HR professionals manage a variety of tasks, from employee onboarding and engagement to handling employee data and performance appraisals. Each process is vital.
However, without a well-structured approach, these essential HR processes can become overwhelming, leading to low employee morale, higher turnover rates, and decreased productivity. Ineffective management in any of these areas can significantly impact your company’s retention and overall success.
Fortunately, an effective HR workflow using intelligent digital tools and automation can optimize these tasks and boost efficiency.
What is an HR workflow?
An HR workflow is a system that simplifies regular HR tasks and processes. It can be a set of steps you follow to complete a particular task, like hiring new employees. It can also be a comprehensive approach covering an employee’s entire journey within your company.
By creating a workflow that suits your organization, you can identify consistent bottlenecks in recurring tasks. For example, waiting for new hires to sign contracts can slow down the onboarding process. Recognizing these delays allows you to find the right tools to streamline—or even automate—these tasks. This approach helps you become more efficient and productive, ensuring a smoother operation within your HR department.
A good HR workflow can:
- Reduce errors
- Reduce paper-based processes
- Speed up the approval process
- Enhance compliance
- Save time and effort on repeatable tasks
4 ways an HR workflow can improve your HR processes
There are four key areas where an HR workflow can make a significant impact:
1. Preboarding
The hiring of a new employee requires attention and communication between a range of departments, including HR, accounting, team leaders, and team members. HR needs to prepare and send various forms and materials, such as company policies and handbooks. Gathering personal information for records and creating a work email address are also essential tasks.
How preboarding fits into an HR workflow:
Job offer and acceptance
HR prepares essential documents such as the job offer letter, employment agreement, and NDAs. Using Dropbox Sign, these documents can be quickly sent and signed without a flood of back-and-forth emails. No more chasing signatures or juggling paperwork!
Document preparation and customization
It’s typical for HR to work with a lot of standardized templates when setting up the necessary documentation for a new hire. Dropbox file storage, along with built-in PDF editing and file sharing features, ensures that these documents are securely stored and easy to retrieve and customize for a new hire when needed.
Sending and tracking documents
Documents are sent for review and signature with eSignatures or using Dropbox Sign. Dropbox Sign not only facilitates the signing process but also tracks the status, ensuring that all required signatures are obtained promptly.
Information collection
HR collects and securely stores personal information. Dropbox secure storage solutions ensure that all personal data is protected and easily retrievable when needed.
Orientation preparation
HR prepares onboarding materials such as the employee handbook and training schedules. These materials are organized and stored using Dropbox cloud storage, making them readily accessible to new hires.
2. Employee onboarding
The onboarding process can be complex and needs to be done correctly—as such, it can be quite stressful. Instead of relying on paper documentation, a digital or automated onboarding process can speed this up and make onboarding activities much easier for your new employees. This process typically includes several key steps:
Document completion
New hires need to complete and sign various documents. Dropbox Sign tracks document completion efficiently, ensuring all necessary forms are signed promptly. No more printing forms or scanning them back—just a few clicks, and it’s done.
Information reminders
It's crucial to collect essential information from new employees. Dropbox Sign sends automated reminders, detailing what information is needed, reducing manual follow-up tasks. Sign is like a personal assistant nudging new hires to complete their to-dos.
Sharing materials
Providing new hires with onboarding materials like company policies and training schedules is essential. Dropbox sharing features allow HR to share these materials effortlessly, ensuring they are organized and accessible.
Tracking engagement
Tracking engagement with onboarding materials helps ensure new hires are engaging with the content. Dropbox Send and Track enables HR to send and track the engagement of these materials, providing insights into what has been viewed and interacted with.
By leveraging Dropbox tools, the onboarding process becomes more streamlined, reducing stress for HR and new employees, and ensuring a smooth, efficient transition into the company.
3. Requests, approvals, and general enquires
Managing requests, approvals, and general inquiries is often the bulk of HR's day-to-day work, especially in larger companies. This includes handling leave requests, staff absences, and various employee inquiries. Incorporating this process into an HR workflow involves several steps:
Document management
Document management involves developing, storing, and organizing documents efficiently. Dropbox sync features support this by providing a secure, accessible way to find and use all HR documents.
Template customization
Customizing templates and editing PDFs for individual or company-wide use. With Dropbox PDF editing, HR teams can quickly tailor documents to meet specific needs.
Engagement tracking
Tracking engagement with shared materials ensures that employees are interacting with the information provided. Dropbox Send and track allows HR to send documents and track their engagement, providing insights into employee interactions. For example, if an updated handbook goes unread, you can follow up with the team in real time.
Signature collection
Gathering and saving signatures from employees is essential for approvals. Dropbox Sign facilitates the collection of electronic signatures, streamlining the approval process.
By using Dropbox tools, HR can efficiently manage daily requests and inquiries. This reduces manual workload and improves overall workflow efficiency.
4. Employee offboarding
Offboarding is triggered when an employee decides to leave your company. Typically, an exit interview is conducted by someone in your team along with the employee’s line manager. During this interview, you may decide whether to present the employee with a new offer to encourage them to stay.
Let’s explore how offboarding fits into an HR workflow:
Exit interview and decision
Conduct the exit interview and decide whether to make a retention offer.
Offer and agreement
If retaining, customize and send a new contract using Dropbox Sign. It’s a fast and secure way to finalize terms while showing new employees you value them.
Offboarding process
If not retaining, proceed with severance, final documentation, and ensuring the return of company equipment. Develop, store, and organize all related documents securely with Dropbox.
Final documentation
Customize final documents and agreements, ensuring all paperwork is completed with everything organized, signed, and securely stored in Dropbox.
eSignature collection
Use Dropbox Sign to collect and store all required documents from departing employees. Dropbox tools help HR teams minimize manual paperwork. These tools ensure a smooth transition for both the departing employee and the company.
Increase efficiency with HR workflow automation
By reducing manual processes, HR teams can be more efficient. Incorporating automation into HR workflows offers substantial benefits. Automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks allows HR professionals to focus on more strategic activities.
Dropbox provides a suite of tools designed to streamline your work. It offers viewer-specific insights into shared documents and makes obtaining signatures on important HR forms easier and more efficient.
Leverage Dropbox to enhance your HR workflows:
- Use Dropbox file storage and sharing features to develop, store, and organize documents, reducing the clutter and improving accessibility
- Send and track allows you to track engagement with critical documents, ensuring that your team stays informed and engaged
- With Dropbox Sign, you can gather and save electronic signatures effortlessly, ensuring compliance and speeding up the approval process
Automation in HR workflows ultimately leads to improved productivity, accuracy, and employee satisfaction. Transform your HR processes and increase efficiency with Dropbox. Learn more about how Dropbox can support your HR team.
