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Electronic signature tips for HR professionals

The way we do business has changed. As brick-and-mortar offices become less and less important, HR is evolving to adapt to our increasingly mobile workplaces. These changes present new challenges for HR professionals, who have to find ways to continue to work efficiently when employees might be scattered across town—or across the country. One tool that is making the lives of talent managers and CHROs easier is electronic signatures. Read on to learn how e-signatures simplify and streamline human resource workflows at every stage of employment, from recruitment to dismissal.

Human resources: a mission-critical department

In most businesses, human resources is one of the most important departments. Without employees, you can’t serve your customers, and without HR, you can’t manage your employees.

Human resource professionals have to be excellent record keepers, and the transition to virtual offices hasn’t changed that. Every stage of an employee’s journey at a company is meticulously recorded, from their initial application and interview on to performance evaluations and training until, eventually, the employee and the company part ways.

Given the painstaking procedures involved in hiring and managing a workforce, it’s no wonder that the result is a mountain of paperwork and a labyrinth of filing cabinets.

Time and money down the drain

Traditional HR workflows involve both hard and soft costs that can really add up. Lost hours mean lost productivity, and lost productivity means lost revenue. The solution: work smarter, not harder, with electronic signatures. Case in point: in the past, it could take days or even weeks to collect handwritten signatures, especially at medium- to large-sized companies with dozens or more employees.

Now think about all the ways streamlining HR workflows with e-signatures could save your company. No more paper, no more printers, no more filing cabinets, plus hundreds of hours of regained productivity.

The eZsign difference

eZsign signatures aren’t just pictures attached to documents. They are secure, legal signatures that will stand up in court and are backed by internationally recognized electronic signature regulations and standards. With eZsign, you’re not just covering your bases, you’re protecting yourself in the event of an employment dispute, which could cost your company thousands of dollars.

eZsign is Canada’s very own electronic signature solution and is a completely bilingual application. No matter what your office’s working language or the preferred language of your employees, you get the linguistic support you need to do business seamlessly in both English and in French.

Are you curious about just how much e-signatures can improve traditional HR workflows? Let’s look at a few examples below.

Streamline recruitment with e-signatures

There is no shortage of documents for new hires to read and sign. Even just a couple of years ago, new employees would receive onboarding packets an inch thick, with dozens of pages to sign and return during multi-day, in-person orientations. In our increasingly remote workplaces, it is not uncommon for new hires to complete the onboarding process and start working without ever shaking hands with their manager. 

If you can’t meet in person, how are you getting signatures on your essential HR documents?

With e-signatures, onboarding no longer has to be an ordeal:

  • Create reusable digital new hire packets with employment agreements, TD1s, NDAs, and employee handbooks that can be signed in just a few clicks—no more printing, mailing, waiting, or filing required
  • Receive a daily digest listing all pending signatures
  • Download all signed documents to employees’ files and enjoy the peace of mind knowing a secure backup is being stored according to the highest security standards

Simplify performance reviews

Continuous employee feedback, formalized in quarterly or annual performance evaluations, is a reality at most companies. Imagine what you could do without the stress of keeping track of paper performance reviews:

  • Review digital performance documents together with employees on a computer or mobile device and write comments in the document as needed
  • Sign evaluations together in person or remotely, on any screen
  • Signed documents are immediately saved without scanning or printing

Paperless signing makes training a breeze

Continuous professional development and training are key aspects of efficient workplaces and fulfilling careers. E-signatures can make employee training and recordkeeping even easier:

  • Digital attendance sheets for attendees to confirm participation using a mobile device
  • Trainers certify successful completion by electronically signing certificates of participation

Even more ways to use e-signatures in HR

The possibilities for e-signatures to make HR professionals’ lives easier are endless. If you’re still using traditional wet signatures for any of the following, think of how much easier it would be to use electronic ones instead:

  • PTO requests
  • Receipts and reimbursement requests
  • Approvals for major expenses, work travel, and bonuses
  • Offboarding process
  • And more…

Electronic signatures take the typical hassle out of these important but routine tasks, freeing up time for more value-added work.

Ready to improve your workflows?

Imagine never having to print and sign a single HR document ever again and instead signing everything with just a few clicks of your mouse. It’s possible, and we’d like to show you how. As our workplaces become more mobile, so too will HR management. Businesses across the country are harnessing the benefits of electronic signatures. Make sure your department is, too.

If you’re ready to see how eZsign will drastically improve your HR workflows, sign up for our free 30-day Individual trial or contact us to discuss Enterprise account options for your whole team.

While e-signatures are nothing new, those who are used to traditional paper signatures might not be familiar with how they work. So, how do you sign documents electronically? Read on for a step-by-step explanation of how e-signing sessions typically work and what these steps look like in eZsign.

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