The way your organisation’s HR data is stored can affect how competently your HR department works. Properly storing HR data can help the organisation make financial and workforce-related projections for the company. Additionally, analysing reports and trends from data can help the organisation notice and eliminate obstacles to improved performance.

Effectively storing HR data can help your company ensure that information is securely handled, that data protection regulations are complied with, and that HR has easy access to relevant data to carry out all of their functions.

 

Types of HR Data

 

HR data includes recent and historical data across the varied HR functions. Some examples include the following:

• Payroll: This involves information on timesheets, employee salaries, statutory deductions, bonuses, etc. 
• Performance management: Performance review scores, reports, etc.
• Educational records: Includes information such as employees’ academic background and certificates. 
• Health records: Information such as medical tests, health insurance, medical history, emergency contact information, etc.
• Hiring records: Personal identification, resume, offer letter, referee letters, onboarding documents etc. 
• Exit records: Resignation letters, recordings or transcripts of exit interviews, severance documents etc. 
• Background check information: In some organisations, HR data could also include employee background check information like criminal records, credit reports, and more. 

Some Best Practices for Storing HR Data 

 

1. Training the HR Unit

 

By necessity of their position, HR is trusted with keeping sensitive employee and company information safe and readily accessible for use. It is important to continually train new additions to the HR unit on the confidentiality of their position and on measures they can take to ensure that sensitive information is not leaked, accidentally or on purpose.

 

2. Structuring File Naming

 

It is challenging to retrieve saved files when they are stored incorrectly. For example, saving an applicant’s resume as ‘download 1’ instead of a descriptive title like ‘Uche Abiola’s Resume’ will make it difficult to find when needed. 

As your organisation grows, there will be an increase in the exchange of information and files, making such a practice even more challenging to manage. It’s vital to have an accepted company-wide format for saving HR data. This also makes it easy to find files and folders even if a new hire takes over a role that was formerly filled by someone else.

 

3. Using Shareable Files

 

With tools like Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox, HR-related files can be shared and saved; documents can be collaborated on, etc. In storing HR data on platforms like these, you can also assign permissions to the files or limit user access. The drawback here is that even though you can save files in the cloud (which is ideal), you’ll have to make changes or updates manually, which can cause a discrepancy in data.

Producing reports is equally tedious with this data storage system.

 

4. Adopting Cloud-based HR software

 

Cloud-based HR software with the relevant modules needed by your organisation do not only help to automate HR processes but are also the generally accepted best practice for storing HR data.

With a cloud-based HR software like SeamlessHRMS, you can grant system access to the necessary people, and track their activities on the system, thus removing the likelihood of fraud, data manipulation, etc. You can also give the various admins varying permissions, or add them to an approval workflow to ensure due processes are followed.

Additionally, SeamlessHR is NDPR and GDPR compliant, ensuring that users’ data on all of our products are secure and that the necessary regulations are complied with in data management. SeamlessHR is also ISO 27001:2013 compliant, in line with global best practices.

SeamlessHRMS goes beyond ensuring your employee and organisational data is secure, to simplifying HR reporting with our robust reports and analytics module.

Learn out more about our range of HR software here.