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Human Resources, Electronic
Document Management, and Workflow: Seven Ways to Use Technology to
Maximize the Investment in Your People
The greatest asset any
organization has is its people. One of the greatest challenges is
managing them effectively and treating them in a manner that is consistent
and fair. The ability to keep detailed records, access them quickly when
they are needed, inform the right parties of important occurrences, and
enable proactive decision making is critical in daily HR processes.
Human resources managers are tasked with managing information from job
applicants, employees, and even board members, and the challenges can be
daunting. From the posting of a position through an employee’s hiring,
management, and departure, detailed information has to be provided,
collected, and available to meet organizational and regulatory
requirements. Applications, resumes, contracts, credentials, records of
disciplinary actions, reviews, union vs. non-union forms and contracts,
vacations, overtime, comp time, time off requests and productivity reports
are just the beginning.
This article will help you understand the instrumental role technology
plays in helping to eliminate paper, demonstrating ways in which
organizations can streamline processes for consistency, speed, and better
service. It will also show how technology can help you comply with
regulations by proving consistency and fairness in your interactions with
employees.
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1. Eliminating the Paper: Simplifying the Job Search
Although many organizations have made progress toward efficient job
searches by posting openings on their websites and collecting applications
electronically, this is just the first step toward efficiency. After the
cover letters, applications, resumes, letters of reference, and portfolio
information have been captured and indexed for easy storage and retrieval,
each person’s files will enter a specific process relating to their
candidacy for the relevant position. Letters requesting additional
information or appointments for interviews will be sent. In larger
organizations, copies of resumes and supporting materials will be
forwarded to other persons and departments for their review and approval
or rejection. Managerial annotations may be made to materials and then
collected and reviewed; some organizations will require signatures in
order to indicate that the person should move to the next step in the
hiring process.
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An electronic document
management (EDM) system is more than just an electronic filing cabinet
to simplify search and retrieval. By adding digital workflow to the
electronic storage repository, rules can be pre-set to initiate the
appropriate action. Paper or digital letters can be generated
automatically to indicate receipt of materials, to notify a manager that
there is a new applicant, or to forward portfolio materials for review
when they have been received. Persons who have been given the right to
annotate materials can have their notes stored as well as shared with
those who have the right to review their comments. Processes that formerly
took weeks can be streamlined significantly. Audit trails are more easily
available to show who has reviewed, annotated, or otherwise processed
materials, the manner in which they were handled, and at what time.
2. Managing the Contracts: Employee Compensation, Benefits, and
Obligations
From the date of hire, employees’ terms of employment are defined by
events: date of hire, date the vacation period renews, date the employee
is eligible for comp time or is due for a review, and more. An EDM system
can store all of this information, and it can be indexed in a way that
simplifies management of the dates and related actions that need to take
place at specific times. Digital workflow greatly enhances efficiency in
the process. It can enable pre-defined automatic alerts and emails to
inform the appropriate personnel that a specific action or review is
needed. Workflow can be instructed to automatically solicit signatures and
return signed documents to designated recipients. From time off requests
through disciplinary action and performance reviews, the right people have
secure access to the right information, and both rewarding and corrective
action can be swift.
3. Monitoring Productivity: Helping Employees to Succeed
A caring human resources team works proactively to identify deficiencies
in both their system and their employees, giving the latter the tools and
training to improve poor performance as well as the recognition to
encourage and reward strong performance. With a digital workflow system,
management can proactively identify weaknesses in routine HR procedures
(such as slow responses to job applicants or inconsistencies in granting
comp time based on rules and records). Reports make it clear who is
processing the lion’s share of work as well as who is unable to keep pace
with demands, and work can be reallocated accordingly. Management can
immediately identify systematic procedures that are ineffective, or
employees who cause slowdowns early in a process. As a result, proactive
action can be taken to transform lackluster performance into a positive
review. If training or coaching is needed, the employer has an opportunity
to provide it. Alternatively, duties can be reallocated to help the
department and individual to be more successful and productive. The high
cost of staff turnover from mismatched talents and skills—or employees who
are frustrated by deadlines they can not meet—can be avoided by
proactively analyzing processing challenges with digital workflow and its
analytical tools. Training or other necessary actions can be taken to
address concerns.
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4. Performance Evaluations: Fair is Fair No employee or
employer wants to be surprised (or to deliver unpleasant news) during a
performance review. Proactive management, good mentoring, and training
should eliminate surprises during scheduled reviews of the employee’s
performance. When an HR department conducts its routine processes using
digital workflow, management can tap into reporting tools to track the
volume, speed, type of work, and productivity of each employee with a few
clicks of a mouse. Workflow productivity reports spotlight developing
bottlenecks in decision-making and processing, and they also showcase
individuals who are top-level performers. When the time arrives for a
performance review, good performance can be proven and rewarded. Likewise,
poor performance is clear; qualitative data removes any element of doubt
and/or favoritism. |
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5. Managing Employee Files: Keeping the Details Straight
The HR world would be much easier to manage if every employee started
working on the same day of the year, received the same compensation
and benefits, and earned the same time off. Reality tells us that this
is not possible. Union versus non-union contracts and forms, overtime
hours, sick time and bereavement, jury duty, disciplinary actions,
severance, and numerous other factors make each person’s records,
needs, and rights different from the next. The details are challenging
to manage in a paper-based system. Digital recordkeeping brings
numerous benefits, eliminating the paper chase and potential lost
records, and making it possible for employees to view their own
information via the Web if they are granted access. This reduces time
spent by the HR team in searching for files, and guarantees that each
employee will be able to see as much or as little information as they
have been permitted to view. Time otherwise spent chasing information
can be reallocated to services that are more meaningful for the
company and more fulfilling for the HR staff.
