What is employee document management?

What is employee document management? Employee document management is the practice of keeping an official record for all current and past employees. It includes all…

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Janine Wendling

January 30, 20234 minute read

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What is employee document management?

Employee document management is the practice of keeping an official record for all current and past employees. It includes all key documents generated or collected through the hire-to-retire lifecycle and is subject to multiple audits and controls. This information must remain private and protected, readily available to those who need it, until the eventual disposal at the appropriate time. The next generation of the filing cabinet (picture colorful manila folders with handwritten labels), it takes basic document storage to a whole new level with additional capabilities and functions designed to make life easier for the HR team, keep documents safe and secure, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.


Learn how to transform HR processes with employee document management solutions.


What are the capabilities of employee document management software?

Employee document management software does more than just hold a record of the employee’s work with the company. A robust solution will achieve all of the following:

  • Consolidate all documents from hire to retire into a single centralized source of the truth
  • Eliminate paper, along with the costs and risks that go with it
  • Make it easy to find a document quickly, using features like thumbnail view or full text search
  • Allow HR to drag and drop uploads for one or multiple documents
  • Standardize the organization of content with auto-created subfolders and document types
  • Ensure employee files are complete and up-to-date with all required documents
  • Automate the flow of information from an HR management system
  • Leverage existing role-based permissions to ensure access is authorized and documents are Definitions to help you improve employee document secure
  • Improve speed and accuracy by creating contracts and communications using automated document generation
  • Automate the retention and disposal of documents according to company policy
  • Include legal holds to prevent changes to files during litigation
  • Allow employees to view or create their own documents without HR intervention
  • Safeguard against security breaches

How does an employee document management solution for SAP® SuccessFactors work?

An employee document management solution that has been purpose-built for SAP SuccessFactors is seamlessly integrated to improve HR productivity, accelerate the employee experience, and simplify security, privacy and compliance. The integrations are built across 5 dimensions:

  • User interface – access the solution directly from SAP SuccessFactors, improving the user experience
  • Role-based permissions – leverage the existing permission model in real-time to ensure access is secure and controlled
  • Documents – consolidate documents from multiple modules and portlets in one centralized repository, making it faster and easier to find what you are looking for
  • Metadata – improve search and reporting with employee data from SAP SuccessFactors, and use it to generate personalized communications
  • Workflows – automate your processes to make HR more productive and offer a better employee experience

What are the benefits of an employee document management system?

Operational excellence for HR

HR teams have a lot on their plates and must find ways to create efficiencies in the administration of documents. An integrated employee document management system will help increase productivity and allow HR to spend their time on activities focused on the employee experience and business strategy. By automating document related processes, offering employee self-service, and consolidating in one easy to search location, HR can reduce some of the administrative burden associated with employee files.

Compliance and security simplified

With new and complex regulations around privacy and document retention, as well as increased risks of security incidents, employee document management becomes an essential addition to an HR ecosystem. Complete and up-to-date files that can be located quickly, role-based permissions, full audit trails, and automated disposition will make compliance easier and help to reduce the likelihood of expensive legal costs and fines.

Elevate the employee experience

Employees expect digital processes, personalized communications, and quick and easy access to their information. An employee document management system offers employees the ease and transparency of being able to access their own files or generate certain documents themselves without waiting for a response from HR. A contract that is received digitally, free of errors, with the option of e-signature can go a long way to making an employee feel a sense of pride and trust in their organization.

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Janine Wendling

A 20+ year veteran at OpenText, Janine oversees product strategy and market activities for our HR document management solutions, supporting the HR digital transformation for SAP SuccessFactors customers. Prior to this role, Janine led the HR Technology team where she was key in OpenText’s own internal SuccessFactors and Extended ECM for SAP SuccessFactors implementation.

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