Initiating an Almost 'Paper-less' Office

I work in a health care insurance industry and in this business, paper works are undeniably enormous and quite unsightly too. Though the initiative of doing 'paper-less' has been floated before, no real plans were laid out and no real participation by the management has been committed.

We all clearly say that doing 'paper-less' provides many potential benefits, and cost is one of them. Whenever people encounters challenges on implementing this program, all of a sudden they withdraw and not talk about it. True enough, it is very challenging - so this is where the fun and excitement begins!

When we talk about a 'paper-less' program, it is synonymous to using a special software to manage all paper works for distribution and storage. There are many softwares (aka Document Management Softwares - DMS) available in the market but many of which are insanely expensive and will surely make you lock-in to their service - that is something we do not want of course.

For several years, I have had the opportunity to work on several different DMS's and I would say there are many good ones out there as there are many bad ones too. One thing to consider as well is the company that makes these software and we wanted to make sure that they will still be there even after two decades of use.

What are the qualities of a good DMS?

A good DMS must atleast have the following properties:

• Easily accessible: All employees must have a ready access the uploaded documents for retrieval and review so there will be no physical distribution of documents that will eat up their desktops.
  
• Sharing: Uploaded documents must have the capability to share it with others based on the privileges provided by the owner of the document.
  
• Accountability: This is done in two ways: 1) version control to monitor all changes made by every single user and, 2) document permission to set security restrictions to every document.
  

GoogleDocs & Spreadsheet - A good way to start.

To give you an idea on how our office is setup, we have 60 plus employees both in our insurance business and medical clinics which are located in other parts of the city. Yes, papers are used a lot so my challenge here is to significantly minimize paper usage as much as possible if it cannot be remove at all. Since we are using GoogleApps platform anyway (thank goodness for that), for our email, calendar and instant messaging service; we might as well maximize all other services like using GoogleDocs & Spreadsheets as our Document Management System (DMS).

Implementation Plan

Sometimes, the only best option to make a plan like this successful is not to give your employees any other option. ;) Really! Believe me it works all the time. Below is my way of implementing an almost 'paper-less' office:

1. Make a memo to everyone concerned telling them about your plan and when it will be effective. The schedules of training, transition and implementation must be clearly stated to avoid potential conflicts in the future.
   
2. Create a simplified guideline and policy regarding this initiative. This will help the transition to paper-less easy for everyone to follow.
   
3. Provide training sessions and learning resources. Since most of the things they need to know can be found on the Internet. I provided our employees links to videos and interactive tutorials for them to study. training sessions are provided only if there are some advanced questions to be asked. Doing this saves time and effort on my part.
   
4. Remove all MS Office or Open Office applications installed on every desktop. This will ensure that all employees will be forced to use Google Docs and Spreadsheets and that these documents will be saved in Google servers.
   
5. Disallow document saving in any local hard drives or USB drives. This ensures better security and protection in cases of theft, calamity or virus attacks.
   
6. Provide regular review and feedback sessions to measure success of the project plan.
   

I have given my staff relatively three(3) weeks for the transition. With that, I think that is ample time for them to adopt to the new system.

How are you implementing yours?

Me, My beer and the Sinulog Festival.

Oh yes, it's that time of the year once again where people flock and stroll around the City 'til early morning the following day - the Sinulog Festival. Quite honestly, I have outgrown this event and wanted to stay as far as possible from loud noises and heavy traffic. However, I've got two 'jumpy' kids who are very excited to get a tattoo and watch the street dancing.

So in preparation, we got all our things packed for a sleep over at our office (Jones Avenue) so we won't need to worry about waking-up very early in the morning for the Sinulog.  We also went out for a dinner with a couple who has been my long time buddy since high school and shared a nice chat and laugh with his wife this evening.

I guess, I would probably enjoy Sinulog more if my wife isn't with me all the time. If given the chance, I would probably sit on some small bar and drink, get to know people and have a good and nice chat. Or probably sit on one corner and just watch the parade pass by and enjoy my quite time alone. But then again, it's just me wanting some time off alone sometime.

;)

The Troubled Global Economy: "In Greed We Trust"

 

The year 2008 as many of us are aware, unless you are living in some remote timbuktu, that we are in a very serious global economic crisis. Banks failing and closing down, unprecedented job losses, and fear of uncertain future is slowly becoming a reality. Many says, it stemmed from too many bad loans from the housing and banking industry thus, the credit crunch. To add more insult to injury, Bernie Madof (once called an investment guru) has successfully built the largest Ponzie scheme probably in the entire history of humankind. He made people believe that their money was safe and growing but, wasn't really there.

Fifty billion dollars, all gone by just ONE man!

With this we asked ourselves, how can a very strong economy like the US, likened to titanic in pride, strength and might; be sinking in deep, cold and lonely waters of debt? Haven't they learned from their 1929 experience or do they just have a very short memory? Complex as their economy may be to balance their worksheet, their economy will even become more sour unless people start changing their mindset about themselves - that the world does not revolve around them!

