Document your employee lifecycle
When it comes to employee documents, create an inventory of your collection points, processes, and any locations where documents could be stored, considering the risks and pain points along the way. This is the first step in completing an HR compliance risk assessment. Then dig one level deeper by auditing your employee files to understand which documents are included, why they are important, and who has access.
Define your policies
After doing your research into applicable regulations for your industry and geography, define your document retention policies and identify which documents should be included in a file and which are must-haves. Understand why you collect these documents, ensure they have the right level of protection, and determine how they will be disposed. Consider access requirements for HR, employees, managers, other internal departments as well as external vendors. Ensure a process is in place in case of litigation, audit, investigation, or subject access request.
Automate your processes
Invest in technology that will manage all employee documents in one centralized location, reduce your compliance risk, automate your processes and free up HR’s time to spend on other strategic projects.
Review and refresh
Once a year, go through an HR compliance checklist. Set aside time to review your documentation and policies, research changes and additions to regulatory requirements, and audit both your processes and employee files to make sure everything is still on track.