3 Easy Ways for Your District to Go Green

#Leadership Read time:

There are so many enjoyable things to do at the start of a new year: spend time with family and friends, watch a movie, and eat that last piece of pie before you start your "New Year, New You" diet.

Here are some resolutions that might not be up there on your priority list, but deserve at least some consideration: 

"I will not ask my staff to print, fold, and mail W-2s."
"I will distribute my teacher contracts and hourly wage increase notifications online."
"I will rely on custom electronic forms to cut my interoffice envelope usage in half."
 
Save time, reduce costs, and go green this year by using online tools to complete some of your more tedious and expensive tasks. Move beyond "this is how we've always done it" – you'll be amazed by the results.

 
 

W-2 Forms

It's about that time of year for W-2s. If you're like most districts, your office staff are hard at work printing, folding, and mailing these forms to each employee. It's a process that is repetitive, boring, and costly – find out how much you're paying in postage costs and then multiply that out over a few years if you don't believe us. 
 
With more effective technology, this process can be dramatically simplified. By opening up an online employee portal, you can give your employees a chance to opt in to electronic W-2s instead. This satisfies compliance requirements and takes a huge chunk out of your end-of-year workload. Now, you'll only need to send paper versions to those who request them (or, by default, those who don't respond to the option at all).
 
Consider giving employees the option to request electronic W-2 forms. It’s an offer your office staff will appreciate!


 

Employee Letters 

You can also save time, money, and trees by turning to technology for other annual communications to staff. Use online employee letters to create salary notices or contract letters. Your employees can view these forms from anywhere and verify receipt electronically. They can also print the forms themselves if they prefer to keep a hard copy on hand.

 
 

Custom Forms 

Every district is different. You have plenty of unique processes, so why should you try to force all your information into cookie cutter forms?
 
With custom online forms, you don't have to be limited to the constraints of whichever technology solution you're using for a given process. You can design, build, and maintain surveys, sign-up sheets, and acknowledgement proofs. These forms can be used to track information for a wide variety of areas, from students and families to special education and Response to Intervention. If there’s a form you need, you can build it. You can also save time for your district's parents – and eliminate the need for them to stop by the office – by making custom forms accessible to them online for basic activities like enrollment and permission slips.

Do you have stacks of paper forms in drawers and closets throughout your district? Maybe it's a good time to consider throwing them out (or better yet, recycling them) and start moving those processes online. Your employees, your budget, and your environment will all be thankful you kept this particular resolution.
 
 

It’s time to make mind-numbing mailings, rigid forms, and time-consuming mailbox letters a thing of the past. Ring in a new year by saving your district time and money and going green. Paperless no longer needs to be a dream - let's make it a reality.
  


 
For an estimate of how much your district could save by going green with a new school ERP solution, check out our interactive money tree. If you're ready to get on board with the paperless movement, contact us today.


 
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