Transforming Human Resource Recruiting with Electronic Signatures

The world of HR in the Philippines has undergone a revolutionary transformation over the last couple of years. While the hope was to leave the challenges of the pandemic behind in 2020, it was only the beginning of a journey filled with unforeseen obstacles. HR professionals and leaders have had to navigate through remote work, hybrid work setups, and the transition back to the office while managing their workforces during these tumultuous times.

The HR trends in the Philippines for 2023 present an intriguing case. To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on businesses, employees, customers, and other stakeholders, HR leaders and business owners have been making tremendous efforts. Companies have diligently updated their risk management plans to address specific exposures and identify sources of transmission. Employers have carefully assessed workplace risk levels and implemented necessary control measures.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of the HR industry in the Philippines, staying ahead of key trends is essential for success. Two significant trends are currently shaping HR practices, and understanding their impact is crucial. In this regard, eSignatures have emerged as a vital tool in navigating these challenges. By exploring these trends and the role of e-signatures, we can uncover how businesses can adapt and thrive in this dynamic environment.

Digital Literacy in the Philippines

Despite being one of the world's top users of social media, the Philippines faces a disheartening reality when it comes to ICT literacy. According to a 2019 report from the ITU website, only 6% of individuals aged 15 and above possess basic internet skills, with a mere 2% having standard digital skills. While these numbers have shown improvement following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a considerable gap to be bridged.

In today's digital world, teams must adapt and thrive. However, there remains a significant disparity between the digital skills required by businesses and the level of digital competency among employees. As we look towards 2023, one of the emerging digital HR trends in the Philippines is the prioritization of learning and development strategies that focus on equipping employees with essential digital skills. This approach aims to address the skills gap and ensure that teams can effectively navigate the digital landscape.

HR Data Analytics 

HR analytics, known as people analytics, workforce analytics, or talent analytics, encompasses the collection, analysis, and reporting of HR data. This powerful practice empowers organizations to measure the influence of various HR metrics on overall business performance, enabling data-driven decision-making. While some companies have embraced people analytics, many smaller-scale organizations still struggle to leverage data effectively. As one of the prominent HR trends in the Philippines for 2023, there is a marked shift towards adopting HR analytics for better decision-making.

According to a Jobstreet survey, Filipinos are more inclined to continue working remotely, with 28% expressing their preference for working entirely from home compared to 11% internationally. The recruitment market in the Philippines remains healthy and active, making it a suitable time for talent acquisition. With a thriving outsourcing market and 64% of the population falling within the working age range, the country is well-positioned to provide local talent for both domestic industries and foreign companies in the coming years.

HR professionals must embrace innovative solutions to navigate these evolving trends and capitalize on the abundant opportunities in the Philippines' labor market. Enter eSignatures—the transformative digital tool that can revolutionize recruitment processes. This blog will explore how e-signatures can support HR professionals in the Philippines by streamlining recruitment workflows, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring compliance. Join us as we delve into the power of electronic Signatures and unlock new possibilities for talent acquisition in the Philippines.

Frequently encountered human resource recruiting and hiring challenges

Have you ever wondered what stumbling blocks are constantly declining your recruitment efforts? They may vary according to the different roles you are hiring for. But most HR professionals usually encounter a specific set of recurring challenges. Here are the challenges frequently faced by HR professionals in human resource recruiting and hiring.

• Lengthy recruitment processes

  Lengthy and complex recruitment processes can deter potential candidates and lead to missed opportunities. HR professionals often struggle with inefficient workflows, slow decision-making, and lack of stakeholder coordination. Streamlining the hiring process, leveraging technology, and improving communication is crucial to address this challenge.

• Compliance and privacy challenge

  Human resources (HR) practitioners have a vital role in overseeing the management of employees within an organization, ensuring adherence to the ever-evolving regulations that govern employer responsibilities and safeguard employee rights. Failing to comply with these dynamic laws can subject a company to numerous risks, such as financial repercussions, legal actions, and harm to its reputation.

  Thus, HR professionals must navigate complex legal requirements throughout the human resource recruiting and hiring process. Compliance with anti-discrimination laws, equal opportunity regulations, and privacy laws is essential. Staying updated on legal changes, providing proper training to staff, and maintaining accurate records are critical for legal compliance.

  For instance, when going through the hiring process, you will inevitably encounter sensitive employee details, including phone numbers, residential addresses, social security numbers, driving license numbers, and other pertinent information. It is crucial to prioritize the safeguarding of this data.

• Ensuring a great candidate recruitment experience

  The experience of candidates is of utmost importance, particularly when highly qualified individuals are considering your employment offers. The way candidates are treated during the hiring process is indicative of the treatment they can anticipate upon joining the company. A negative experience during this phase could potentially discourage candidates from accepting job offers. On the contrary, positive candidate experiences can enhance the employer's reputation and influence top candidates to not only apply but also accept your job offers.

Also Read: Electronic Signatures: Simplifying Operations for HR Staffing Firms

eSignatures: Modernize and Simplify the HR Recruitment Process 

Here are the ways to enhance the recruitment and hiring processes with electronic signatures.

• Automate Manual Recruitment Tasks

  HR professionals waste around 14 hours weekly by performing tasks manually that could otherwise be automated.

  Much of this time is dedicated to repetitive administrative tasks such as processing employment agreements, authorizations for background checks, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and various other documents required for onboarding. This considerable amount of time could have been more productively utilized for employee training and fostering engagement.

