Is form filling bad for business?

A good friend of mine was round for a cup of coffee today.

We were chatting about life, business, and toilets.   Long story.

He posed an interesting question: is form filling bad for business?

Our respective businesses are at different stages of development.  Mine is around two years old, a mere pup but doing well.  His is just starting out, and he is looking for his first clients. 

Our working experience and backgrounds are completely different, however where they do come together is that he has been exposed to management systems in recent times.  From his perspective and based on his experience, the demands of management systems, particularly the requirements of Health and Safety legislation, means that companies are being bogged down by the requirement to fill forms.  It's all about getting something on paper, that need to 'keep companies right'.

In some cases, he may well be correct.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Health & Safety, like Quality, and Environmental Management Systems, are not about filling out forms.  In today's age, they are all about risk and opportunity.  Risk in terms of business risk, health and safety risk, quality risk, or environmental risk, and the processes that are required to deal with these risks.

So is form filling bad for business?  Only if organizations have too many forms for the risks that exist.

Contact us if you would like to develop the bare minimum amount of paperwork for your business.