There was a time in the last decade when paperless offices were considered the wave of the future — bringing to mind the simplicity of having every document available whenever and wherever possible. While that vision is taking longer for most companies to implement than expected, human resources agencies have adopted this philosophy more quickly than other departments. Not only does going to a paperless HR department save effort when you’re looking for crucial details, but it also helps ensure that your business stays within government compliance on a variety of levels. See how moving to a more digital workflow for your human resources team can reduce the overall risk to your business and improve efficiency at the same time.
Challenges with Compliance
Even a locked filing cabinet is no real deterrent to someone who wants access to the wealth of personal information stored within your HR department. Even if employees managed to keep the information locked up at all times, there are still opportunities for employees to accidentally see something that is sensitive or confidential information. This unauthorized access to personal details can happen much easier when everything is stored in a central location online and requires a unique password before it is revealed — and even then, some of the details can be kept private even from internal staff members.
How Paperless HR Systems Can Help
Transferring information between paper benefits enrollment forms into the computer used to take a long period of time and required HR staff members to see things that should be kept private. Anytime data is being transferred between systems, there’s the possibility for missing or inaccurate information, too. Many of these concerns can be alleviated simply by allowing individual employees to manage their personal details online. This allows your organization to maintain full compliance with governmental privacy and healthcare regulations. HR professionals are not viewing the individual details of a single person. Instead, they see only the aggregated information for the entire organization that allows them to make good decisions about healthcare and benefits in the future.
Paperless HR programs have another built-in failsafe for employees that helps limit the risk and frustration that can be involved with benefits enrollment. Determining the benefits your family needs from the wide array of offerings can be quite confusing for staff members. With a digital enrollment and benefits system, they can easily see the difference between various options before making their final selections. Employees are also blocked from skipping questions or forgetting to enroll for an important benefit — something that’s all too easy to miss when you are filling out a number of printed forms.
With paperless HR powering your organization, your leadership team can help limit the overall risks to the business as well as making the benefits enrollment process easier for all involved. Getting started on this initiative couldn’t be easier when you contact us. We focus on ensuring that each employee receives the information that they need to begin their career with your organization on the right foot. You can also download our complimentary guide online: A 10-Step Checklist to Help Make Your New Employee’s First Week Great.
