Growing businesses are likely to have a steady stream of new employees to onboard weekly. It’s challenging enough to catch them up to speed on the company culture and introduce them to their team. But adding in the time it takes both of you to work on the paperwork takes away from those important tasks.
Using technology, such as document management, can help you streamline the slow paperwork process so you can focus on the people.
Filling Out Forms
Onboarding paperwork can be extremely demanding for your new hires. Starting a new job can be stressful for anyone, so the paperwork shouldn’t add to that.
Intelligent document management can help you design forms that are easily fillable. For example, you can take a W-4 and indicate the spaces that require a name, SSN, address, and more. You can also indicate which fields are required so that the form cannot be submitted until every field has been completely filled out. This means that you’ll never worry about getting a half-done form again.
Providing your new employees with an eSignature platform will also simplify how they fill out forms. Using an eSignature is slightly more complicated than simply filling out a form because it comes with its own qualifications in order to be viewed as legally binding. With the right document management system, your employees can sign any form electronically with just a click of a button.
For an eSignature to be seen as legitimate, it must meet the following criteria:
- The user intended to sign
- The user consented to do business electronically
- The signature is associated with the record
- The record will not deleted
The right document management system will meet these requirements and make signing any amount of legal documents easier than ever. They will also produce a separate audit log to act as a receipt of sorts.
Collecting Documents
You may be used to letting your employees know which documents you are expecting from them. Whether they fill out the document digitally or on paper, you’ll have to take the time to collect their documents and file them in the right place.
Or you can use document management software. Using a DMS, you can use document requests for your new hires, which will notify them which forms they need to fill out. This will provide them with every document needed to complete their onboarding (with the ready-made forms to fill out) and give them a user-friendly portal to upload their documents.
You can set up your preferences to route the documents to wherever they should be filed. So they can go directly to the new hire’s personnel folder.
Are you worried that your employees might still forget one of their many documents? With document management, that worry doesn’t have to cross your mind. Your employees can receive reminders that they haven’t uploaded an important document yet. All of this can happen while you’re making plans about giving your new hires a stellar first-day experience.
Completing Employee Folders
Making sure your employee folders have all the correct paperwork filled out is extremely important to maintaining compliance. Here are some ways that document management can make that a painless process.
Using templates, you can set up your folders to contain the right document every time. With the click of a button, your new employee’s folder will be automatically filled with all of the necessary documents. This doesn’t only have to include all of their legal forms, but can also contain helpful company information like a benefits guide and company policies.
Missing item search is another piece of your document management system that will help you keep your personnel folders standardized. If an employee hasn’t uploaded one important piece of documentation, missing item search can let you know what’s missing.
Missing item search is critical to saving you from consequences like fines or penalties. For example, an employee that hasn’t proved their eligibility to work in the country could cost you thousands of dollars. It can also be useful for making sure specialized employees have updated certifications submitted.
Instead of having to go through each new hire’s personnel folder to make sure they completed their I-9, you can see who is missing it with one click. Not having to double-check each personnel folder will save your organization time and worry about legal troubles.
Automatically Sharing Completed Personnel Files
Bringing on a new hire doesn’t end with you. It’s a team effort that requires communication across multiple departments.
In this team effort, no single person needs to be in charge of sending communications to other roles to let them know the new hire has accepted the offer. You can leave it up to document management to take this on.
With automated document routing, you can set up settings for each document type as to who should be notified upon its completion. Individuals in different roles can get notified as soon as a prospective employee signs their offer letter. Imagine this.
- The marketing manager (or whoever they’ll report it to) can start preparing training materials and projects for them to start on
- The finance team can prepare for a new direct deposit form.
- The IT department can start collecting all the materials and equipment needed for the new hire.
You don’t have to pester those other departments to get their paperwork. With the right technology, that task can be completely automated.
These are just a few of the ways that document management can assist you in your onboarding efforts. Instead of thinking about sending the right paperwork to your new employee, you can focus on welcoming them and giving them an unforgettable first day experience.
Revver is an intelligent document management system that will allow you to stay focused on your employees. Explore Revver to see what a streamlined onboarding experience will look like in your department.
