How HR Staffing Firms Use Electronic Signatures

Matching the right candidates with the right job can be an exasperating task for human resource (HR) staffing firms. In the past three years they’ve overseen mass layoffs, a shift to hybrid and remote work models and a hiring boom coupled with an exodus of top employees. Now, they’re staring down a financial downturn that could ultimately benefit them through the creation of more short-term contract jobs that need placement. In a World Economic Forum report, about 41 percent of respondents said they expected to use contract employees for task specialized work through 2025.

The right tools can help HR staffing firms develop the agility to respond to market changes while ensuring their clients are continuing to receive best-in-class service. Here is how Docusign eSignature can help at nearly every step along the HR journey, from recruiting and onboarding to retention and offboarding.

Helping clients recruit top talent

A recently-released Korn Ferry study found that more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled by 2030 because there won’t be enough skilled employees to fill the need. In such a tight labor market, staffing companies must use every tool at their disposal to attract the best candidates for picky clients. And with hybrid work becoming more of a requirement rather than a perk, firms are stepping up their remote hiring game to ensure they meet the best candidates where they are. Luckily for them, DocuSign eSignature can assist HR staffing firms on several fronts.

eSignature can help automate common HR staffing agency forms such as:

• Master services agreements (MSA)
• Service level agreements (SLAs)
• Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
• Contractor agreements
• Background check consents
• Employment verifications
• Job applications

Pre-built templates: Recruiters can leverage templates for commonly used forms like W-4 to save time and increase accuracy by ensuring certain fields are marked as required to reduce back and forth communications with candidates on incomplete forms.

SMS delivery: Candidates aren’t always glued to their computer, but there’s a good chance their smart phone is almost always within grabbing distance. SMS Delivery for DocuSign eSignature enables you to send real-time notifications for candidates to sign from their mobile device. 

Onboarding new hires

Recruiting strong talent is half the battle. Once the client has approved the candidate and the candidate accepted the offer, HR staffing firms are now racing against the clock to onboard them. Any delays can mean missed opportunities or late project kick-offs for clients and lost income for candidates.

DocuSign can help accelerate candidate onboarding processes associated with:

• Non-disclosure agreements
• Employment contracts
• Employment offer letter
• Tax withholding forms
• Employee agreements
• Lists of expectations
• Direct deposit setup

Here’s how eSignature can make the process easier:

ID Verification:  Automatically verify government-issued IDs digitally to make it even easier to onboard employees remotely. DocuSign ID Verification is fully integrated with DocuSign eSignature, enabling staff to securely verify new hire’s identities as a critical step in the onboarding process.

Reduce errors: HR firms risk coming across as sloppy or unprofessional when sending out documents that contain errors. There’s a risk the candidate could find the typos so offputting that they back out of the job opportunity. Because the e-signature solution walks the signer through a document, errors and inaccuracies decrease. On average, e-signature leads to 49% fewer errors.

Fast implementation: Many electronic signature solutions fit smoothly into your workflow and work alongside the tools you already use. It means you’ll no longer have to wait weeks to fully onboard an employee, saving time and giving new hires a more positive experience.

Integrations with other HR staffing and recruiting applications

Eliminate redundant work such as copying data from forms and applications into other systems. Your agency can easily embed eSignature into your existing tools with 400+ pre-built integrations, including Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, Greenhouse, LeverTRM, Staff 1, JobAdder, SmartRecruiters, Gusto and more.

Offboarding

Former employees can be future advocates if their last experience is a good one. DocuSign helps you manage sensitive employment agreements securely and reliably so your clients remain in good standing with former employees and you with your talent pool. eSignature can help with:

• Retirement fund transfers
• Retirement forms
• Employee termination letters
• Tax documents
• Non-disclosure or non-compete agreements
• Exit surveys

To learn more about how our eSignature tools can help ease the burden for your HR staffing firm, sign up for a free trial.