It’s high time for paper checklists in the workplace to go digital.

Here are some examples of what checklists are used for:

• Quality inspections
• Health & Safety audits
• Incident reports
• Opening and closing checklists of stores, restaurants and physical sites
• Non-conformance reports
• Inbound / outbound inspections
• Store visits

What do all of these procedures have in common?

• First of all, they’re all essential for smooth operations, high-quality products and safe employees and customers.
• And secondly, they’re mostly still done on paper.

73% of frontline employees in industries like retail, hospitality, manufacturing and logistics still use paper forms for daily tasks, according to Global Employee Workplace Survey.

Industries like these rely on checklists, which employees use every day. The continued use of paper checklists in the workplace can have serious consequences, even if things seem fine as they are now.

Digitizing workplace checklists can have a huge impact on efficiency, employee workloads and risk exposure at an organizational level. Here are 5 reasons why you should switch from paper to digital checklists.

1. Digital checklists make employees more productive

• Time is saved. Time is wasted on ticking boxes, collecting data and manually entering data that could be spent on what really matters. For store and restaurant employees, this could mean more time with customers. For manufacturing and logistics employees, this could mean faster task completion and better productivity metrics.
• There’s more clarity for employees. Digital checklists are easier to update, so instructions and steps are clearer and easier for employees to follow and complete. Adding pictures gives checklists a more defined structure and a more logical flow.
• They’re mobile-friendly. If you use a digital checklist app, employees can complete checklists on a phone or tablet. No more carrying a clipboard everywhere or losing your pen.

2. Digital checklists are more accurate and easier to control

• Human error is less likely. Recording data by hand and then manually inputting it into Excel or another system are both very prone to human error. Even with the best intentions, distractions happen, time is tight, and sometimes we can’t read our own handwriting. With a digitized checklist, data collection and input are only done once, and the information from the field is more accurate.
• Updating procedures is simpler. Changing one question on a paper checklist means printing out new copies and distributing them to every location. And then comes the hardest part – making sure everyone uses the new version and not the old one. With digital checklists, making changes, version control and roll out are easier.
• Consistency is built in. After all, the whole point of a checklist is to make sure something is done right every time. But with paper, it’s hard to ensure that everyone is on the same page (literally). With digital checklists, and especially a digital checklist app, businesses can be sure that procedures are done consistently, wherever the checklists are used.

3. Digital checklists provide accountability

• Audit trails are clearer. After all, you want to be able to see which checklists were completed, when they were completed and who they were completed by in case of an audit, or if your business needs to show compliance with regulations. If your “paper trail” is actually on paper, it’s more like the vapor trail a 747 leaves in the sky, which quickly disappears into the air around it. Digital checklists provide a complete audit trail that you can access in a snap.
• Finding and correcting errors is faster and easier. When an error occurs, precious time is lost finding a paper checklist and figuring out who signed off on it. With digital checklists, finding out who completed the checklist is a mouse-click away. You can take action to fix the error right away. Mistakes are inevitable – but with the accountability built into digital checklists, you can find the cause of the problem faster and fix it, and that’s what counts.
• Recognizing and rewarding employees is easier. Recognition is vital in industries like manufacturing and logistics, where efficiency is key. Since employees are not office based, they may feel disconnected. Digital checklists make employees accountable – whether it’s for their outstanding productivity metrics and accuracy, or errors that need to be fixed.

4. Digital checklists open up a goldmine of data

• There’s more data to analyze. There’s a goldmine of data hidden in comments, and with paper checklists these are harder to record because they’re handwritten. And don’t forget, pictures are data too! A digital checklist platform or app that supports pictures gives business leaders a more complete picture of what’s happening in the field.
• There’s no more time-consuming data entry. Data can be accessed right away when checklists are digital. You can get all the answers you need about metrics, compliance and more, all in real-time.
• More visibility. Business units that use checklists the most tend to be places the organization doesn’t have a direct line of sight into. Data from checklists is like a telescope – leadership can use it to spot inefficiencies and provide extra support to underperforming teams and locations. If you digitize your checklists with a mobile platform like CheckYay, you can see your data in a real-time dashboard whenever and wherever you need to!

5. Digital checklists cost less than paper checklists

• No more printing costs. Not only do printing fees and ink cartridges get expensive, but so does fixing printers when they break down, which seems to happen whenever you really need them.
• No more paper storage costs. Checklists have to go somewhere once they’re completed. Buying filing cabinets and even storage space to store and archive checklists gets expensive very quickly.
• No more document disposal costs. Getting rid of paper checklists can get expensive too, especially if they contain sensitive or confidential information and need specialist disposal services.
• No more environmental costs. It’s funny how businesses include a line about thinking of the trees before printing an email, but then use stacks of paper checklists in warehouses and stores. Digital checklists are more environmentally friendly.

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Digitized checklists make life easier for employees, reduce risk and give organizations insight into areas of the business they wouldn’t have visibility into otherwise. Digitize all your checklists, processes and forms with CheckYay solution and get real-time analytics on what’s going on in the field!