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Category Archives: Human Resources

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What Goes into Manual HR Onboarding?

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.

Taking on new employees in any industry is a huge undertaking. An immense amount of paperwork is needed to comply with industry and governmental regulations, which means that for each employee, that paperwork needs to be printed, filled out, and collected. Between collecting this information and entering it into your company filing system, you’re talking about several days or often weeks before all of this processing is done, and this doesn’t include fixing the mistakes that come with manual onboarding and processing.

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Managing Your Files with an HR Workflow

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.

With each new employee comes a new, weighty file full of their personal records and hiring documents. The longer the employee is at the company, the bigger this file grows and the more space it takes up. If one of the documents within the file needs to be referenced, an HR employee has to go through that individual’s entire file to find that one piece of paper, which takes up time.

Onboarding each employee is a whole other story, and it involves a huge amount of paperwork that needs to be filled out, collected, and filed away. Just a few examples of necessary paperwork are medical records, banking information, emergency contact information, W-4s, I-9s, handbooks, job descriptions, references, and more. All of this information needs to be completed by the employee, and then processed.

Paper processes are simply too tedious and inefficient, but fortunately, an automated workflow easily solves all of the issues that paper presents. With an automated workflow and digitized records, employees can fill out this information using E-forms, or electronic forms, that eliminates the need to process paper. E-forms can be completed on computers, tablets, or even phones, and immediately integrated into the workflow.

Following completion, that paperwork enters the workflow. This means that all of the information that would normally have to be passed from desk to desk to be approved or entered into the system can be received and approved electronically. With less paper and less of the manual data entry that comes with the typical onboarding process, there will be less human error. Mistakes caused by human error cost your company valuable time and money. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology is used to extract the data from E-forms and other digitized documents, eliminating the need for staff to enter important data by hand.

Besides onboarding documents, other processes that can be automated or put into a workflow (or both) include timesheets and leave requests. Employees can submit their timesheets as they are being pushed through the workflow for eventual approval, and automatically receiving those timesheets makes it easy for your department when it comes time for payroll. Employees can fill out leave requests using E-forms, and that information can be sent to be approved automatically.

It’s not just your department that will benefit from an automated workflow—your employees will benefit, and your customers will, too. With all-around quicker processes, faster access to files, and an easier onboarding process, everyone is happy, and better yet, they are able to focus on other things within their department that could use some work. You will quickly be able to see the benefits of automation throughout your entire company. Call Datamation (630) 321-0601 today to discuss the perfect plan for your company’s needs.

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2018-04-25 00:00:00

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Are You Maintaining Compliance?

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.

One of the many roles of the Human Resource department in your company is to ensure that compliance is being maintained. Complying with local, state, and federal laws is vital to protecting your organization, especially during lawsuits and investigations. Many of these regulations entail keeping certain employee records on hand for a specified amount of time, even if that employee has retired or has been terminated. As more employees leave the company for one reason or another, in addition to those who stay, the number of paper documents that must be on hand just gets bigger and bigger. How do you know what to throw out, and when?

A good example of one such document is an I-9 form. These forms serve as a record that verifies both the employees identity and their authorization to work in the United States. It is recommended that these forms are kept separate from personnel files, and they must be kept on file for both active and terminated employees. I-9 forms must be kept for three years after the hire date, or one year after the date employment ends—whichever comes later.

When you think of that in terms of paper, think of the number of employees who have at least one sheet of paper dedicated to just that record. You also have to think about the fact that that specific paperwork cant even be stored in the employees personnel file—it needs its very own space.

When these records are maintained in paper form, they may be difficult to find, but the more likely scenario is that they are difficult to keep an eye on when it comes to retention. If certain documents are kept for too long, it may be considered an invasion of privacy for an employee who has long since stopped working in your company. On the other hand, if a document is thrown out too soon, it may leave your company open to lawsuits and unpreparedness in case of an investigation. This makes it extremely important to know how long to keep a certain record.

When you scan and store these records electronically, Datamation can keep track of that retention window for you, automatically alerting you when a document can be disposed of. This makes sure that every record, like an I-9 form, is kept as long as it needs to be kept, and no longer. It also protects your company from lawsuits and makes sure that you are prepared for investigations. Besides this major benefit, scanning your HR records with Datamation will save your company time, money, and space.

