Is It Time to Upgrade Your HR Document Management System?

According to recent research, 42% of employees identify busy work as a major productivity drain, while 26% report that challenges in locating the right information significantly hinder their performance. For HR teams managing high volumes of sensitive employee documents, these statistics are particularly troubling.

Outdated HR document management systems don’t just frustrate your department. They create negative ripple effects that impact organizational efficiency, compliance, and strategic initiatives.

So, the question is: Is your HR document management system outdated and in need of an upgrade?

This blog post will help you answer that question and better understand how modern systems that incorporate automation technologies can create positive ripple effects.

Signs Your HR Document Management System Needs an Upgrade

There are several red flags that indicate your current system isn’t in line with HR document management best practices for more modern demands. The top signs that you’re working with an outdated system include:

Heavy Manual Workload

If your HR team is spending hours completing manual, document-related tasks, your file management system is likely out-of-date. Legacy HR systems require a lot of manual data input – from onboarding new hires to updating current staff documents and everything in between. These manual processes leave the door open to lost documents, slow approvals, security gaps, unhappy employees, and compliance challenges, which all lead to further inefficiency.

Compliance Risks & Audit Issues

Human resources compliance demands are constantly shifting, making it important to maintain flexible tools that help ensure current regulations are being followed. With outdated systems, compliance tools like access controls and audit tracking are typically nonexistent or – in the very least – ineffective, putting your business at serious risk of violations. If you’ve already faced compliance issues or you don’t feel like you’re adequately prepared to meet compliance demands (like 64% of HR managers), it’s time to make a change.

Lack of Integration

Having to sift through fragmented digital files is all too similar to having to sift through stacks of paper documents (a task HR document management systems are meant to eliminate but, without proper integration, don’t).

A lack of integration between systems often results in disconnected information that makes retrieving documents time-consuming and cumbersome. This idea is supported by a Forrester research study that found employees spend around 12 hours a week chasing siloed data. Document silos not only make finding the correct document a pain – they make it nearly impossible to ensure changes or updates are uniformly made across certain documents and all but eliminate the possibility for version controls. Without centralized storage, you’ll likely find yourself struggling to find what you’re looking for and wasting time while doing so.

Employee Dissatisfaction

Having inadequate HR tools is a recipe for dissatisfaction and poor morale not just in the HR department, but across your company. Outdated systems lead to a host of issues that ultimately result in a disgruntled workforce. Common issues include:

Wasted time on tasks that, if automated, would allow staff to focus on more high-level work
High turnover rate and a lack of analytics to capture feedback
Frequent delays in onboarding document distribution, benefits enrollment, and communications regarding employee complaints or concerns
Unmet new hire expectations (today’s workforce expects modern technology)

Inefficient Reporting

Without centralized employee data, advanced search capabilities, and real-time insights, it’s difficult for HR teams to make the right decisions quickly. If you struggle to gather actionable analytics, it’s likely due to an insufficient document management system.

5 Benefits of a Modern HR Document Management System

Once you’ve established that your current system isn’t cutting it, the next step is to investigate how exactly modern HR document management solutions solve current shortcomings and provide worthwhile benefits. Let’s take a look at the top five advantages:

1. Efficiency Gains Through Automation

An ideal HR document management system incorporates automation technology to boost performance. Automation tools can simplify workflows by reducing repetitive and error-prone manual tasks. Additional features such as automated approval routing and notifications also help reduce the occurrence of bottlenecks, resulting in a more efficient system (and less frustrated employees).

2. Easy Access to Documents

Scattered systems and document silos often result in wasted time and compliance risks. The solution is centralizing all of your HR documents into one location that is integrated with existing systems like HRIS, payroll, and onboarding software. By doing so, you become much better equipped to easily access the documents you’re looking for and make updates that are universally applied, ensuring everyone is working on and retrieving the most up-to-date information.

3. Improved Compliance

Modern document management systems that incorporate automated HR workflows help ensure strict adherence to current compliance standards by enforcing set protocols for retention policies, access controls, and audit trails. With automated retention policies, documents are automatically kept or disposed of as required, while access controls limit document access to only those with applicable roles. Because all documents are centralized and all parties are accessing the same documents, audit trails can clearly show what was accessed, who it was accessed by, and if any changes were made. Not to mention, automated missing document alerts help HR teams ensure all required documents are included in employee files.

4. Enhanced Decision-Making

With cohesive systems in place, HR departments gain real-time analytics and dashboards to help boost insights and decision-making abilities. This increased oversight also helps teams pinpoint bottlenecks, analyze key performance indicators, and identify other patterns that can be tracked to areas for improvement. All of these insights provide a holistic upgrade to the HR process, facilitating better tracking of employee data and compliance management.

5. Better Employee Experience

By offering user-friendly experiences that allow for quick access to employee documents and timely updates on HR processes, employee satisfaction is likely to receive a positive bump. A centralized repository allows HR staff to more efficiently manage onboarding files, performance reviews, and other employee documents. This, in turn, simplifies processes and gives employees more time to focus on value-adding work.

SourceHR^™ An All-in-One Solution

By now, the picture should be clearer as to what your current system is lacking and how modern systems can help bolster your HR document management. SourceHR^™ is one such solution that provides all of the aforementioned benefits, setting you up for the best results.

Rather than using fragmented systems, SourceHR^™ provides an all-in-one HR document management solution that addresses all of the challenges that come with outdated systems. This is accomplished through the following:

A Centralized Document Repository: Store, organize, and access all of your HR documents in one place, increasing the ease with which documents can be located.
Document Conversion and E-Signatures: Easily convert physical documents into digital formats and streamline signing processes.
Seamless Integration Capabilities: Effortlessly connect your HR document management system with HRIS, payroll systems, and other tools to eliminate data silos and promote a more cohesive operation.
Automated Compliance Management: Ensure document retention, access control, and easy audit tracking with built-in compliance features so that everyone is on the same page and up to date with the latest requirements.
Real-Time Reporting and Analytics: Access HR analytics – from file status updates to employee performance and compliance tracking – via real-time reporting and dashboards that enhance insights and decision-making.
Streamlined Employee Experience: Minimize frustrations and foster a better employee experience with expedited cycle times, fewer delays, and easy access to employee files.

Streamlining your HR document processes is all about implementing the right solution that can be tailored to meet your unique needs. By providing all of the key features to meet the challenges of modern HR needs, SourceHR™ sets your department up for success today, tomorrow, and well into the future.

Empowering HR Teams for a Successful Future

When upgrading your HR document management system, remember to look for a solution that can properly tackle efficiency improvements, scalability needs, and compliance adherence in today’s landscape.

Ready to take the next step? Book a demo to see how an all-in-one solution can transform your human resources operations.

Not quite ready to adopt a new system? Check out our HR Document Management Playbook for more information on how you can streamline operations and achieve compliance excellence.