Over the years, Human Resource departments have become ever more multi-faceted and complex - and they need solutions that can keep up with the way things are going. In times gone by, HR would be responsible for hiring, firing, disciplinary procedures and payroll - and that would be pretty much it. Today, they have a whole lot more responsibility, making the use of digital tools essential.
For most businesses, secure documents and an efficient payroll system play a vital part in business operations and the overall efficiency of a company. As well as automating regular tasks for faster, more productive payroll management, these tools also lend increased accuracy to all HR activities.
As great as these tools are by themselves, they gain superpowers when integrated with other HR systems like time tracking, reward programs, regulatory protocols, security, compliance and reporting. In this article, we’re going to be taking a closer look at digital and payroll document systems and exploring how they can boost your company's productivity and compliance.
In a busy HR department,
accurate records are essential for business organization and compliance as well as for improving efficiency. Automation and integration using digital tools can help businesses to achieve compliant, error-free and super-secure document generation, storage and management in record time. How does it manage to do that? Let’s take a look:
#1. Automating payroll management with smart software
If you’re old enough to remember the days when manual payroll management was the only option available, you’ll know how time-consuming and error-prone this can be - especially for companies with a large workforce and a small finance department!
Manual payroll management is not only repetitive, fiddly and time-consuming but can result in serious issues such as:
- Incorrect PAYE information being inputted
- Late payment of salaries
- Incorrect salaries
- Compliance issues
Each time such problems occur, more man-hours are required to fix the issues, which is wasteful and inefficient (not to mention stressful due to fallout from disgruntled employees who are waiting to be paid).
Thankfully, we now have online tools that can ensure a fast, compliant, error-proof operation through automation. These can make light work of HR by automating tax deductions and refunds and
pay stub generation for a more accurate and highly functional department in just minutes.
#2. Keeping safe document storage front and center
A HR department is all about the people - which means that it’s also all about the documents.
In any given business, each employee will have a number of different records in their file and these may include:
- Payslips
- Resumes
- Training records
- Bank details
- Health insurance certificates
- Performance and disciplinary reviews
- Personal contact details
Needless to say, some of these are highly confidential and therefore need to be stored and managed securely while allowing access to authorized employees.
Cloud-based storage is an efficient, productive and secure way of integrating and managing different types of documents in one central location. This, in turn, allows the documents to be stored, organized, edited and updated by employees across different departments in real-time.
Cloud-based file-sharing platforms, such as Google Drive, iCloud, and Box, provide easy access to anyone working with documents, regardless of their location. These platforms also boast high levels of security, allowing safe document transfer and usage.
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#3. Streamlining HR documentation with the right tools for the job
From the moment a candidate engages with your company, documentation is generated which needs to be handled sensitively and securely. Before a candidate’s name gets anywhere near payroll, a number of documents containing his or her personal information will be generated, including:
- Offer of employment letters
- Engagement letters
- Onboarding materials
- Employment contracts
In the UK, there are strict rules in place regarding how this information is managed and so tools are essential for a compliant and well-structured business. As well as generation and storage of documents, using a PDF editor such as
PDF.net introduces further convenience and time savings by allowing you to sign employee contracts, merge different documents into one and to edit them online.
This platform provides a quick solution to tedious and lengthy HR documentation through secure cloud storage and encryption. It also offers high-quality features that preserve quality and allow authorized users to streamline HR documentation quickly and without errors.
#4. Improving compliance to stay on the right side of the law
Breaching payroll and compliance laws can destroy a company’s reputation and result in stiff penalties - so it’s no wonder that some HR managers find this daunting; particularly when handling employees from different regions and countries; each of which has its own specific labor laws.
Because of the serious ramifications involved, it’s not generally recommended to use manual methods of managing these complex aspects of HR. Instead, digital systems can ease the load as they operate in accordance with numerous standards and protocols.
For example, automated software can notify HR departments of the latest requirements and laws to ensure compliance, as well as sending reminder alerts for deadlines like benefits enrollment or tax filings. This valuable tech can also help you to make more accurate calculations as well as ensuring privacy for employees - thereby saving you from additional work like amending or re-filing tax forms.
#5. For your eyes only
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of security within the modern business. Safeguarding data has always been important, but legal requirements continually ramp up. For example, the
European GDPR regulations impose significant reputational and financial penalties for companies that experience data leaks, thefts, breaches and similar actions - whether intentional or not.
In order to protect credibility and employee safety and avoid hefty fines, it's vital that businesses take advantage of the benefits of digital solutions for their payroll management and HR functions. This software has countless benefits, including:
- Protecting document confidentiality through encryption
- Protecting documents and their contents from malicious activities
- Providing access controls limiting who can access or share documents
- Providing regular, secure backups to avoid data loss
Conclusion
In a world riddled with stringent business rules and regulations, any business that isn’t taking advantage of digital HR and payroll tools is likely to find itself being left behind.
As well as the "biggies" like data security, compliance and accuracy, digital solutions bring with them some best practices which equate to increased productivity and efficiency. Being able to update, share and sign documents quickly and easily by using tools such as a paystub generator or a PDF editor streamlines processes and cuts out the chance of errors. Similarly, remote access to documentation brings a business in line with new methods of working such as the remote and hybrid models.
A forward-thinking business needs forward-thinking tools. And the digital solutions we’ve highlighted in this article will help to eliminate errors, increase productivity and, every bit as important, stay within the law...
