Updated on 28/3/23
5 Different ways to store employee records:
As an HR professional, you already know how important it is to store accurate personnel records. You'll also know which ones are essential to store, acas.org.uk have put this useful list together to help guide you:
Personal Details: such as name, address and date of birth
Employment History: such as start date, promotions and job title
Terms & Conditions: such as pay, hours of work and holiday entitlement
Absence Details: such as lateness, sickness, maternity
Accident Log: covering any work-related incident or injury
Training Information: both internal and external
Disciplinary Actions: including termination of employment
But do you know where to store employee records? There are several ways to do this, some of which are better than others:
1. Paper-Based Employee Records
Perhaps the most primitive way to store employee records normally involves using physical files that are organised in a filing cabinet. There’s nothing wrong with doing this – at least not in terms of employment law – but it’s terribly inefficient.
2. Manual Electronic Employee Records
If this is how you store employee information, then chances are your desktop is littered with spreadsheets for tracking employee absences, text files containing employee contracts, and archives full of holiday request forms and other administrative documents. This is definitely a step up from using filing cabinets, but it’s certainly not the best technique. If you insist on tracking employee information manually using a computer, at least try to create a few good templates that make it easier. Here’s how to create a basic shift rota using Microsoft Excel.
3. Cloud Storage Electronic Employee Records
Similar to using text documents and spreadsheets that are saved on your computer, using cloud storage to keep employee records safe is a tiny step forward in terms of efficiency. Using tools like Google Docs or Dropbox means that although you still have the hassle of manually updating and editing your employee records, you have the advantage of being able to access them anywhere, anytime, on any device.
You can store employee records using a local HR system designed especially for that purpose. While this can take some time to install and implement, the rewards can be massive – because the systems are generally purpose-built for HR administration, repetitive manual tasks become a lot easier, and tracking becomes a lot more accurate and meaningful. Of course, on-premise solutions still have their drawbacks – generally, they are expensive to buy and expensive to run. Check out the hidden costs of on-premise HR systems here.
Choosing a cloud-based HR system is by far the most efficient place to store employee records. You can expect us to say that, of course, seeing as how we’re a cloud-based HR software company! But in almost every respect, this method of managing your data beats the other four hands down. For example, if you choose to use People HR for managing your HR data, you benefit from:
- No hard drive storage or server room required at your office
- No need for an internal tech team to keep your system running
- Unlimited storage for your employee records
- Free templates, contracts and letters
- Tracking, reporting and more
Of course, there’s only one way to find out if People HR really is the best place to store your personnel files – and that’s by taking a free trial right now!
