HR Workflow Automation for Employee Documentation and Onboarding

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Human Resources (HR) operations are increasingly leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to streamline HR workflow automation. Despite ongoing concerns regarding data privacy, breaches, and ethical implications, the deployment of AI is accelerating swiftly. AI is instrumental in addressing various talent acquisition challenges, including sourcing, hiring, onboarding, managing, and enhancing the overall employee journey.

According to Precedence Research, the global AI market reached a valuation of USD 454.12 billion in 2022, with projections indicating significant growth to approximately USD 2,575.16 billion by 2032. This expansion is anticipated to occur at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19% from 2023 to 2032. This remarkable growth trajectory underscores the increasing adoption and integration of AI technologies across diverse industries worldwide, driving innovation, efficiency, and transformative change.

AI-powered digital solutions offer innovative solutions for HR tasks ranging from recruitment and talent management to employee onboarding and performance evaluation to digitize traditional HR practices. By harnessing AI-driven workflow automation, HR departments can enhance efficiency, improve decision-making processes, and optimize the overall employee experience.

Why is Workflow Automation Required for HR Operations?

Workflow automation is crucial for HR operations to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and productivity. In conventional HR processes, tasks such as drafting employee onboarding documents, printing agreements, and obtaining signatures are often performed manually. These manual methods are often time-consuming, prone to errors, and inefficient, especially for large enterprises with complex workflows.

Manually drafting documents poses significant challenges for large enterprises, consuming valuable time and resources for workers. Negotiating and obtaining physical signatures for documents can also be cumbersome. Additionally, there are risks associated with forgery, lack of legal validity, document loss, and storage issues. Embracing digital contracts with AI-powered digital solutions can effectively address these challenges.

  • Implementing workflow automation can streamline HR departments’ processes, eliminating manual tasks and reducing the risk of errors. Automated workflows enable HR professionals to create templates for onboarding documents, contracts, and agreements, saving time and ensuring consistency across all documents.
  • Additionally, workflow automation facilitates seamless collaboration within the organization. Instead of sending documents back and forth for negotiation and approval, automated workflows allow for real-time collaboration and tracking of document changes. This not only speeds up the approval process but also ensures transparency and accountability.
  • Furthermore, workflow automation enables HR teams to integrate electronic signature solutions, eliminating the need for physical signatures. This not only accelerates the signing process but also enhances security and compliance by maintaining a digital audit trail of all document transactions.

Workflow automation in HR operations leads to increased efficiency, reduced administrative burden, improved compliance, and an enhanced employee experience. By streamlining processes and eliminating manual tasks, HR departments can focus on strategic initiatives and contribute more effectively to organizational success.

Digital contracts can be stored in bulk on a desktop with easy organization capabilities and quick access to any file. Digital contracts are signed electronically, offering a more secure and convenient alternative to traditional paper-based contracts and signatures.

Legal Documentation in HR Operations: Compliance in India

Legal documentation for HR operations in India is governed primarily by the Information Technology (IT) Act of 2000 . This act provides a legal framework for electronic transactions and digital signatures, which are essential components of HR documentation processes such as onboarding, contract management, and employee documentation.

In India, HR operations are governed by various laws and regulations that aim to ensure fair labor practices, employee welfare, and compliance with statutory requirements.

Some key HR laws and regulations in India include:

  1. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 – Regulates employment terms and conditions in industrial establishments.
  2. The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (EPF Act) – Governs the establishment of provident funds for employees in India.
  3. The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (ESI Act) – Provides social security benefits to employees, such as medical care and cash benefits.
  4. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 – Ensures timely payment of wages to employees.
  5. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 – Establishes minimum wage standards to safeguard workers’ rights.
  6. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 –Ensures maternity benefits and job security for female employees.
  7. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 – Protects women from sexual harassment at the workplace and provides a mechanism for redressal.

These are some of the key HR laws and regulations in India that govern various aspects of employment and labor relations. Compliance with these laws is essential for employers to avoid legal liabilities and uphold employee rights and welfare. Digital contracts and eSign help ensure compliance with these Acts by providing secure and legally binding methods for document management and signing.

SignDesk’s digital solutions enhance legal compliance by offering features such as audit trails, authentication mechanisms, and secure storage, ensuring organizations seamlessly meet regulatory requirements.

How Can Digital Solutions Boost HR Productivity?

Digital solutions have the potential to significantly boost HR productivity by streamlining processes, automating repetitive tasks, and enhancing collaboration. Utilizing eSign and contract management solutions for signing documents instantaneously from any location drastically reduces TAT by an impressive 99%, resulting in substantial time savings. HR executives are no longer required to wait for employees or other parties to be physically present or to courier documents for signature acquisition. Instead, they can promptly send invitation emails for eSigning documents, leading to signatures obtained within minutes.