Employee files that are stored electronically and linked to digital
workflow become the launch pad for a series of automated
procedures. For example, when an employee registers a time off request
or bereavement, the data entered into the system can automatically
kick off a request to the department manager or appropriate person for
approval. The electronically rendered authorization can automatically
send a request for a countersignature from HR, and the signature can
promptly send an approval email to the employee (or a denial noted on
the form can send a separate email). Incomplete forms can
automatically enter separate workflows requesting completion of the
missing data. By automating routine procedures like these, processes
that previously might have required several days can be completed in
hours, and in some cases even less. This eliminates costs and
frustration for both the employee and staff.
6. Tying It All Together: Integrating with Your Line-of-Business
Applications The key to efficient and seamless processing
is clear, concise, and timely communication between all parties who
are involved, even in a paper-based business. Integration of an EDM
system with your HR and other software applications leverages the
value of data that is already stored in these applications, avoids the
errors that occur with data re-keying and redundancy, and enables
better and faster service. EDM and workflow solutions should be able
to integrate thoroughly with the systems in which your applicant,
employee, or other internal and external HR “customer” data is stored.
Relevant data from the payroll software and HR applications can be
housed in the central EDM repository. Changes or updates to the system
can be used to initiate standard, routine processes, saving
considerable time and money, as well as efforts previously required to
chase and update information manually. |
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7. Keeping an Eye on the Vision: Following the Decision Makers and
Board Decisions The organizational vision for a company,
which is often dictated by a board of directors’ key decisions, often
transpires at board meetings. Board meeting minutes can be stored and
indexed for easy retrieval in the chosen EDM system, but again, the
system is not being used to its greatest potential unless the valuable
data stored within it is fully utilized. Digital workflow enables
management to establish rules to search for actionable events that are
identified within the meeting minutes. This data can be used to
automate reminders about upcoming deadlines, request approval on a
pre-defined document at the appropriate time, remind people of
upcoming pre-established (and indexed) meeting dates, and to meet
other needs.
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Putting the Pieces Together Even the best technology solution
depends on certain pre-existing conditions in order for it to achieve the
best possible results: a vision, project champion, detailed plan, and
resources dedicated to the project are four of the most critical. The
company management and HR department need to have—and communicate to the
EDM and workflow solution provider(s)—a clear vision of what the
organization needs to achieve; a long-term vision for the future; and a
sense of how the HR solution fits into the larger technology picture for
the enterprise. A project champion, often either the department manager or
an IT manager who understands the business needs of the HR department, has
to work closely with management, end users, and the vendors to ensure that
the requirements of each party are communicated and met. A detailed
project plan ensures that the expectations, timelines, milestones, and
measurements are clear. Equally critical, resources need to be dedicated
for adequate testing and end user training if the solution is to achieve
optimal performance. Without any of these prerequisites, the best solution
can fail unnecessarily.
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Facilitating compliance : Complying with the bevy of federal
and state human resources regulations, and keeping track of institutional
policies that stem from those regulations, can be difficult. Management
expectations that existing staff can handle increased paperwork and
reports, and staff’s knowledge that non-compliance can result in stiff
penalties, results in additional stress for HR staff. Keeping track of
HIPAA, COBRA, and specialized regulations such as the Family Medical Leave
Act (FMLA), Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Right Act (UNERRA),
and demonstrating compliance with these and other regulations on request
can be overwhelming.
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Conclusion EDM is the starting point for organizational
efficiency in today’s world, where thorough documentation is not just an
ideal, but a necessity. It enables staff to provide accurate information
quickly, at any time and from any location, and to ensure that only those
who are permitted to access and act upon sensitive data are able to do so.
Audits and demonstration of compliance with regulations are substantially
easier and less labor-intensive, and information is not lost or misfiled.
Equally important for the HR department is the availability of data to
ensure good service and fair treatment for each and every one of its
constituents—from the potential employee’s job application through hiring,
employment, and eventual departure.
Workflow is the catalyst for true efficiency, pushing the right work to
the right people at the right time. Actionable events are no longer
missed, and work is distributed according to pre-set rules that govern
organizational efficiency. Management has oversight and information to
work toward overall improvement, and to foster the optimal performance for
each employee. Staff provides better service. People are treated quickly
and fairly. Everyone wins.
For information about Optical Image Technology and the company’s
DocFinity suite if integrated workflow and document management software,
visit our website at www.docfinity.com or call us at 814-238-0038. For
more information about our human resources solution, please see our human
resources brochure at
http://www.docfinity.com/industry_solutions/pdfs/HumanResourcespdf.pdf
Contributing Writer: Laurel Sanders,
Optical Image Technology, Inc.
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