Call Datamation today at (630) 321-0601 to get your free quote.

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2018-04-20 00:00:00

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Create the Perfect Solution with Human Resources Workflow

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.

If your company is currently working with paper documents and records, what does your workflow look like? Do you have one? With the increasing amount of paperwork needed to maintain compliance and industry standards, managing all of this paper is getting more and more difficult for HR departments everywhere. Datamation has provided businesses everywhere with the perfect workflow solution by capturing the data on all documents and records and placing it directly into an efficient, airtight workflow.

Automated HR Workflows can automate several processes that would normally take a huge amount of time and effort, including:

● Onboarding

● Performance reviews

● Payroll

● Applicant hiring and screening

● Employee training

● Travel and leave requests

These are just a few of the regular HR processes that can be integrated into a workflow. Using the data captured from paper documents or E-forms, all of the information that would normally have to be manually processed from a paper record can be sent to the right department at the right time, seamlessly.

One of the most important factors in HR processes is that any procedures that are carried out must be uniform. In a disciplinary situation, for example, in order to prevent any kind of dispute over how it was handled, it is vital that each employee involved is treated in the exact same way. If everything is handled in the same way, there is no room for dispute or even litigation. Having a consistent workflow ensures that everything is uniformly carried out.

Disciplinary actions are just one of the many processes that require consistency. The more uniform each and every task is, the better your company’s overall organization. Both document scanning and the use of E-forms can make this a reality for your company, and Datamation can easily provide you with a solution that fits your needs exactly—no need to spend money on things that don’t apply to your specific business.

Datamation provides a wide range of software that uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to capture the data needed to effectively perform within the workflow. Call Datamation today to discuss a plan that works for you.

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2018-04-20 00:00:00

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Protect Your Human Resources Files

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.

Human Resources departments in any industry serve as the touch point for the entire company. As the department that handles sensitive and personal documents every day, it is vital that these documents are kept secure at all times. While most processes are made harder when paper documents are being used, keeping paper records secure is particularly difficult.

How safe can your filing cabinets really be? Even when they’re locked, not very. Not only can they be broken into, or simply left unlocked, but they are also vulnerable to fire and flood damage. Paper documents are just inherently insecure, no matter how they are stored.

Besides being unsafe during storage, paper documents are liable to get lost during processing, or even in the mail. It’s so easy for anyone to accidentally leave a sheet of paper on a desk, where before anyone knows it, it is buried underneath more paper. With the security of your employees on the line, this is unacceptable.

So what do you do to ensure your file security?

Datamation has the perfect security solution for any business in any industry. One of the most secure options for your documents is ImageSilo, an entirely cloud-based storage system. ImageSilo provides five layers of encrypted security, only giving those with specific passwords access to sensitive documents. At the same time, documents can be found quickly with a simple keyword search, eliminating the need to spend valuable time finding that one document that you need. Another great feature of ImageSilo is that administration can track who saw a sensitive document, and when, giving your company full visibility if anything ever comes into question.

Scanned and digitally stored documents can also be placed into a comprehensive workflow that makes all of your business’ processes uniform, an especially important factor in an HR department. Having uniform procedures for disciplinary measures, training, onboarding, and more ensures the consistent treatment of employees, leaving little room for dispute. It also saves employees the pain of manually entering data, saving your company time and money in turn. Better still, because paper documents aren’t being mailed and passed around, they are less likely to get lost in the everyday processes of an HR department.

Scanning your documents with Datamation protects your sensitive documents in more than one way. They are protected by five layers of security from unauthorized viewing, and they are protected from getting lost or damaged by fire and flood. And at the same time, as long as you’re an authorized user, accessing those documents has never been easier! Never again will your employees spend hours per week searching through filing cabinets for that one folder or sheet of paper that they need—documents can be found with a few clicks and a keyword search.

Call Datamation today at (630) 321-0601 to make life in the HR department a little bit easier.

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2018-04-20 00:00:00

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Greater Efficiency in Human Resources Leads to Greater ROI

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.

In any industry, time is money. Usually, the longer something takes to do, the more it costs, and that includes any kind of Human Resources process within your business. Paper documents are outdated, inconvenient, cumbersome, and most importantly, they reduce your company’s efficiency. And with less efficiency comes a lower return on investment Datamation can provide your company with the tools it needs to implement a solid workflow that will save time, money, and effort while increasing your ROI!

