By Laura Simcox, SPHR Solution Manager, Human Resources, Perceptive Software

As we work toward a recovering economy, human resources departments are looking for ways to eliminate inefficiency and introduce new cost-saving measures. From reducing storage and supply costs to liberating floor space used to house personnel files to increasing HR team productivity, an enterprise content management (ECM) solution fits the bill. And this isn’t just an HR software application, ImageNow® document management, imaging and workflow from Perceptive Software can easily be expanded across the enterprise, including accounting, finance, contracts, and legal departments compounding the time and cost savings, as well as the capital dollars. And with diverse deployment options, such as software as a service (SaaS), the return on investment can be easily demonstrated.

Studies show that business processes conducted in a paper environment are time consuming and inefficient. KMWorld* published an article stating that the average organization can spend $20 to file a document, $120 to search for a misfiled document and $250 to recreate a lost document. Typically, HR professionals are still manually filing, retrieving and sharing employment forms and documents, increasing the risk of lost or misfiled documents and potentially compromising the integrity of information and creating costly inefficiencies within the HR department.

An ECM software product allows users to capture paperwork and convert it to a structured electronic format that can be easily retrieved, updated and archived. HR-related content submitted online (both on a company’s website and via employee portals) and via fax and e-mail is also seamlessly captured and stored in the secure repository. Users can then directly link required documents to an employee record within existing HR software, ensuring secure and easy access to relevant content in the context of your HR processes at the moment it’s needed.

Patented technology enables the Perceptive Software ECM product suite, which includes ImageNow, to integrate with HR systems, such as Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP and Lawson, without programming, driving down the cost and time of deployment. For JWT, the largest advertising agency brand in the United States and the fourth largest full-service network in the world, the interoperability of ImageNow was a key differentiator. “ImageNow’s ability to integrate with any host application without programming was a decisive factor in selecting ImageNow,” says Jay Kallam, business analyst at JWT.

The integrated ImageNow approach allows HR team members of all skill levels to quickly master ECM functionality, directly from the software they use daily. For Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), the ease of use of ImageNow directly correlates with more efficient HR and payroll processes. “ImageNow has had a tremendous impact on the management of W-4s,” says Lisa Highhouse, application specialist at CCHMC. “It cut out a lot of paperwork that used to flow between payroll and HR. Users like ImageNow because it’s so user friendly.”

HR professionals across all industries and in organizations of all sizes use ImageNow to increase efficiencies department-wide. ECM solutions for HR include:

Security Solution

In the HR environment, employee privacy is among the greatest concerns. As compliance with mandates such as HIPAA and identity theft prevention have become increasing priorities, the old-fashioned lock and key methods are no longer enough. For example, it’s not unusual for an HR professional to need access to a performance appraisal, but not benefit details. With paper-based processes, accomplishing this level of confidentiality requires separate filing systems for different types of documents. With ImageNow, administrators can assign user security by document type, enabling HR associates to access only the documents they need to complete a particular task, maintaining the security and confidentiality of employee documents.

ImageNow is helping the HR department at Genesis Health System, a leading provider of healthcare services in Iowa and Illinois, protect employee privacy through the use of advanced security features and auditing functions. “ImageNow gives us stronger control mechanisms over confidential information,” says Beth Fox, senior analyst/project manager at Genesis. “If this information is shared through e-mail or workflow there is an audit trail, so we know who has viewed and modified documents.”

Records Retention Solution

Employment-related documents must be retained for the time a staff member is employed with the organization, and depending on federal, state, industry, or internal regulations, several years after the employee leaves the organization. Again this volume of paperwork is taxing on the efficiency of the HR department and its work space. Consider the time to purge documents and files that are no longer required to be retained and the valuable space these files are taking up.

Retention Policy Manager provides an intuitive way to track, audit and access documents and content in ImageNow—from creation through final disposition. This will enable your HR department to manage the lifecycle of all information to mitigate legal risks and strengthen compliance initiatives.

