Onboarding a new employee is costly, averaging $1,400. And there’s no guarantee that they’ll stay for long. However, companies with a structured onboarding program retain 58% of employees for at least three years.
Because paperwork consumes much of the process, a smooth system is critical. Still, 36% of HR professionals say they lack the right technology.
Sounds like a lot of paper.
Despite progress in recent years, HR remains one of the most paper-heavy departments, often lagging behind others in automating manual, time-consuming tasks. This highlights the need for a strong employee document management system—one that helps HR transition to digital and manage records efficiently.
Continue reading to learn about four characteristics that your digital-first employee document management system should have to help maximize your HR team’s effectiveness.
Many organizations have offices in multiple locations, some just across town and others across the country. Couple that with remote and hybrid work options, and it’s easy to see how paper-based systems can hinder productivity and collaboration. That’s why your employee document management system should serve as a central repository for all employee-related files, regardless of origin.
If documents aren’t born digital, your solution should make it easy to digitize paper records and ensure authorized users can access them anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
A key driver behind many digital transformation initiatives is the push for greater efficiency, and HR teams are no exception. By reducing the time spent on manual paperwork, HR can focus more on strategic initiatives and high-value work.
An effective employee document management system should support this shift by automating routine tasks. That includes automatic document indexing based on customizable metadata like document type, employee name, and other criteria. It should also streamline workflows and offer self-service tools, such as e-form creation and document uploads, empowering both employees and managers.
Your employees trust you with some of their most personal information, like their social security number, home address, and more, which must be protected with the upmost care.
Your document management software should offer flexible, granular access controls, allowing you to set permissions by role, feature, location, and individual document.
When sharing documents internally or externally, you should be able to set expiration dates and restrict actions like printing or downloading to reduce risk. For auditors, attorneys, or other temporary reviewers, the system should support secure virtual review rooms for controlled access to multiple files.
To protect sensitive information, your employee file management system should encrypt data both at rest and in transit, while maintaining a complete, document-level audit trail for full visibility and compliance.
Non-compliance with data governance regulations can lead to costly fines, legal action, and reputational harm. Your HR document management software should help protect your organization by automatically enforcing document-level retention policies and flagging incomplete or outdated files.
It should also make audits and legal discovery easier by enabling users to quickly locate and share specific documents across all employee records, without the need to search through multiple systems or physical locations.
The most effective employee document management systems do more than just store files; they actively support compliance, efficiency, and strategic HR operations.
By offering granular access controls, automating workflows, embedding governance, and simplifying audits, these systems empower HR teams to spend less time on manual tasks and more time adding real value to the organization.
As you evaluate your current tools or consider new solutions, look for these four key characteristics to ensure your system can scale with your needs, keep your data secure, and help your team stay focused on what matters most—your people.
If your HR department is transitioning from paper heavy processes to a digital solution, then consider Access Unify™. Contact us today for pricing and options.
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