In HR processes like onboarding, training, or payroll, the amount of information that must be shared between departments (originating with yours) is huge. With each employee having several types of documentation filed away, thousands of papers cross HR department desks each week.

The problem with paper is that it can’t be effectively processed in such large amounts. It takes a huge amount of time to find the paper document, pass it from approver to approver, and to finally refile it. The longer it takes to process information, the more money it costs your company.

The only way to drastically reduce processing time is to scan your documents into an automated workflow, eliminating the need to pass along each record or file by hand. This keeps documents from getting misplaced, and also gets them through layers of approval quickly and efficiently.

On average, an employee spends 19.8% of business time trying to find a certain paper document, adding up to about one full day a week. Think about how much more would get done if it took just a few seconds to find a document, and how much of that time could be directed towards targeting problem areas of your company. When you scan your files and store them electronically, any document can be found within just a few seconds with a simple keyword search. The ability to find documents quicker leads to quicker processes in general, which in turn vastly improves customer service. Your company’s time is valuable—make sure it is used wisely.

With the amount of information that crosses your desk on a daily basis, you don’t have time to search for documents that have gone missing or that are stored among thousands of other documents in a filing cabinet. The more time it takes to complete one of your many tasks, the more money your company is spending to keep those processes going. Integrating your documents into an electronic workflow with Datamation will make your company’s processes more efficient, more timely, and less cumbersome.

Call (630) 321-0601 today to discuss the perfect plan for your business.

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2018-04-20 00:00:00

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Human Resources Directors: Go Paperless

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This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Managing School District Records.

As your school district’s human resources director, you have an immense amount of paperwork that passes through your office, much of it vital to the district’s critical functions and all of it sensitive in nature.

Whether its employee files that include results of criminal background checks or drug tests, information about the districts pension fund or 401(k), or disciplinary matters these important documents must be handled with care. Furthermore, you never know when you will need to access the information you’ve received.

With full access to the best programs on the market, Datamation’s education specialists will work with your HR office specifically to design a software system that meets these diverse and important needs.

Here’s what you can expect from all of our solutions:

Going paperless saves time and space

If your district is still relying primarily or entirely on paper record keeping, Datamation can revolutionize your HR workflow and create a paperless archive of everything you have on file. From there, we can work with you to design a software system that automates much of this workflow, saving your employees time.

That means the file room teeming with records can be cleaned out, and there will be no more tedious half-hour trips to hunt down a piece of paper from 10 years ago. Instead, you’ll have fast and reliable access to all your HR records.

Privacy and security

Datamation understands one of the most critical responsibilities of any human resources department is securing the private information of your district’s employees. From health records to a personnel file, these files need to be safe and secure.

Datamation works with districts who prefer cloud storage and those who maintain their own on-site database to help ensure these files are protected. We will design a system that ensures only the appropriate employees in your district have access to the files you keep.

Compliance with state and federal regulations

School districts are required to keep more paperwork on file than your average private sector business. That includes things like required teacher evaluations, paperwork related to public sector unions, and pension and retirement fund contributions to name but a few.

Failure to maintain these records can turn up in periodic state audits and cause public concerns if regulators find your office is not in compliance.

Datamation will work with you to create a human resources records processing system that meets all state and federal regulations for record retention. Our education specialists understand those rules and the best way to navigate them. That way, when auditors come knocking, you’ll be able to wow them with the ease and organization of a well-kept HR database.

Document retention and disaster recovery

There are two parts to maintaining a top-flight HR database: making sure the information you need is safe and purging the documents you no longer have to keep on hand. An electronic database of HR records can help with both.

There are any number of ways important information can be left inaccessible. Poor filing habits are an obvious culprit, but even the most studious clerks can’t prevent documents from being damaged in the event of a flood, fire or another natural disaster. Your district doesn’t have to be in the path of a major hurricane for important information to be put at risk.

And then there’s the other problem: keeping too much information you don’t need. Failure to purge old records takes up space and improper disposal of those documents can expose your district and its employees to identity theft and other forms of fraud.

An automated HR database solves all these problems. Cloud storage or off-site database backups are the most secure way to prevent records from being lost, damaged, or destroyed. And that very same database will tell you when records are able to safely be deleted.

Ready to learn more? Contact Datamation today!

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2018-03-19 00:00:00

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