Probably you know this already but still it’s important to acknowledge it from time to time. Employees are the greatest asset to your company. As HR experts, it is extremely important to focus on them. While that requires a lot of thinking, and planning to make communication easier, HR experts are often buried under paperwork and manual processes and there is no time left to experiment. The pandemic was an eye opener for so many departments, and HR was no exception. The department saw a massive shift to a remote way of working and managing paperwork was even difficult now. 
As we slowly move towards the post pandemic world, employee needs have expanded, and the budgets have shrinked. Document security, easy access to information, efficient workflow model is the need of the hour. Just like companies are concentrating on cybersecurity, business continuity, digitization of documents cannot be ignored. 
It is a rapid change, as HR administrative functions still depend on paper and manual processes. Automation of the paperwork means increased productivity and efficiency in areas that require constant work like recruiting processes and training processes. If automation and digitization is implemented, it will ultimately lead to less administrative work and more time for the HR department to focus on team building activities. 
Let’s take a look at some of the ways digital documentation can help:
Simplifying Compliance
Employee records need to meet legal requirements for security reasons. New regulations keep coming into existence, and the management of HR resources becomes more and more difficult. Papers make compliance a tedious process. If paper documents are digitized, efficiency can improve dramatically, security can be doubled, and needless to say compliance will be simplified. Document management saves time and resources, and helps ease the burden for the HR department for payrolls, taxes, and compensation claims, which otherwise is a tiring manual process. 

Streamline The Recruitment Process
It is no secret that the recruitment process is very time consuming. If everything like contracts, employee files and handbooks is digitized, the process of onboarding can be much smoother. Since the pandemic, the recruitment process has shifted to digital means and automated electronic documentation has shown its importance. It's easier to send, easier to edit and even sign now. For the hiring person also, automated electronic resume distribution gives instant information, making the entire process smooth. 
Performance Management
Automation almost eliminates the errors. Through digitized paperwork, the HR department can customize performance appraisal templates, schedule date reviews, capture and store all the information and retrieve it at the touch of a button. Otherwise a HR manager has to maintain different files for appraisals, promotions and important things like that. With automation, HR experts have access to consistent audit trails of employees’ work records which makes problem solving easier. 
Training and Development
Unless you are living under a rock, you must know by now that training and development activities through online means have gained quite a lot of attention lately. Through automation and digitization, these training courses that are in demand can be tracked. Remote workers can benefit from this, and everything can be shared with them with just one click if digitization is implemented. 
Security of Records
Paper can never be as secure as digital means. You might forget it on a desk, and sensitive information can leak within seconds. You can also forget the file someplace, only to never find it again. The information like family details, PAN number, salary, and everything is between you and the employee and should not be just left around. Also, paper can be damaged due to hurricanes, floods and such natural calamities. 
If you opt for digital methods, HR data is safe and secure. No unauthorized person can view the details and misuse them. Additionally, now computer systems are safer, cloud solutions almost make hacking impossible and they can be viewed anytime, from anywhere. Even if your computer suffers damage, the files and data would still be safe on the cloud. This implies in the case of natural disasters also. 
In a nutshell, this article was supposed to tell you how important it is to move ahead with time and leverage the power of technology correctly to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and ensure smooth operations. We hope we succeeded!