers are trying to do many more transfers of information electronically, as opposed to sending us paperwork: reports, policies, things like that.

In our company, I know that the vast majority of our information is now stored electronically. There still is a significant amount of paper, though we spend a lot of our time taking the paperwork into electronic form, scanning and storing it. The insurance industry might be behind the electronic curve, but we’re trying to catch up.

Richard Kretz

Kostin, Ruffkess and Co.

There’s no question that companies need to start working on assessing their sustainability efforts. The time is drawing nearer when it will be a necessity to have at least some type of report available that outlines what your company is doing with regard to minimizing its impact on the planet and maximizing its efforts to help members of your community.

After all, helping people is what financial services are all about.