Paperless Booms as Gen Z Enters the Workforce

It’s the same story every generation – the workforce is hesitant and gradual in understanding the young people who will soon inherit all of its problems. For all the criticism heaped upon Generations Y and Z (those born in the 1980’s and 90’s) for their absorption in the digital age, a number of positive developments have emerged from their ever-growing presence in the job market. These groups are enthusiastic about electronic workflow and digital productivity, and this desire will undoubtedly empower paperless document management in the workplace in the coming years.

Human Resource Executive Online’s Mark McGraw reported on the growing trends in young job applicants, from their digitally managed resumes to the everyday integration of social media into their routine workflow. McGraw detailed the projected increase of Generation Z as a presence in the workplace, and estimates that it will rise from 7 to 30 percent inside of the next five years. For older generations, that will mean adapting to social uses of the Internet, document management software, and a ‘personalized’ approach to getting the job done.

Some businesses have already been confronted by younger employees eager for change. Claire Dunn reported on the Australian, family-owned business The Excel Group for The Age, and detailed how the company was revolutionized by Generation Y member Sonny Saini pushing for a paperless work environment. The proposal to switch to document management software would save the company money, reduce risk of lost information and cut the time it would take to make a client happy, but was initially met with uncertainty from The Excel Group’s Baby Boomer CEO.

“Conceptually, dad agreed but when implementation blew out…there were some tense moments,” Saini explained to The Age. Four years later, the office is completely paperless and has increased the electronic workflow of the business as a whole.

Though some employers remain wary of a generation that was raised alongside developing computer technology, the invasion of Generation Z into the workplace is inevitable, and businesses can begin preparing for the switch and improve the security of their own materials by implementing paperless document management as their younger peers already have.

“If, as an HR team, you’ve been out of touch with college-age students, then you’re missing something. The way they work is different,” Audrey Boone Tillman, executive VP of corporate services at Aflac told Human Resource Executive Online.

If these trends are any indication, electronic document imaging will soon not just be a financially smart business choice, but a necessity.