HR Document Management Best Practices

Every Human Resource Department needs good documentation. HR Departments are required to maintain proper documentation of company records and employees’ files from the time they are hired until they retire. This keeps companies compliant and safe from litigation risks.

HR document management helps in managing the entire lifecycle of employee documents to ensure proper storage of required records, controlled access to documents and information, and on-time disposal of obsolete files. It also protects confidential information, boosts administrative efficiency, and helps companies to be compliant.

The HR Department deals with a significant volume of documents and it’s essential for the HR team to follow best practices for implementing a comprehensive records management program.  The keys reasons include:

• Maintaining control over the creation, growth, and accessibility of company records
• Improving efficiency and productivity of employees
• Protecting sensitive information of companies and employees
• Assisting with regulatory compliance and reducing litigation risks
• Ensuring that records are easily available

In this article, we will discuss several best practices for HR file management.

1. Determine which documents to store

The first step for the HR team is to identify and digitize all human resource documents that the company collects. Examples include recruitment documents, hiring records, legal documents, personnel files, employee medical records, training documents, and company benefits and employee handbook.

Read: Document Scanning Solutions for HR Departments

2. Systematically file HR documents

To effectively manage a high volume of files, the HR filing system should be systematic. One of the simplest ways is to categorize the files into folders and sub-folders within each employee folder. To locate documents more easily, it would be helpful to have consistent and descriptive file naming and indexing documents. Organizing and naming HR documents systematically enables employees to quickly search and access the information they need saving time and hassle. Learn how to organize digital files.

3. Determine Security Level

HR records are sensitive in nature and are protected by confidential regulations. Implement security access so that access is restricted to only authorized users. Set up a tracking system on electronic HR documents to track any employee access and activities performed on the documents.

4. Identify retention requirements and goals.

HR team should implement a retention procedure as part of their records management plan – no matter if it is for paper documents or electronic records. Without a document retention policy in place, it is impossible to manage employee documents in an efficient way and be compliant. Many a time, most organizations hold on to HR documents for legal or audit purposes. For instance, employee records are required to be retained for a year after termination. After one year, the staff can discard those documents. The record retention policy aims to reduce future risk by controlling the number of inactive records stored in the HR document management system.

Read: Benefits of Records Management

Use HR Document Management Software to implement your plan

Many of your documents and records are probably already managed in payroll or HR software. You may want to consider dedicated HR document management software to automate document creation, access, and workflow.

Docsvault is an on-premise HR document management software solution that helps HR teams to manage activities and company records from a single, centralized place. It supports features like document tracking, file access control, etc. that help secure your company’s sensitive data. Apart from HR documents like employee handbooks, training guides, and employee documents, you can also organize and manage company invoices, project proposals, fact sheets, and agreements. Employees can access their documents remotely from anywhere using a web browser and mobile app.

Docsvault also supports smart search, allowing the HR team to search and find any files, images, documents, etc. quickly and easily across all their workspaces. They can easily automate various HR processes for review and approvals with signature.

Whether you are considering how to implement an HR document management system for your company or just want to improve your current system, focusing on the basics and defining your objectives can help you succeed. Follow these recommended practices to get a good start on keeping your HR document organized and compliant.