The American economy is built on the capitalist principles of buying and wanting more. For them, the seed of economic growth is not providing the needs, but feeding every individual's urge of wanting more. You wake up everyday and you see endless ads and commercials on the roads, radio, TV, internet and virtually everywhere. Capitalism has successfully found and capitalized one resource that is virtually unlimited in supply, and that is GREED!

And also because of greed, the capitalists invented a tool to suffice their endless wants - credit. People started buying on credit more than what they can pay for and splurging to their hearts desire until more credit is needed. This went on for years until the bubble has finally bursts.

Such misfortune is very embarrassing to many Americans, it simply blows their PRIDE and cannot accept the fact that they are in deep, deep trouble. To save face, they are minting more money out than ever before in the hopes it will stimulate their economy once again. The sad reality is, they are just passing the buck to their children and their grand children so they don't have to worry about it now.

If I am to put a mathematical formula on how we all got into this mess, I would simply expound it into this very simple notation:

                          (Capitalism + Greed) * Pride = Trouble

From this point forward we ask ourselves, where will it stop and when will it end? Is Capitalism the culprit of all these? Is it all the fault of Allan Greenspan? I say, this is all a case of GREED and PRIDE. Since we are all in it together, I guess it is but prudent to "grab the bull by its horns" , accept the consequences and not pass the buck to their children.

This is where I leave my message for you to reflect and understand how we can fix the problem and prevent it in the future. There is no quick and easy fix to this. So we all better brace ourselves for the very rough road ahead and pray to God for forgiveness and comfort.

7 Ways to make your employees stay without salary increase.

Often I have asked myself before why people leave their work for another and how we (as a company) can help curb this exodus without unnecessarily giving pay increases right away.
While some people I asked about the reason for leaving their old jobs says it's their low salaries many, I believe, would have rather stayed longer if only the following will be provided for them even without salary increase.

1. Additional healthcare coverage.

Though they already have their existing medicare plan, it still is insufficient and would require members to contribute a certain percentage of the total healthcare cost. Getting an add-on healthcare plan to supplement medicare provides flexibility and convenience to your employees. Providing healthcare plans shows that the company is serious about the health and well-being of their employees and their respective families as well. Many will cling-on to a company because of excellent healthcare plans.


2. Establish a compelling reason for them to stay longer.

Good employees always looks to staying to a company until they retire. One of the many things they always consider aside from healthcare privileges are: nature of business, longevity of business, its profitability and of course their boss' character. As an employer, one must give a very compelling reason for them to stay and really stick with it. This could be job security or other employee benefits. This must be clearly conveyed early and the company must not lose focus on achieving this for their employees.


3. Allocate enough 'leg room' for fun at work.

Many companies disregard this single yet most important aspect in work - fun. For many, employees must always focus and be serious at work to achieve its productivity goals. While it might be true to manufacturing companies, it is quite the opposite to the service and technology industry where I work. In my experience, providing 'leg room' for fun even promotes creativity and increased employee camaraderie. Don't be afraid to experiment and find your niche that works.


4. Give milestone perks.

Everyone wants to be recognized by the efforts and hard work they put in to their company. It is just but appropriate to give small rewards of their efforts as one form of recognition. They may not necessarily be in cash but in forms that the employee will appreciate. This may be movie tickets or a good book to name a few. This way, they will surely feel important and that they will strive to their best and stay loyal whenever possible.


5. Provide a Savings and Loan Program.

There will surely be times where your employees need to borrow some money from the company for emergency or other immediate purposes. Protect those employees from loan sharks and provide a program where they can benefit in the long run. It is particularly helpful if a company can setup or guide the employee to enroll in a cooperative or any other form of savings and loan program. This will help employees to save and earn at the same time while at work within the company.


6. Create outdoor activities for employees (and their families).

Fun should not only involve employees but all their family members as well. Provide fellowship activities among family members within the company like an outing at the park, a children's day, a family city tour and other things that everyone can get involved. This provide a very good avenue for closer camaraderie among employees and their family members.


7. Be a good leader to your employees.

Of course what a good working environment does not only involve a comfortable work place or having wonderful co-employees but also having a leader that knows how to tap the potentials of his employees and leading them to success. There are lots of qualities what a good leader should be but in my opinion, I will just include what I feel are the most important ones: 1) cool tempered, 2)understanding 3) and a model.

A message to all Americans around the globe.

Today, November 5 2008, mark a very historic day not only to Americans but to humanity as well. A moment where all of us join hands to celebrate the triumph not only of one person but to all who to fought for a real change in American politics and governance. People who fought that every single individual is important no matter what family, racial or economic background one came from - every single individual can make a difference.

I am not an American but this is what President Obama , for me, came to represent - hope, patience and equality. This changes my views on the Americans in general and the Americans of the future.

Congratulations to President Barack Obama. Congratulations to all the Americans around the globe!.

From Cebu, Philipines - we care!