It’s no secret that customers are a vital part of company success. An equally fundamental and essential part of a booming business is the employees. Companies can differentiate themselves with potential job candidates through their interactions with applicants. Given the fluctuating job market, where health and tech sectors are rapidly growing, small companies are hiring and large companies are laying off, it is more important than ever to gain and retain the strongest employees.

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The Case for Electronic Signatures
for Human Resources & Staffing
“Using DocuSign has solved the headache of getting
employee documents completed and signed. Now the entire
process is fast and easy for us and the signer. And the time-
savings is huge as DocuSign automatic signing reminders
eliminate the need for us to continually follow-up.”
Carrie Robuck, Human Resources
Orscheln
It’s no secret that customers are a vital part of company
success. An equally fundamental and essential part of
a booming business is the employees. Companies can
differentiate themselves with potential job candidates
through their interactions with applicants. Given the
fluctuating job market, where health and tech sectors are
rapidly growing, small companies are hiring and large
companies are laying off, it is more important than ever to
gain and retain the strongest employees.
While there are countless ways to make a strong, positive impression
on your candidates, a surprising—and cost-saving—way to build the
relationship is by using electronic signatures in all your documented
interactions with them.
Bring ‘Em on Board
Despite elevated unemployment rates, it’s not always easy for
a company to find and hire good talent. According to Forrester
research, while unemployment rates are at an average of 10%, within
the tech sectors and related fields its closer to 4%. Baby boomers
are retiring and there is a disconnect between open jobs and viable
candidates, so holding on to the strongest talent you can is more
important than ever—in fact, it’s being christened a “talent shortage.”
In May 2011, the index for recruiting difficulty rose in both service and
manufacturing sectors compared with a year earlier, based on the
LINE employment index. Thus, perception is becoming even more
important when it comes to employers looking to staff up, in order
for them to compete with the industry giants who can offer benefits
and salaries that younger companies cannot. Electronic signatures can
enhance your company’s reputation as an innovative company that
cares about making the lives of employees better.
Timing Is Everything
Time is money—and electronic signatures are the fastest and easiest
way to sign documents, such as offer letters. No paper, no faxing or
scanning and emailing. Electronic signatures show the applicant the
speed and efficiency they can come to expect within your company.
That speed and efficiency when applied to on-boarding also
diminishes the window of time in which your talent can be found by
and lost to another company.
The time consumed by paperwork and signing isn’t solely in the hands
of the potential employee. There are layers upon layers of approvals
required internally in order to finalize your new hire. A process that
could take weeks in a larger company or days in a smaller could
be shrunk to a day or just a few hours with an electronic signature
solution.
The Green Effect
An underappreciated facet of electronic signatures being used
as staffing solutions falls under the “green” umbrella. Electronic
signatures virtually eliminate the need for paper for signing legally-
binding agreements. And according to Time magazine, recent studies
show that generations born after the normalization of recycling don’t
want to work for companies known for polluting practices. Recent
studies by staffing firm Adecco USA show that 33% of workers are
more inclined to work for a green company, and more than 50% of
workers wish their company were more environmentally friendly. So
when it comes to the dividing line between your company and any
other, electronic signatures could be the deciding factor.
Gain and Retain
Electronic signatures speed up the recruiting process while also
reducing administrative time spent on other HR documentation—that
way HR can spend time retaining the employees you’ve gained,
offering a competitive advantage over other companies. After all, in a
2011 survey done by Lumesse, a projected one out of every three
employees are expecting to leave their jobs due to dissatisfaction. A
key way to improve satisfaction is to give employees resources that
help them save time in things like annual open enrollment.

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About DocuSign
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• 33% of workers are more inclined to work for a
green company
• 52% of workers wish their company was more
environmentally friendly
• Unemployment rates are at an average of 10%
• Unemployment rates in tech-related sectors
are 4%
Employees’ Green Preferences
More Inclined to Work
for a Green Company
Indifferent
Wish Their Company
Was More Green
52%
33%
15%
What to Consider
When considering an electronic signature provider to reduce on-
boarding cycles, it’s important to consider a few crucial aspects:
Ease of Use – When in discussions with a potential employee, the
easier and more painless you can make the process, the happier
and more accommodating they will be. Find an electronic signature
solution that is efficient and simple, that doesn’t require expensive
programs or delayed downloads. Remember, the easier it is, the faster
it is to complete.
Visibility – It is important to track each step as the document goes
through the levels of the on-boarding process. Instead of spending
time personally going from approval to approval, find an electronic
signature service that does it for you, one that enables you to have
multiple people sign the same document in the correct order, as
well as sending reminders to speed up the process.
Legally Binding – With the personal information used during the
on-boarding process, you want a secure solution for both you and
your new team member. A complete audit trail and tamper-proof
virtual seal of the signed documents, as well as through a secure and
encrypted web page.
Mobile – With the increasingly mobile way people are managing their
lives and the relatively short window during which skilled professionals
are on the job market, the speed and accessibility of a company can
be the difference between them signing with you or signing with
something else. Look for a solutions provider with a versatile and
secure mobile option that lets you send, sign and track contracts and
documents.
Branding – You want to provide a positive and consistent experience
for employees—especially as they are looking to join the company.
Look for a solution that allows you to incorporate your branding so
the signers will feel the experience is consistent with your company’s
identity: one that’s efficient and fast.
In It to Win It
It’s a dog-eat-dog job market out there, and only the strongest
companies survive. To equip your company with the best candidates
and the best tools for survival, you must begin to differentiate yourself
from the competition. Prove to your candidates that you are efficient,
establish yourself as green-friendly, and prove that there is a finite
and simple process and solution within your company. When Human
Resources spends their valuable time guarding your most pivotal
resource instead of getting lost in the maze of approvals, signatures
and paperwork, your company wins.