Workflows help HR departments succeed in an emergency

A document management plan is widely viewed as being critical to smooth operations in any human resources department, and when various aspects of those plans can be digitized, it increases efficiency overall. This may be particularly true when emergencies happen – as they occasionally do – because comprehensive HR workflows can ensure everything continues to run smoothly behind the scenes.

Workflows should be in place, for instance, to alert employees as to a potential emergency at the office and provide instructions on what they should do, according to HR Technologist. Having that kind of plan in place makes it easy for HR stakeholders to quickly and easily communicate with everyone as directly as possible.

Different strategies
Of course, not all emergency workflows need to be the same; some can let employees at a small company know that the weather is too bad to come into the office, so they should work from home instead, the report said. Others may provide information about evacuation procedures at large office buildings to ensure everyone can clear out of the space safely.

Getting it right
Other types of emergencies that HR departments need to be able to quickly and easily handle include those that affect individual employees who may have to suddenly leave the office early or miss significant work time, according to Business 2 Community. When workflows can be set up to handle requests for time off that isn't as predictable as one might like, the confusion and potential work backlogs that might have previously come with such a situation either get handled relatively quickly, or don't crop up in the first place.

Companies should continually strive to evaluate their readiness for any situation, and that includes handling HR tasks at a moment's notice so that all involved can ably deal with whatever is necessary.