The main job of Human Resources (HR) is to take care of people—but that means a lot of documents. Whether it's on a computer or in real life, you need a document management plan.
Organizing documents isn't that exciting, but you can automate many parts of the process. A solid plan will save you time on mundane tasks, while keeping you covered legally.
Let's get strategizing, shall we?
What is HR document management?
HR document management is simply keeping track of all the company papers and files. It involves creating, filing, sorting, saving, finding, (or deleting), the HR documents.
Each of these document management tasks should be done in a way that guarantees the security and compliance of company information—whether that’s a small business or a large multinational.
Why is HR document management important?
Effective document management makes sure you can search for, store, and manage employee files seamlessly. It's the partner in crime for secure document storage and revolutionizes HR processes.
Having accurate, easy-to-find, and safe documents helps your team know where to find info about their job rights and duties. These days, cloud-based systems are the primary way to do this.
People will also feel more confident that their sensitive personal information is kept safe if you have a robust HR document management system in place—so it can make a positive contribution to their overall well-being.
Why use an HR document management system?
A good management system can take care of a lot of stuff automatically, so you can save time. It's like having an automated clerical assistant that helps you with stuff like:
- Being more productive—a document management system lets you search for the files you need instead of jumping around between folders, apps, or tabs
- Centralizing and streamlining—digital HR document management tools will keep your files in one place and make things easier for yourself and everyone who needs access
- Tracking and reporting—you can automatically track and report sensitive info, providing compliance, and helping you to effortlessly meet those all-important regulatory standards
- Maintaining security—our world-class security features, make sure your data is safe and we even have a backup for your device in case of any problems
- File and folder sharing—you can easily protect documents with a password or manage access with file and folder sharing controls, whether that’s internally or externally
- Dark web monitoring—when you're using Dropbox as your document management system, we'll even keep an eye on the dark web for any password breaches
Boost efficiency, provide compliance, and safeguard sensitive data with ease—just a few reasons to use Dropbox as the ultimate HR document management solution.
How to set up an HR document management system
1. Identify the relevant documents
Your coworkers in different departments don't need to see HR files. And just because you work in HR, you don't have to see every file in the organization.
Map the different types of HR documents you use in your organization, such as:
- Employee documents, including things like welcome packs or handbooks
- Employee contracts
- Company policies
- Medical and disability records
- Leave requests
- Payroll records
- Training materials
- Hiring documents, like job ads, resumes from candidates, and notes from interviews
- New employee records and materials
- Performance review files
- Salary information
- Benefits information
Depending on your field, your company may handle many other types of digital HR documents, such as safety protocols or product training materials—so this is just a rough guide.
2. Define your access needs
Not everyone at your company should have access to all of your HR documents. When managing your documents, ask yourself the following questions:
- Who gets access? Everyone? Managers? HR only?
- Do they use this file often or just sometimes? When's it most needed?
- How do they access this file? At the desk, on the go, or on mobile?
- Do they edit or just view?
In a nutshell, think about who needs what, when, and how to keep your documents safe and sound. This step is important to make sure people only have the access they require.
3. Define your security requirements
This step is like Step 1 but with a twist. Compliance is key here. Ask yourself:
- Is this file legally protected info, like medical records?
- Do you have to keep this file for a set period?
Once you know what's what set your rules by doing one or more of the following:
- Lock up files with passwords
- Keep a tight grip on file sharing
- Track every move with activity reports
- Validate data and maintain a transparent audit trail
By locking down your security needs, you make sure your documents stay safe and compliant—giving you peace of mind as you manage your files.
4. Communicate your strategy with your colleagues
You’re almost done, but, just a heads up—HR document management systems will only work if HR teams pitch in and keep it updated. Make sure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities.
It's also important to keep everything in one spot for easier use, which also helps to foster an environment of collaboration—streamlining document workflows even more.
For important documents, try adding some context with videos or screen recordings.
HR document management best practices
First off, incorporate this highly effective and efficient strategy into your HR workflow.
Secondly, it's important to introduce this strategy to employees as soon as possible and to provide training during the onboarding stage.
Additionally, it's crucial to implement automatic backups for your most important files.
And why not take a look at your HR documents files once a year to make sure your plan is going well? It's always good to keep things on track—or make small tweaks.
Streamlined and secure HR document management
Dropbox can help if you work in HR. It's all about making document management, storage, or sharing easier—and giving your team the right tools to speed up daily tasks.
HR teams can even get insights or analytics on shared documents, so you can see who's using the important files you share—or even just checking out. Pretty handy.
Streamlined and secure HR document management made easy.