Audit Solution

Corporate governance and audit committees can motivate many HR departments to prepare for external audits by conducting mock or internal audits annually. With extensive document search and collection mechanisms available with ImageNow, HR departments are able to quickly locate and collect the appropriate documentation. The auditors can then be granted temporary access privileges to electronic documents, eliminating the need to find and retrieve paper folders.

For Flathead Electric Cooperative, a Montana-based energy provider, ImageNow has become a vital component of the auditing and records management initiative. “ImageNow makes it easier to ensure that records are maintained, stored, retained, protected and disposed of in compliance with our administrative, legal and regulatory requirements,” says Lori Blassing, records and information management supervisor at Flathead.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Solution

There may be thousands or even millions of documents contained in your active and inactive employee personnel files. In the event of a disaster, the HR department is typically immobilized if access to employee documentation is cut off, leaving staff unable to provide information to employees, their families or other entities. ImageNow can provide web-based access to documents housed in a redundant electronic file store during such events.

Workflow Solution

ImageNow Workflow solutions simplify cumbersome and risk-prone manual HR processes, allowing users to securely manage and share documents that are associated, and then route them to the next electronic inbox for handling. In addition to enhancing collaboration in the HR department, ImageNow Workflow can improve information sharing between the HR team and employees throughout the company. For example, a performance review can be quickly and securely routed between an employee, his or her manager and the HR generalist, without a single piece of paper being generated. Each person in the workflow chain is notified of work that needs attention, ensuring quick resolution.

Managers can monitor each employee’s queue and specific projects. If they find bottlenecks or the department’s priorities change (such as during a company-wide hiring initiative), the easy-to-use workflow designer makes it simple to reassign staff members so that they work more efficiently.

ImageNow had an immediate impact on the HR department at JWT. “When we’re considering an employee for promotion, we need to view many different documents, and the link between ImageNow and PeopleSoft enables us to do this with a single click,” says Michele Collorec, human resources manager at JWT. “ImageNow speeds all our HR processes because it puts a complete history of each employee at our fingertips.”

The first few days on the job are paper intensive for both new employees and the HR department. ImageNow brings flexible tools to better manage this barrage of paperwork. Documents can be captured electronically and filed within ImageNow, where they can be managed as a project until all documents associated with a new employee are received. Later, documents can be accessed instantly with a single click from within the HR application. “ImageNow is easy to implement and use,” says Gary Leitnaker, assistant vice president of Kansas State University’s HR division. “We instantly access important documents without leaving our desks. Information is now at our fingertips.”

The Perceptive Software Difference

When evaluating IT offerings, a thorough exploration of competing products is not enough. Decision makers must also take into account the ability of each vendor to plan and implement its products, and then to provide adequate support and other services.

The quality and timeliness of professional services offered by the chosen vendor will directly impact the total cost of owning an ECM software product. A low upfront cost can become irrelevant if project delays, comparably high services charges and/or restrictive long-term maintenance agreements come into play.

A structured project planning and implementation approach ensures that Perceptive Software rapidly deploys ImageNow to meet customers’ deployment goals. “ImageNow implementation took three days, so we were way ahead of schedule,” says Cliff Shigemi, corporate systems administrator at City of Lethbridge. “It saved us money because service costs were minimal.”

Many ECM vendors insist on customers signing expensive and rigid long-term service agreements that dictate the extent of post-implementation support. Perceptive Software approaches support differently, enabling customers to access knowledgeable professionals whenever needed, without the traditional limitations. “Perceptive Software’s support team is wonderful,” Highhouse says. “They always give quick, helpful responses to our questions.”

Perceptive Software ECM software products integrate easily with your business applications to fuel efficiency. With Perceptive Software technology, including ImageNow document management, document imaging and workflow, you can capture, process and collaborate on important documents and content, protect data integrity throughout its lifecycle and access precise content in the context of your everyday business processes.

By Laura Simcox, SPHR Solution Manager, Human Resources, Perceptive Software

Perceptive Software
www.imagenow.com
22701 West 68th Terrance
Shawnee, KS 66226

*KMWorld July/August 2009, Paper-To-Digital Business Process Automation How It Affects Businesses and the Ecomony   By John Gonzalez - Posted Jul 21, 2009