How to Implement a Secure Employee Document Management System

Human resource (HR) departments are home to countless documents containing sensitive employee information. Despite this, a recent survey found that 31% of HR professionals don’t believe their organizations maintain strong security measures for storing employee data.

With 45% of small and midsize businesses still reporting paper-based document management (and 11% reporting having no system at all), it’s not all that surprising to learn that a lot of HR teams feel they need to improve employee data security. Without a modern employee document management system with advanced security features, keeping sensitive information safe is nearly impossible.

Here, we’ll look at how to implement a secure and compliant system that follows HR document management best practices.

Key Features of a Secure Employee Document Management System

When looking to integrate a modern and secure document management system, not every solution is built the same. To ensure you’re adopting a system that meets current and future needs, you’ll want to look for the following key features.

Centralized Digital Storage

With document management systems, centralized storage is a must. Having every document located in one, easy-to-access location not only helps ensure everybody is on the same page, but also that no documents are floating around unsecured. Besides eliminating data fragmentation and the security risks surrounding that, you also gain the ability to easily search and find any documents you might need.

This search functionality benefits teams when it comes time for audits and compliance checks, thus helping employees improve everyday productivity. It also addresses the common complaint among employees with outdated systems who report spending roughly 2 hours a day simply searching for the documents and information they need.

Role-Based Access Control

Without the ability to control who sees what, the odds that a document lands in the wrong hands increase exponentially. Role-based access control solves this.

Businesses are able to implement granular permission so that specific documents can only be accessed by those with the granted roles or security clearance. Going a step further, this can also be integrated around multi-factor authentication that confirms the person attempting to access a document is in fact who they are claiming to be.

Automated Data Retention Policies

One way many businesses can find themselves in trouble from both a security and compliance standpoint is in the mismanagement of data retention. Regulation differs between industries and information types, but generally, there are certain periods of time in which you must retain information as well as dispose of old data.

With modern document management systems that follow current HR automation trends, data retention policies can be enacted, ensuring documents are securely kept and then disposed of when the proper amount of time has passed.

Encryption & Data Security Protocols

Proper encryption is necessary, not only to maintain the best security protocols, but also to meet many regulatory requirements surrounding employee data. In fact, studies have shown that lack of encryption is the primary contributor to sensitive data loss.

Using advanced encryption in conjunction with firewalls and secure backups both minimizes risks of damaging breaches and also puts your HR team in a better spot to recover in the event of data loss or a cyberattack.

Audit Trails & Reporting

Proper employee document management systems should also have audit trails and reporting features built in. Alongside maintaining an easy-to-access, centralized document storage system, being able to see when edits were made and who made them can go a long way in facilitating compliance and transparency during audits. Real-time insights and alerts incorporated in modern systems are yet another major benefit. They help flag any unauthorized or suspicious activity.

Steps to Implement a Secure Employee Document Management System

Now that you know what to look for in a secure employee document management system, let’s dive into how to properly implement one.

Step 1: Assess Your Current System

The first thing you’ll want to do is conduct a thorough evaluation of your current document management system. This will help identify gaps in areas like security, compliance, and overall organization, such as areas where documents are prone to getting lost or bottlenecked. You’ll also want to evaluate current tools and practices in place to better understand where improvements are most needed. Use the information you gather during this step to guide your decision on a new system.

Step 2: Define Security & Compliance Requirements

Clearly define security and compliance requirements for your business. Develop a list of applicable regulations that require compliance, such as GDPR, FLSA, and HIPAA. You’ll also want to establish internal policies when it comes to managing sensitive documents to minimize the risk of accidental leaks or vulnerabilities. Consider access control, user authentication, and routine reviews when determining these policies.

Step 3: Select the Right Technology

Find a system that matches your needs. In addition to the security features previously mentioned, look for an employee document management system that incorporates HR process automation, so no manual work is required to detect missing files, route documents to the appropriate parties, and send alerts to employees when document expirations are approaching. It’s also worth looking into how well a new system can integrate with existing tools, so as to minimize disruptions and encourage a seamless transition.

These features will make not only securing sensitive data easy, but ensuring compliance and improving efficiency easy, too.

Step 4: Migrate Existing Documents

Create a plan for securely migrating your current documents, both physical and digital. Ensure your plan includes a process for moving all of your documents without risking information getting lost or compromised. Also, be sure that once your documents have been migrated, the proper access and controls are already established.

Step 5: Train Your Team

While new systems can provide enhanced security and optimized document management, proper employee training is vital to a successful transition. Make sure to educate HR, IT, and leadership teams on system usage and best practices.

Step 6: Monitor & Maintain

The work isn’t done once your new system is in place. To maintain the best compliance and security standards, your team will need to conduct regular audits and system updates. Newer intelligent systems have integrated tools to help monitor and keep up with compliance and regulatory changes, so you’ll also want to continuously review any alerts as to those updates.

How MetaSource Ensures Secure Employee Document Management

As we’ve established, a key part of implementing a secure HR document management system is finding the right solution provider. MetaSource has been leading the way in digital transformation solutions for over 30 years, with proven solutions tailored for HR compliance and security.

With MetaSource’s employee document management solution, SourceHR^™, your team gets all of the key features highlighted in this article, including advanced encryption, audit trails, and secure permission settings. Because MetaSource knows every business is unique, all systems are scalable and integrate seamlessly with existing HCM tools.

Learn more about how MetaSource can protect and organize your employee documents. Schedule a consultation or read our guide on finding the right document management software.