A Beginner’s Guide to HR Form Management

From onboarding checklists to performance reviews to termination papers, it takes a lot of forms to operate human resources. While a document management system may be helpful for organizing certain types of paperwork, it cannot properly handle the unique needs of form management. With so many forms constantly in use, gathering information from various people, HR departments need a dedicated process to manage it all. 

Older systems relied on paper forms, but today, web-based forms are becoming more popular. Whether gathering information from customers, vendors, employees, or business partners, a streamlined process will allow HR to distribute, complete and process forms more efficiently. By creating easier methods to collect and analyze data, HR departments also improve their processing speed and reduce overall costs. Rather than risking data loss or missed opportunities, a good form management system allows businesses to capture data and act on it to the benefit of the company and the people in it.

Creating Form Templates

HR is responsible for managing the hundreds of forms it takes to maintain healthy employer-employee relationships. Creating form templates is an essential step of that process, giving HR administrators the ability to reuse, duplicate, edit, and adjust forms without having to start from scratch each time. Using templates reduces the time and resource cost of form processing. And in the ever-changing nature of business, it’s important to use templates that are easy to update. Whether it’s a change in company policy, federal or state employment laws, or other requirements, HR administrators need to be able to make adjustments to the forms as needed.

Web-based forms can provide the flexibility HR departments need when creating templates. An organization can create a form that is customized to fit their exact needs and format it in a way that allows for efficient processing. Consistent formatting also provides a cohesive, branded image. 

There are a few different elements that can be customized to improve the data gathering potential of a form. The first step is setting up the proper data entry options for answers; deciding whether to use fill-in-the-blank options, drop-down lists, short answers, or checkboxes. Conditional formatting allows further control by setting up optional fields for special circumstances, or fields that will only show when applicable. Other important data points may include utilizing required fields or setting minimum or maximum character counts. 

Create Distribution Lists

A form is only useful when it lands in the hands (or inbox) of the right person. Some HR forms may be sent to every employee in the organization, others may need to be sent to certain groups, and others may need to go to a particular individual. Managing this layered, intricate task can become complicated without the right systems in place. Creating distribution lists can clarify the process and help HR administrators maintain a bird’s eye view over the entire system. Having the right categories and classifications can streamline onboarding, reviews, contracts, and more.

New hires, for example, need employment contracts and onboarding checklists. Managers may need to receive performance reviews for their employees or job requisition forms. Specific departments or groups may need their own forms as well, such as sales performance evaluation for the sales team, vendor forms, intern forms, or board of directors forms. And some forms only need to be sent to specific people when the situation calls for it, such as time off request forms or incident report forms.

By creating distribution lists beforehand, HR administrators can distribute the forms faster, knowing exactly who needs what and where to find it. 

Using Reminders and Notifications

In addition to having the right forms and the right distribution lists, HR departments need to know when those forms are completed or due. Implementing reminders and notifications keeps everyone updated throughout the process. Sending reminders to respondents ensures they don’t forget to complete a form, while notifications can alert HR when those forms are complete, so that administrators can take action when necessary. Using real-time updates and reminders helps keep the process moving forward at the proper pace and prevents forms from being forgotten or lost.

Benefits of Real-Time Reporting

Paper forms and manual form management can take a lot of time to process. Using a manual system requires entering the data from every form, such as performance reviews, into a separate processor. That data then has to be standardized and compared to the data collected from all employees, then put into a format that allows HR to glean insight from the information shared. Not only is this process slow, wasting time and resources, it also increases the likelihood of human error.

Web-based forms, on the other hand, allow HR to automatically sync forms data and immediately analyze the results—even before everyone’s forms are completed. This ability to review data in real-time decreases turnaround time without sacrificing accuracy. By saving time and cutting the risk of error, HR departments can better spend their time focusing on how to use the data.

Streamline Your HR Form Management

In order to use web-based forms to their full abilities, it’s necessary to use the right management software. Creating form templates and distribution lists, automating reminders and notifications, and managing the resulting data are just some of the features included with ComplianceBridge Intelligent Forms software. Using our management system, forms can be formatted to suit any business’ needs, customized to be distributed to the right people, and sent to users either within or outside of your organization. 

Getting started with ComplianceBridge Intelligent Forms is the first step toward streamlining your business’ form management and improving HR efficiency. With a user-friendly forms editor and organized storage library, forms no longer have to be a complicated, time-intensive process. You can begin gathering data in a way that truly improves your business. To see how it would help your unique business and needs, contact ComplianceBridge for a personalized demo.