How to Create a Paperless HR Department: 8 Ways

Whatever your company’s return to work (RTO) policy, most agree that hybrid working models are here to stay. And with so many employees working from home, moving your remaining manual paper processes to the digital landscape is a no-brainer.

The right HRIS can help make the shift to paperless workflows seamless. One way to go paperless is with an employee self-service portal. Not only can you save paper by doing this, but you can save your organization time, money, and a great many headaches. It also makes processes like onboarding much more convenient for both you and your employees.

However you slice it, using paper is costing you time and money. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Below, we’ll dive into the benefits of a paperless office, and how you can make the change.

How to Make Your HR Team Fully Paperless

An HR digital transformation can revolutionize the way you handle HR processes within the workplace. The first step is going paperless. We’ve gathered our top eight tips for how to do it below.

Ditch That Stone-Age HR System

Are you tracking your HR data manually or struggling with duplicate entry (or using scrolls)? It's time to ditch that stone-age system and discover how efficient HR software can make you.

End-to-end HR systems can cover a host of everyday HR activities, including payroll, employee records, hiring and onboarding, employee satisfaction and performance management, and more, reducing not only physical paperwork but also improving efficiency and data security.

Go All-In on E-Signatures

Asking for physical signatures these days is risky and, frankly, hugely inconvenient for the person being asked to print something, sign it, and send it back. In fact, to add to the inconvenience, 21% of people don’t own a printer—so they’d have to go out and find somewhere to print the document.

That’s why e-signatures are the way of the future—they not only save loads of time and money but are actually more secure, too.

This is made all the easier with paperless HR software tools that have built-in e-signature capabilities, like an employee self service portal, to make onboarding and open enrollment painless for employees and managers alike.

Replace Paper Forms and Processes with Digital Ones

On average, companies spend $725 per employee each year on printing. That’s an unnecessary amount of money that can be saved by using online forms instead.

Here are some examples of the documents that can be made electronic with the right employee self-service portal:

• Evaluation forms
• Feedback forms
• Application forms
• Time-off and reimbursement request forms
• Agreement forms
• Payroll
• W2 and other tax forms

With digital HR forms, you’ll also see faster response times, with the submission data stored neatly in the cloud.

Switch to PDFs for Documentation

Mobile-friendly PDFs are an asset in an age where employees, colleagues, and applicants read materials on their phones and tablets. Creating documentation in PDF format allows access to important digital information no matter the recipient’s device.

Plus, these days, PDFs are easy to edit but are also secure when encrypted with passwords.

Store HR Records Electronically

Moving towards a paperless human resources department means storing employee records electronically, which is easier than ever with the advent of affordable cloud-based HR software.

And because modern cloud storage software is compatible with almost any type of file, the transition should be seamless. In fact, keeping hard copies of employee-related documents is becoming obsolete, yet HR data security concerns persist and often hinder the transition to paperless. If you share some of these concerns, here’s what to consider:

• Set a holding period before culling and deleting digital HR records. While there are no explicitly stated regulations on how long you should retain data, a good rule of thumb is to do so no longer than necessary.
• Increase storage capacity for long-term data retention. It will cost you, but it’s not as expensive as using precious office space to maintain paper records.
• Set sophisticated user permissions. These grant access to users based on their authority or job role, preserving data confidentiality and protection.

By design, retrieving electronic HR data is only a pain for those without authorized access, and it’s significantly more efficient than sifting through paper files.

With the proper permissions, a paperless human resources department can immediately and accurately respond to requests for certain data and documents. For instance, if they need records on attendance, performance appraisal, or disciplinary actions, everything is easily retrievable from the paperless HR software’s built-in database.

Scan and File Backlogs

As you transition to a paperless human resources department, you’ll need to organize existing physical documents of current employees for entry into the software. This involves retrieving, scanning, filing, and potentially destroying previous paperwork. Here’s how to chip away at this important task without neglecting your day-to-day duties:

• Create teams to divide the workload.
• Prioritize recent physical copies before uploading backlogs. Paperless HR software can easily handle incoming digital documents, but your HR employees will still need to put physical paperwork into the database for reference. To avoid falling behind, always prioritize recent documents over backlogs.
• Consider hiring a temp or an intern to help digitize your backlogged documents.

Invest In the Right HR Software

Perhaps the most important step to achieving a paperless human resources department is finding the best HR software to help you go and stay paperless for the long haul.

There are many paperless HR solutions on the market now, but they aren’t all created equal. The right HR software makes HR document management efficient, accurate, and compliant. Do your research and compare the functionalities your company needs the most.

Coach Other Employees About Going Green

This should be one of the first steps for any department or office looking to create a paperless environment in the workplace. As company policy influencers, HR departments can lead the charge on going paperless in the office.

At a minimum, consider sending a company-wide memo. But to increase engagement and interest, you could gamify it—teams with the lowest per-capita print rate get some sort of prize.

Go Paperless with BambooHR

To transform your HR document management process into a fully paperless operation, you need employee management software that allows you to organize and maintain crucial employee data securely in the cloud, giving you full control—anytime, anywhere.

But a centralized HR database isn’t all you get with BambooHR. Our Employee Self-Service Portal lets you do away with hard copies for good, but it also allows for third-party integration, employee self-service, and database customization for even more value and efficiency.

Our employee self-service lets you use custom Access Levels in BambooHR® to give employees the freedom to update their own records while restricting access to sensitive company data. Not only does this make for accurate data entry, but it also saves your organization a significant amount of time and cost.

Additionally, with database customization , you can track the data that matters to your organization and pull targeted reports to make strategic business decisions.

Schedule a free demo today to see how BambooHR can help your HR department make a smooth transition to paperless.