It is of utmost importance to implement adequate document management software in order to be able to work better when most people are forced to do more with fewer resources.
Challenges for Human Resources departments
The main concerns within Human Resources (HR) departments are usually related to how the company can operate in the most efficient and effective possible way with the same or a lower number of employees, how to cut down on operating costs and how to tackle compliance with regulations. However, nowadays HR departments are also facing other challenges, since they have to perform well in a highly uncertain and strongly changing economic framework. For instance, due to currently high unemployment rates, many companies receive hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of résumés and job applications, which exerts a huge pressure on HR professionals, who are overwhelmed with so many papers and manual administrative tasks.
Besides, HR departments have to manage an increasingly scattered and mobile staff whose workplace is not a local office any more, but their home, a car, a high-speed train, another office located at the other side of the world, etc. This situation, in which flexible working conditions and telework are gaining ground, poses several challenges. For example, how can HR-related information, such as payslips, files and contracts, be distributed in a fast and secure manner? And how can companies comply with internal and legal rules and regulations in a situation like this?
Key benefits from document management software for HR
Using appropriate document management software provides Human Resources departments with clear advantages.
Fewer manual tasks and higher efficiency levels with document management
Top quality document management software for Human Resources reduces the time required to carry out a certain type of tasks, thus allowing HR professionals to focus on higher value added activities. For instance, employees themselves will be able to obtain the documents they need, e.g. payslips, evaluations, handbooks, etc. through the company’s intranet rather than HR having to find and send them this information.
This type of workflow makes it possible to circulate documents rapidly and safely throughout the organization and replaces slow processes such as sending documents by post and making photocopies.
Document management reduces costs
In business terms, time invested usually amounts to money spent. This is especially true for employees who spend most of their time performing manual administrative tasks. Therefore, automating and streamlining many of these administrative processes with adequate document management software imply a reduction in the number of resources employed and, as a result, considerable savings.
Likewise, costs can also be substantially decreased by removing the use of paper (e.g. photocopies, postal deliveries) as well as external storage facilities, which usually turn out to be especially expensive.
Document security and legal compliance
The role of HR professionals mainly consists of managing different types of data, most of which is confidential. From the publication of a job offer to contracts and dismissals, all these operations have to be accurately registered in files that must be accessible at any time. In this sense, governments throughout the world are attaching more and more importance to the type of information that should be saved, the filing period and data protection. It is precisely in these areas where document management software becomes truly indispensable.
Document management software removes the use of paper and prevents data from being modified without permission or getting lost, since documents are saved in a secure way and retrieved rapidly with a simple search and through specific security profiles that ensure documents can be accessed by authorized staff only. Additionally, each operation is registered, that is to say, audit trails are created indicating who has accessed the document, when and with what purpose.
More efficient management
In view of the current economic context, it is important to be able to access all HR-related documents such as payslips, diplomas, training courses, absenteeism records, etc. in a secure, fast and easy manner. This is essential in order to provide managers with all the information they need. In an inevitably changing business environment, the possibility of accessing all information rapidly and easily through adequate document management software contributes to making better informed decisions.
In summary
In a situation of marked and prolonged economic instability like the one we are going through nowadays, the role of HR professionals is even more demanding. In the end, they are actually the ones responsible for managing the main asset of the company: employees. As part of the efforts made in order to address HR challenges, it is vital for these professionals to have adequate document management software. This will help them broadly optimize processes, improve productivity, reduce paper and costs significantly, comply with legal regulations affecting the HR department and, in short, work in a smarter and more efficient way.
André Klein
Freelance Consultant for DocPath
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About DocPath
DocPath is a leading enterprise document software company that offers its international customers the technology that allows them to complement their ERP and implement advanced Document Output Management, Customer Communications Management and document software spooling processes.
Founded in 1993, DocPath is based in Europe, USA and Latin America and is present with its Solutions in companies around the world. Among its customers there are prestigious banks and top-tier corporations, facilitating the difficult and complex task of designing, generating and distributing their business-critical documents. DocPath keeps a strong commitment to R+D+i, an area to which it allocates a large part of its revenues, and in which lies one of the keys to its success.
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