Transforming Talent Acquisition: eSignatures as an HR Recruiting Solution

Recruiters - the masters of talent acquisition - are like canaries in coal mines, possessing valuable insights into future developments and serving as early indicators of change. These professionals are highly respected and entrusted with securing top-tier talent for their corporate clients. With their sharp instincts, industry expertise, and unwavering dedication, recruiters make the linchpin that connects exceptional individuals with the perfect career opportunities. However, the white-collar job market has experienced a layoff surge over the past few months across multiple sectors.

Many reasons are responsible for this, including the economic downturn, industrial shifts, technological advancements, labor skills shortages, global pandemic, etc. However, skills shortages, technological advances, and workforce management have become a challenge across industries, requiring swift and strategic action to cope with the situation.

According to a PwC survey, 75% of CEOs state workforce management (72%) and labor/skills shortages (78%) as the most significant challenges.

Nevertheless, in the face of an escalating economic downturn and persistent human resource challenges, the recruitment landscape presents a complex and contradictory picture. While specific industry sectors fiercely compete to attract top talent, others are scaling back their recruitment endeavors as a survival strategy in the aftermath of widespread layoffs. Businesses face ongoing pressure to evolve their talent acquisition strategies and reevaluate their recruitment processes to attract exceptional candidates who will thrive in their positions and demonstrate long-term dedication to the organization.

Luckily, there is a transformative solution that can revolutionize the way organizations tackle recruitment hurdles - electronic signatures. With their seamless efficiency and unparalleled convenience, e-signatures eliminate paperwork bottlenecks, enabling recruiters to navigate the hiring process swiftly. These digital marvels empower recruiters to streamline candidate screening, expedite offer letter processing, and accelerate onboarding procedures. By harnessing the power of eSignatures, recruiters can enhance the candidate experience, reduce administrative burdens, and propel their organizations toward a future of agile and efficient talent acquisition. To conquer your recruitment challenges with flair and understand the role of electronic signatures, dive into the blog below.

What are the main challenges in recruitment? 

Have you ever wondered what stumbling blocks are constantly declining your recruitment efforts? They vary according to the different roles you are hiring for. Here are some specific challenges HR professionals frequently face 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 challenges

  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.

• Ensuring an excellent 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 recruitment process serves as an indication 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 have the power to enhance the employer's reputation and influence top candidates to not only apply but also accept your job offers.

Also Read: 12 Must-Use Digital Tools for HR Departments

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), I-9 forms, and other documents required for onboarding. This considerable time could have been more productively utilized for employee training and fostering engagement.

  HR departments can use an eSignature tool like DrySign to create templates for these documents to avoid repetitive tasks. 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 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 consumes significant time. On the other hand, electronic signatures offer a convenient and expedited solution. With DrySign's online digital signature solution, HR professionals can effortlessly share a document, enabling applicants to sign onboarding paperwork directly 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. Overall, this expedites the recruitment cycle as electronic signing enables candidates to complete their contract signings faster than traditional wet-ink signatures.

  It takes 36 to 42 days to fill the average position in the United States - LinkedIn

• 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 yet to append their signature, it allows them to follow up with the individual and ensure the contract is signed promptly.

  Certain contracts may necessitate multiple signatures from various managers. DrySign eSignature solution offers a smart feature of group sign that enables the parties involved in contracts to sign a document 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. Both state and federal laws recognize the legal validity of e-signatures and documents. For instance, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) and Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA) explicitly state that contracts cannot be invalidated solely due to the presence of eSignatures.

  One notable advantage of using electronic signatures 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 have the ability to 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 eSignatures: 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 operate efficiently:

• Legally binding

Compliant with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA).

• Multiple signatories

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

• Hierarchial signatures

View and assemble acquired signatures in personalized structured formats.

• Easy integration

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

• Smart dashboard

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

• Time-stamp trails

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

• Notifications and reminders

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

• Bulk upload

Upload multiple hefty contracts and agreements in seconds.

• Custom templates

Instantly create and store custom templates that can be reused.

• Secure eSigning

Secure your workflows with password-protected documents and multi-factor authentication.

• Seal field

With your eSignatures, digitally add your company seal and logo for authenticity

Use DrySign e-signatures to achieve your goals! Try out 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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