A More Secure and Accessible HR Onboarding Process

National labor shortages have left human resources departments scrambling for ways to successfully compete for the best talent. While some tried-and-true incentives–such as hiring bonuses and workplace flexibility–have proven effective, the onboarding process has also become an opportunity for HR teams to woo candidates with digital systems.

Implementing technology to automate employee processes, from recruiting to learning and development, also enables HR leaders to spend less time on manual processes and more time thinking strategically about the future of their organization.

But HR transformation is still a work in progress, especially when it comes to onboarding.

Outdated systems and software negatively impact the new hire experience, resulting in unnecessary delays and endless rounds of paperwork. Delayed job offers and slow-moving onboarding processes can cost organizations jobs in situations where candidates are mulling numerous offers.

Improve candidate and employee experiences across devices

In a tight labor market, your organization must make a memorable first impression.

Millennial and Gen Z applicants have higher expectations than previous generations, which include the desire for cross-channel communications with companies.

This means that employers need to deliver seamless recruiting, hiring and onboarding experiences anytime and on any device. More than half of candidates (58%) look for their jobs on their phones and more than 35% of job seekers would prefer to apply for jobs directly from their phones as well, Glassdoor found.

Experience matters once employees are hired, too. Gallup found that 88% of organizations don’t onboard their employees well, bogging them down with paper documents to complete. The fact is, a more seamless and painless process could improve retention by 82% and boost productivity by over 70%

An easier and faster way to present job offers

A digital offer letter significantly reduces the time between HR’s offers and candidates’ acceptances by eliminating printing, signing, scanning and the back-and-forth mailing of paper documents. Plus, Docusign eSignature integrates with most standard HRIS tools, so that when the candidate signs, HR isn’t stuck manually re-keying data, which saves time.

Extending that offer and securing a signature is just the start of an often-lengthy onboarding process. But with eSignature, the downstream processes are automated. As soon as the new hire’s signature is obtained the new employee’s data can be automatically transferred to your HRIS, triggering the next steps, from issuing new hire paperwork to initiating payroll.

You can easily tailor this workflow for time-sensitive documents, such as I-9s, or customize requirements across roles and regions. And completed forms are automatically stored in a central, secure, easily searchable repository.

Boost productivity and engagement with more accessible processes

Creating an engaging employee experience is a crucial part of both attracting and retaining talent. According to S&P Global, 45% of HR professionals say they’re increasingly seeking tools designed to boost workforce productivity and engagement. But when employees spend their first few weeks buried in HR paperwork, they miss opportunities to get to know fellow employees or get started on role-specific tasks. In fact, 42% of employees say it takes them up to six months to start adding value at work, and slow onboarding processes are at least partly to blame, S&P Global also found.

The Docusign Agreement Cloud for HR removes that friction by replacing a slow, manual onboarding process with a digital, efficient and seamless one. Employees can digitally sign new hire forms, go through the I-9 verification process, review benefits forms and agree to comply with non-disclosure agreements—from practically any device.

A trusted storage option 

Once an employee’s identification is confirmed, many HR departments prefer to save a copy of the ID so they can access it at a later date. In a recent Docusign survey, 74% of respondents who said their company has a need to verify the validity of ID documents also stated the need to store these documents. With ID Verification and its newest feature, ID Evidence, all sensitive employee I-9 information, including photos, can be stored safely and securely in the cloud. That means HR managers can find it all in one place, as opposed to relying on haphazard filing systems.

Docusign integrates with more than 350 systems, allowing HR to streamline and store employee documents in their existing HR systems. It allows HR professionals to stay within the systems they’re already working on or are familiar with. It also prevents them from having to reenter data between systems.

By making these small changes, organizations can move beyond manual tasks and introduce a secure and manageable approach to onboarding, resulting in more strategic HR teams—and happier employees.

Ready to transform your employee onboarding process? Get started with Docusign.