Here’s an in-depth look at how the employee onboarding process works with workflow automation software:

  • Step 1: Drafting via Templates – In this initial step, HR professionals use eSign-enabled software to draft employee contracts using pre-approved templates. These templates can be customized to include specific terms, conditions, and legal clauses relevant to the organization’s policies and requirements.
  • Step 2: Entering Employee Details – Once the contracts are drafted, HR enters the specific details of all relevant employees, HR representatives, managers, and any other individuals involved in the approval process.
  • Step 3: Adding Signing Order – HR establishes the signing order within the eSign workflow to ensure proper approval hierarchy and sequencing. This ensures that stakeholders review and sign documents in the appropriate order based on their roles and responsibilities within the organization.
  • Step 4: Sending Invitations via Email or WhatsApp – After setting up the signing order, the eSign software automatically generates and sends invitations through emails or WhatsApp to all stakeholders, prompting them to review and sign the documents electronically. These emails typically contain a link to access the eSign platform and review the documents.
  • Step 5: Accessing the eSigning Platform – Upon receiving the invitation, signers click on the provided link to access the eSign platform. They review the agreement terms before digitally signing the documents using their electronic signatures. 
  • Step 6: Generating and Entering OTPs – As an additional security measure, the eSign platform requires signers to verify their identities using an OTP sent to their registered email addresses. 
  • Step 7: eSigning Contracts – Once the OTPs are verified, the signers’ electronic signatures are affixed to the documents, indicating their consent and agreement. This legally binding process ensures that the contracts and NDAs are executed in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
  • Step 8: Downloading eSigned Copies – After the documents are successfully eSigned by all parties, HR professionals and other stakeholders can download the signed copies for their records in PDF or Docx format. These digitally signed documents serve as official records of the agreement and can be stored securely for future reference or audit purposes.

Post Signing Procedures – 

  • Storage –  On the CLM platform , employee profiles are created, and employment documents are stored digitally in a highly secured centralized repository that is easily accessible from anywhere, maintaining transparency.
  • Tracking – Throughout the contract lifecycle, digital contract management systems provide HR professionals with real-time communication and transparency into contract status. They can track employment progress, monitor recruitment status, and receive automated alerts for each candidate. 
  • Milestones & Obligations – The smart CLM platform helps HR professionals manage milestones and obligations by adhering to regulatory requirements without missing a single deadline through automated notifications. 
  • Renewals & Termination – Digital contract management software streamlines the process by providing HR professionals access to the contract’s termination clauses and procedures. They can generate termination documents, track termination dates, ensuring that termination procedures are followed in accordance with legal requirements and company policies.

Benefits of Utilizing HR Workflow Automation Tools

Digital solutions are vital to optimizing HR workflow automation processes, increasing efficiency, and driving organizational success. By effectively leveraging HR workflow automation tools, departments can digitize HR onboarding, enhance productivity and employee satisfaction, and support strategic business objectives.

  • Streamlined Employee Onboarding : Traditional methods of onboarding employees by collecting paper-based documents and wet signatures are time-consuming and highly inconvenient, especially for remote employees. Shipping these documents to and fro to obtain signatures delays the onboarding process further and may lead to loss of documents and employee drop-off. 

With HR workflow automation tools, HR professionals can easily onboard new employees from anywhere, anytime, by sending electronic invites to sign agreements, offer letters, and other documents via email. This seamless process eliminates delays and reduces the risk of document loss or employee drop-off.

  • Seamless HR Workflow Automation : In traditional HR workflow methods, the reliance on paper-based processes incurs higher costs associated with printing, storage, and administrative overheads. 

HR workflow automation tools streamline the entire employee onboarding process, from document drafting to signature collection. Documents are drafted using legally valid templates or uploaded onto the interface. HR professionals can then invite employees and managers to sign documents electronically while also managing and storing them efficiently on a centralized dashboard. This automation not only enhances efficiency but also reduces costs associated with manual processes by up to 85% while minimizing the risk of errors or document mismanagement.

  • Smooth Internal Documentation : Managing and distributing internal documents such as HR policies, updates, and training contracts can be challenging, especially for remote employees. 

HR workflow automation tools enable HR departments to handle internal documentation seamlessly on a single interface. They can efficiently execute documents, collect electronic signatures, and establish easy documentation workflows, ultimately saving time and boosting productivity.

  • Comprehensive Dashboard View : Dealing with physical files and documents can be cumbersome, leading to significant time waste and storage challenges.

Workflow automation tools offer an intuitive dashboard that provides a bird’s-eye view of document and signature status. HR professionals can track document progress, set reminders, send alerts to signatories, receive notifications about signing activities, and manage all documents efficiently in one centralized location. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for manual document retrieval and ensures easy access to employee information while maximizing productivity.

Onboard Employees 99% Faster With SignDesk’s HR Workflow Automation Solution

SignDesk is a leading document automation solution provider. We assist businesses and enterprises across various industries in developing a smooth workflow process. Our HR workflow automation solution enables HR to onboard employees faster and manage documents efficiently in one system.

Our product has enabled 350+ enterprise clients to reduce turnaround times on contracting & documentation costs, boost productivity by 50-60%, and streamline their employee onboarding process.

Are you ready to leverage workflow automation to onboard employees and digitize HR processes?