10 Ways Electronic Signatures Can Maximize Your HR Department

For those who work in HR departments, not only are the days busy but the work is essential to the company running smoothly. You could say that human resource professionals are the backbone of any company – without them, necessary employment maintenance would be impossible.

These days, the landscape of HR management is changing. As a result of the 2020 pandemic, and because of improvements in technological resources available, companies are changing how they’re hiring, where they are hiring, and who they are hiring. Not only are hiring and employment processes different, but the digitizing of general business operations is increasing to allow for more effective company growth and fluidity. This means that HR professionals need to change certain standard procedures to maintain effectiveness and progress.

One of the most popular ways HR departments are advancing and improving technologically is through the use of digital documents and electronic signatures. Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most important and standard HR processes that can benefit from the use and implementation of eSigning.

With more companies branching out and hiring non-local employees for remote work employees, effective ways to manage digital hiring documents have become more important than ever. By using electronic signatures, HR staff and hiring managers can quickly email and obtain signed employment applications, along with required attachments of drivers licenses, social security cards, and more.

HR managers are increasingly choosing to simplify new employee onboarding processes by digitizing the paperwork and utilizing electronic signatures for completion. Send important documents, such as W-4 forms, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), direct deposit forms, and more to employees anywhere they are and receive back faster. By marking fields mandatory and customizing instruction, HR departments can also ensure a reduction in errors and missing information.

Coordinating employee benefits enrollments can be a large task for any HR department, no matter the size. Not only is there a lot of pertinent information to be collected, but timely vendor submission and coordination must be done. By implementing eSigning into the process, health insurance plans, retirement benefits, and life insurance can be quickly and more effectively completed and in place. Quickly and easily collect completed registration forms, collect required documents, and send to vendors for processing – all while ensuring security and privacy.

Keep things running smoothly by obtaining updated employee contracts on schedule at their time of renewal. Save time by utilizing contract templates, personalizing employee information, and sending for approval signatures. When complete, securely store in your Foxit eSign library, print for physicial filing, upload to your company file servers, or upload to your preferred cloud server for easy access later.

Distributing employee training documents, collecting signatures on company handbooks, and ensuring employee procedural acknowledgements has never been easier or quicker than with electronic signatures. Send training documents directly to employees, embed signature forms directly onto training sites, and store signed handbook acknowledgments digitally for easy access when needed.

Conduct management may not be the best part of an HR manager’s day, but it’s necessary. When employee conduct reports, meetings, warnings, or consequences must be provided, electronically signed digital documents allow the process to be handled quickly, discreetly, and from any location with ease.

Firing and laying off employees is never fun, but when it must be completed, HR managers can streamline the process by using electronic signatures. Conduct exit interviews digitally, provide severance package information, and coordinate COBRA health benefits remotely or in person for employees leaving your company.

While payroll may not always fall directly within each company’s HR department, payroll processes are closely related to HR processes. Salary changes, bonus dispersals, and updated IRS form collections and withholdings are made easier, faster, and more accurate when eSigning is involved. Ensure employee compensations and tax payments run smoothly by sending and collecting documents easily and securely on time, every time.

A large part of an HR department’s responsibility is legal compliance. To maintain legal and labor compliance, HR departments must keep employees updated on relevant Federal and local laws and changes, as well as ensuring applicable company policies can be implemented and employees notified. By digitizing processes, where allowed by law, HR departments can ensure employees are notified on schedule and that notification receipts are collected, allowing for smoother compliance audits.

When company employees need to schedule personal or medical leave, apply for disability, coordinate applications for childcare programs, or apply for government subsidies or relief, many of these processes can be simplified and made faster by utilizing digital forms and electronic signatures. Many government programs will allow paperwork to be signed and transmitted electronically for faster approvals. Check with local state and federal guidelines to ensure requirements are met.