When it comes to HR compliance, there's no one set retention period rule.
Disciplinary notes should be removed within 12 months, whereas employee eligibility forms must be kept for three years after an employee onboards. Wage records need to be retained for a year longer than this.... And the list goes on.
With so many HR documents to manage and different regulations to follow, it can be difficult to keep up. That's why so many businesses end up storing physical HR documents indefinitely.
The question is: how can you ensure HR compliance without overburdening yourself?
The pitfalls of paper
Let's first address the disadvantages of adhering to HR legislations manually.
Storing paper documents indefinitely can lead to stacks upon stacks of archives spread across multiple warehouses. Think of all the wasted resources, lack of accessibility, and number of files that could easily go missing. It's an unsustainable process at best.
Fortunately, there are more efficient ways to manage your HR documents (without compromising compliance).
Speed up the process
By adopting an automated document management software, such as Therefore, you can replace your stacks of paperwork with an accessible digital system. This can:
- Improve the HR documentation retrieval process.
- Reduce the burden and cost of real estate.
- Allow for remote access.
- Eliminate the chance of breached files or incorrectly stored documents.
- Speed up document processing.
More importantly, you can secure all your documents and achieve complete compliance. You can do this by implementing tailored workflows and deleting files when they're no longer legally required.
In addition to this, access controls allow you to monitor who gets access to your sensitive HR data. That way, you can limit the likelihood of an internal breach.
So, how can you implement a digital document management system into your HR practices?
Digital document management in practice
Let's run you through Datatron's BS10008-compliant process.
We start by creating a case file system for our clients. These are often linked to HR systems or databases such as SAP.
Before transferring the documents, we apply conventional naming standards and break down all of the file types by context to boost searchability. Different files will require different workflows depending on the nature of the data within them. Ultimately, this ensures each document follows the correct regulation guidance and is filtered down to the right employees.
From there, we transfer the files to the Therefore platform, where they can be securely managed.
Take the 'argh' out of HR compliance
Did you know that the average cost of a single lost or stolen document amounts to £108 ($148)?
While archiving your HR documents manually might seem like a compliant, hassle-free approach at first, the challenges only rack up. Years down the line, you may end up forking out money for an additional warehouse, or perhaps lose a day of your time searching high and low for a lost payroll document.
The truth is, you can improve your HR compliance and benefit from a more streamlined document management process with an automated approach.
So, if you're keen to tidy-up your HR archives, get in touch with us.