December 20, 2022
Companies waste hours upon hours searching for, scanning, and refiling their employee documents. Even if they use software and tools like Excel, the process is still immensely manual and redundant, leading to duplicate data and isolated repositories. It's time to move beyond the constraints of paper or manual data-entry work in HR.
Capturing and storing employee data in an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system is hands down the best way to cut down on the administrative burden and compliance preparation. ECM systems can give much-needed hours back to Human Resources teams to focus on the priorities that truly matter while giving tangible benefits like reduced costs, time, and risk factors.
In fact, modern ECM solutions can help HR teams eliminate both paper and cumbersome spreadsheets by giving them the ability to key in data through electronic forms. These forms come with capabilities to control required fields, perform calculations, and validate data as needed, ensuring data completeness from the beginning. All entered data can also be automatically populated in connected documents and files, speeding up HR processes while eliminating human errors.
Enterprise Content Management platforms can do way more than that. Here are 5 ways an ECM solution can help HR departments.
Natural disasters can be a major threat to an organization's resources, potentially compromising valuable documents and sensitive information. Traditional methods of storing this information on paper or the computers of the HR team leave organizations vulnerable to such threats.
An Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system offers a solution by providing a central, secure platform for storing and managing important documents and data. With ECM, organizations can duplicate copies of their information and store them on off-site servers, ensuring that their data is protected in the event of a disaster. ECM also provides access to information via a secure web interface, allowing organizations to continue functioning even if their on-premises systems are offline.
For added protection, organizations can choose a cloud-based ECM system, which allows for uninterrupted access to information regardless of physical location. This ensures that organizations can continue to operate, even if they need to evacuate their premises.
Receiving an audit letter can create a chaotic atmosphere in any company as it scrambles to locate the records demanded by auditors. Without adequate preparation, manually searching through files and collecting information for auditors can consume a large portion of HR staff's precious time that could be spent elsewhere, such as helping employees with their career goals.
By deploying an enterprise content management system, the stress of an audit can be greatly reduced. This system provides rapid file search, retrieval, and report generation capabilities. It is even possible to use the system to spot missing documents, such as I-9s for all employees in the system, and subsequently remedy the situation. The most advanced ECM systems even allow auditors to access the required information online directly, thus saving time for all involved.
During the past decade, there has been a surge in I-9 audits, with numbers increasing by a staggering 100,000 percent. Needless to say, it is essential to be prepared. To meet the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) standards for document storage, a detail-oriented index of all data must be created, allowing both your company and the auditors to swiftly access any record. Controls should be implemented to detect and prevent any unauthorized creation, change, or deletion of an I-9 form.
The use of an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system can support your company in adhering to USCIC guidelines and avoid the costly fines resulting from out-of-date documents and errors. By using reporting tools of an ECM system, HR teams can ascertain what information is available and missing. Combined with archival and retention policy settings, documents that are no longer required can be removed automatically.
Organizations of all sizes save hundreds of thousands of documents containing delicate staff details. Keeping this information in paper or localized documents such as Excel or Word files creates a significant security hazard to the organization and its personnel.
An enterprise content management system can provide an extra level of security for employee records by letting you regulate who in the HR team can and cannot gain access. Access control features give organizations the capacity to allocate permissions by role or function, including what types of files and folders employees can view, make, and update. Document history features supply a reviewable audit trail of activity on each document, ensuring no changes can happen without any oversight.
Organizations are often unable to keep track of their corporate policy and procedure information when it is stored on individual computers or network folders. This can make distributing information to new and existing staff members challenging, and it is difficult to monitor which documents have been read and signed by employees. An enterprise content management system can effectively address these issues. Such systems have built-in document acknowledgment features which allow you to identify employees who have read the policy documents. Automatic notifications can be configured to be sent out using workflow management capabilities in modern ECM solutions so that all relevant parties will be in the loop when changes to policies and procedures happen.
Using an ECM system for such tasks enables HR departments to focus on higher-value activities rather than worrying about renewing certifications, training, and other important matters. If you need to enhance efficiency, security, and compliance, then investing in a suitable ECM system for your HR department is essential.
Implementing a modern ECM solution does not have to be a daunting undertaking. Helix International has over 30 years of experience and track record in implementing Enterprise Content Management solutions for Fortune 500 enterprises. With over 80+ ECM developers and data engineers around the world, we have the experience and expertise to deliver any ECM-related projects with a 100% success rate.
Reach out to Helix International to give superpowers to your HR department.
Massive savings in storage and compute costs. Our 500+ enterprise customers often cut their cloud bill in half or shut down entire data centers after implementing our solutions
