Storing paper-based employee records is simply not cost-effective for organizations. A recent McKinsey study found companies that underwent a digital transformation and digitized their business processes are 20-50% more likely to generate economic gains. Not only are paper HR documents inefficient and costly, but not having easy access to these critical files because they’re misplaced in filing cabinets or stored off site makes it inevitable for HR departments to get into trouble should there be a lawsuit or an audit. Here are some tips to digitize your HR files:
How E-Forms Benefit Your Organization
When it comes to hiring new employees, e-forms are much more efficient to work with instead of using paper-based forms. An e-form is a customizable digital version of a paper form. They can be filled out and entered into your system much more quickly because they can automatically format, calculate, look up, and validate information. Additionally, with digital signatures, e-forms can be sent via email, significantly reducing approval cycle times. By using e-forms you reduce waste, increase productivity by saving your employees time, decrease the amount of space needed to store files, and ultimately increase your overall business profitability.
With e-forms you never have to be concerned about your employees filling out the wrong document. You can create a single e-form for each position and applicants will only be able to fill out the appropriate form to which they’re applying. Additionally, they can be customized to your organization’s individual needs. Here are a few ways in which you can implement them into your processes:
- E-forms can be automatically routed to HR for the application review process
- Data from e-forms can be automatically imported into your company’s payroll system when a new employee is hired
- E-forms can be uploaded directly to your document management software, where they can be easily searched for and retrieved at any point in the future
- And e-forms eliminate the need for manual data entry, saving employees’ time and avoiding costly human error
Scanning Documents Makes Workflows More Efficient
A study by Gartner found that 87% of senior business leaders say digitalization is a priority. With the new normal, cloud-based collaboration on digital platforms as well as cloud-based file storage are the keys to maintaining business continuity. Whether your employees are working from the office or remotely, making files easily accessible across your organization provides your staff members with necessary flexibility. This ensures employees can continue working from any location without the risk of not having access to paper-based documents that may have been forgotten at the office.
Scanning and storing documents electronically not only eases workflow and increases productivity, but also saves your business storage costs. By storing employee applications and other documents in a safe and secure cloud-based environment you are ensuring business continuity and protecting your organization in the case of litigation.
How Paper-Based Documents May Put Your Organization at Risk
With paper documents, preparing for a trial is significantly more difficult and costly. According to attorney Brad Nakase, an employer may expect to spend up to $250,000 by taking a case to trial. Paper-based legal documents make it harder to collect all the necessary proof documents, which can be problematic if you’re in the midst of a legal process.
Not providing required proof documents can become a threat to your business if you’re struggling to find old documents that have been misplaced and have to meet a deadline. Meeting court deadlines can become even more complicated if these documents are stored in an offsite location, and could lead to significant compliance risks as well as fines.
By digitizing employee applications you minimize this risk. Using a document management system, to store your organization’s documents, files are indexed and easy to find in case of a legal dispute. If your lawyers have to spend hours searching for the right documents at their high hourly rate, this can come at a significant cost to your business that could have been avoided using well-organized, digitized documents. By emailing these files to the appropriate parties in a digital version, compliance can be easily met. This not only helps with compliance and increases your chances of a favorable legal outcome, but makes the process much more efficient.
Why More Companies Are Using Document Scanning and E-Forms
By having digital access to your employee records, you can easily locate documents and increase security with the help of document management software. Partnering with a BPO service that offers a safe way to store HR documents and integrates with your existing HR system, enables you to streamline and manage new employee applications. That’s why companies like UKG, a global leader in human resource service delivery and workforce management, chose MetaSource as their North American document scanning partner. MetaSource has provided UKG with high-quality BPO services with file scanning, file organization with tagging, and uploading millions of employee documents onto UKG’s human resource platform.
With over 30 years of experience in high-volume document scanning, document management and workflow automation, MetaSource is a global leader in digital transformation and can be incorporated into your current HR software. As a SOC 2 Type 2 certified and HIPAA compliant company, our processes are audited annually by a third party, ensuring service quality and document security.
Contact MetaSource to find out how to easily implement document management software into your company’s processes or read Document Scanning & Workflow Automation & How it Pays for Itself to learn more about how scanning your documents pays off in the long-term.