The ability of any individual or organization to accomplish any given task or reach any desired goal is directly related to the ability to find the right information at the right time. Unfortunately, statistics show the average worker spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced information. Research shows that we never use 80 percent of the information we keep. People's fear of throwing paper away is enormous. I used to have nightmares that after one such event, someone would call with a horror story about something they threw away and later needed.
Many companies hold their own file clean-out days, and often they fail miserably.
Because management has failed to create criteria, methodology, and tools to enable and empower its employees to make decisions. Clutter is postponed decisions. Begin with your company's mission and goals. Only a small portion of the information that exists on paper today is worth converting to a computer-readable format. However, as the quantity of information received and generated by business increases, electronic storage options become more attractive.