How HR Professionals Can Protect Employee and Candidate Data

With data becoming one of the most sought-after currencies today, security breaches are not an uncommon occurrence. Candidate and employee data protection has never been more important, as the repercussions of data breaches can lead to a loss of money, confidential information, and brand reputation.

 

A secure, centralised electronic document management system (EDM) is a great solution to this modern problem. EDMs minimise the risk of security breaches and ensure your candidate and employee data is protected, along with many other additional benefits.

 

Centralised, secure and compliant document management with remote access for enhanced productivity

Manage multiple HR document formats through a single point of control

Users of electronic document management software (EDM) can place all document types – paper, digital files, audio and video assets – into a centrally controlled system that manages complex information by data type. From the point of data capture, documents and data become routinely embedded in your organisation’s daily processes and workflows.

 

Your stored data can be encrypted to minimise risks in the event of a security breach. Your organisation is protected at all times and hackers cannot see your data. When selecting an EDM system, ask how frequently the supplier’s software is penetration tested. The best solution providers will test every day.

Enjoy the many benefits of integrating your HR solution

While digital document management originated in the Accounts department, it has migrated across all departments and HR and Hiring Managers are the latest to adopt digitisation for compelling business-critical reasons.

 

Access control, centralised storage, remote access, time-stamped activity, comprehensive audit trails, GDPR compliance and automated retention/deletion all provide significant benefits in terms of workflow efficiency and security.

 

EDM enables organisations to store documents and data in a secure, cross-departmental central hub, which avoids risks of duplication.

 

The system also allows administrators to manage data access levels. HR departments and recruiters store sensitive information, so each system user can be restricted to access only the information they need to fulfill their role.

 

Operating with remote workers in 2021

The productivity and wellbeing of remote workers are two of the hottest topics in 2021. In the last year, organisations have further embraced digital transformation to achieve business agility and collaboration among staff, candidates, customers and partners. EDM provides an ideal collaborative framework to keep work flowing regardless of location.

 

The power of instant search

You may have millions of records in your systems so the prospect of manual search is simply not practicable. Some EDM systems have ‘clunky’ search techniques that show duplicate or multiple versions of the same document.

 

When selecting an EDM system, look for the most powerful search capabilities, with simple to use filters that clearly identify documents by a wide range of search parameters.

 

 

Meeting HR data privacy requirements

Organisations are obliged to govern access to internally-held sensitive information, while recent legislation imposes strict rules on how personal data is shared that has highlighted the requirement for data masking (redaction).

 

 

In the digital age, many documents are stored on in-house servers or in the Cloud, where people have direct access from anywhere in the world. The documents stored cover a wide range of types and information, including instances when an individual will need access to some of the information contained in a document, but some aspects of the document are too sensitive for unapproved people to see. Users can redact sensitive data for assured compliance.

 

Fulfilling subject access requests (SARs)

2020 saw the largest increase of subject access requests in a single year. Insurance company SARs have contributed to the rise. Organisations are obliged to provide data within 30 days, which presents the first challenge. The challenge is exacerbated when data is held in multiple locations or multiple formats – paper, emails, etc – and contains third-party references. Again, manual processes involve risks and high costs.

 

EDM enables HR professionals to retrieve all the data associated with a subject access request and ensure that it complies with data privacy regulations prior to release, by redacting sensitive information.

 

A unified system provides census audit trails

Security is a significant factor in best-practice HR operations. Systems integration means that there is a full record of each time a user accesses the system and a time-stamped log of activity.

 

A rules-based system requires minimal IT or management intervention and facilitates employee self-service, which greatly reduces the amount of time spent by key staff on relatively low-level admin tasks.

 

 

Simplifying the compliance life-cycle

The introduction of GDPR in 2015 placed an even greater duty of care on HR professionals in terms of the data they keep and how it is stored. EDM enables organisations to manage and automate data privacy from the time information is captured, through any mandatory retention periods, to the time data is destroyed.

 

Document indexing on upload, automated system alerts and assured timely data deletion help EDM users to embed effective compliance practices in their operations. Complete histories of large amounts of complex data can be produced in seconds to satisfy the strictest audit standards.

 

Managing mandatory data retention and deletion

HR and recruitment documents have specified lifespans that vary across standard employee records, candidate data, disciplinary records, ‘right to work’ documents, pensions, and many different types of information. Paper systems, manual data management and non-automated systems create a multitude of problems, from simple logistical issues associated with mass storage, access and staff time, to human error and even the potential for negligence or malpractice.

 

Digital document management makes it simple for organisations to identify and store documents by type so that they can be retrieved, reviewed, retained or destroyed according to company policy and industry regulations.

 

 

The importance of integration

An important consideration when selecting an EDM system is integration. Your selected system should integrate with all your current business systems to ensure all-important data centralisation. Data silos introduce operational inefficiency and heighten risks.

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Protecting your employee and candidate data should never be an afterthought. An EDM system simplifies this, with plenty of other additional benefits like collaboration when working remotely, automated workflow and more.

 

Interested in an EDM system for your business? Head over to Document Logistix to find out more.