  Using an eSignature tool like DrySign, HR departments can create templates for these documents so that most of the editing is done. In other words, the editable agreement templates will allow HR professionals to adjust relevant fields unique to the applicant, such as name, salary, job title, address, etc., without creating an entirely new contract each time.

  Additionally, electronic signature software offers seamless integration with widely used applications such as GoogleDrive, OneDrive, DropBox, and others. This streamlined process eliminates the hassle of transferring information between multiple applications, saving valuable time and effort.

• Make signing easier for candidates

  When candidates are burdened with managing email attachments, PDFs, or the hassle of printing, signing, and scanning documents just to complete the signing process for non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or job offer letters, it significantly consumes their time. However, electronic signatures offer a convenient and expedited solution. With DrySign eSign, HR specialists can quickly share a document, allowing applicants to sign onboarding paperwork instantly on their phone or computer browser. This eliminates the need for third-party software, printers, or scanners. Once the document is electronically signed, it is instantly returned to the HR professional, allowing them to proceed with the subsequent stages of employee onboarding seamlessly. Basically, the utilization of eSignatures expedites the recruitment process by enabling candidates to swiftly finalize their agreement signings, surpassing the time-consuming nature of traditional wet-ink signatures.

• Track your contracts

  Clear visibility into HR contracts' progress is crucial for maintaining productivity. When HR professionals can see that a prospective employee has received a contract and opened it multiple times but has not yet appended their signature, it allows them to follow up with the individual and ensure the contract is signed promptly.

  Specific contracts may necessitate multiple signatures from various managers. DrySign eSignature solution offers an intelligent group sign feature that enables parties to sign a document remotely and effortlessly. As contracts move through different approval stages involving multiple stakeholders and the HR department, tracking its progress and proactively reaching out to individuals, if necessary, have become possible with the help of eSignatures.

• E-signatures make the onboarding system legally binding

  HR documents must adhere to specific regulations and laws, ranging from background-check consents to job contracts. Fortunately, electronic signatures offer a legally binding solution.

  One notable advantage of using eSignatures is the inclusion of a court-admissible and traceable audit trail. This feature allows for the visibility of time stamps indicating when the candidate signed the document. Additionally, it can detect any attempts to tamper with the document.

  Internally, utilizing available templates for HR contracts brings added benefits. The legal department can review these templates to ensure they meet all legal and compliance requirements. Once approved, the templates can be reused confidently, saving time and ensuring adherence to regulations.

• Impress your new hires.

  Candidate experience is a vibrant aspect of the hiring process. While it's important to note that the recruitment journey doesn't end with a signed job offer, it marks the beginning of the employee's tenure.

  According to a report, only 12% of employees strongly believe that their employers excel in onboarding new recruits.

  Regrettably, many organizations burden new hires with a tedious task on their first day – signing numerous physical documents. This practice can significantly dampen the excitement of starting a new job. To alleviate this issue, HR departments should strive to eliminate the overwhelming paperwork new employees face.

  Fortunately, the introduction of electronic signatures has revolutionized the onboarding process. HR teams now can digitize the entire onboarding journey, ensuring that new hires receive all the necessary forms and information in a single, convenient package. The most significant advantage is the ability to quickly and effortlessly sign these documents, a feature that holds particular value for millennial workers. Considering millennials make up a substantial portion of the workforce, they have grown up in a technologically advanced era and prioritize leveraging technology to streamline tasks that they find tiresome or inconvenient.

• HR recruitment documents that can be electronically signed

  The implementation of electronic signatures offers significant benefits for HR departments. By considering the various aspects of recruitment and hiring that still rely on paper-based processes, it becomes evident why digitizing these processes is crucial. Here are documents that can be signed electronically by recruiters to streamline their work and enhance efficiency:

  • Letters to unsuccessful job applicants
  • Candidate placement forms
  • New employee detail request form
  • Offer of Employment Letter
  • Probation letters
  • NDA
  • Manpower requisition
  • Employment agreement and contract
  • Candidate evaluation form
  • Employee handbook
  • Authorization forms for payroll

DrySign e-signatures: Navigating the way to enhanced recruitment 

With a well-suited plan and the right set of tools, nothing can hinder you from achieving your objectives. DrySign is a platform that provides legal and secure eSignatures, supporting human resource recruiting teams to simplify and accelerate the application process. As many HR professionals start to integrate e-signatures, employee recruiting, and onboarding have become less intricate and daunting for applicants.

Here's how DrySign can help human resource recruiting teams operate efficiently:

• Legally binding

Compliant with Sec. 5(e) Electronic Commerce Act (Republic Act No. 8792) and certified by Entrust, a trusted certification authority.

• Group sign

Invite one or more participants with the Group Sign feature and dodge repetitive processes.

• Easy integration

Seamlessly integrate with DropBox, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, and other applications.

• Smart dashboard

Get an all-inclusive document overview, status, signing history, and tracking.

• Real-time mail trails

Real-time mail trails to always keep you in the loop.

• Custom notifications and reminders

Set up reminders and receive custom notifications in real-time.

Use DrySign e-signatures to achieve your goals! Go through our Free Version to get started!

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for general information purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Laws governing the subject matter may change quickly, and Exela cannot guarantee that all the information on this site is current or correct. Should you have specific legal questions about any of the information on this site, you should consult with a licensed attorney in your area.

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