Another banner year for digital technology (lookin’ at you, AI) has got us thinking about the oldest HR stereotype in the book…paper pushing. In reality, large swaths of the HR workflow live in the cloud, and very few instances remain where paper is critical.
“A lot of the times, HR departments are understaffed, so they’re trying to do the most amount of impact in their organizations with the least amount of people…they might just default to things that are familiar to them, and what’s more familiar than a piece of paper and a pen,” said Will LaSala, field CTO for Americas, OneSpan, a cybersecurity company that helps businesses with user verification and electronic signatures.
So we asked HR pros: Where does paper still show up at work? One reader suggested paper documentation is useful for tricky scenarios, when hard evidence might be required to explain a company’s action, such as a termination.
“The key items I retain on paper (as well as scanned versions) are items related to former employees that in some way raised red flags of potential future issues.”—Craig Curtis, HR and payroll coordinator, Butte Humane Society
Sometimes paper is good for a back-up or when electronic sharing of information is not preferred or not possible.
“Our team uses paper at hiring fairs in the form of flyers, back up for when technology goes haywire…presentations to Baby Boomers—they prefer the hard copy—interview questions (interviewees get a paper copy to review), [and] mail reminders for the less-tech savvy.”—Michelle Elliott, assistant manager, hiring team, San José Unified School District
The Man. Most HR pros who interact with paper do so because sometimes it’s the only means to file information with the government or because those documents are so important they might want a hard copy as a back-up.
“My biggest, and one of the only, uses of paper, is immigration filings which require a ‘wet’ signature. People coming to and working in the US legally do so under so much paperwork.”—Dawn LaPlante, director of HR, EVgo
Barely touch the stuff. Many companies don’t use paper, officially, according to those who reached out to HR Brew on the topic. Paper can be useful for handwritten notes in 1:1s and employee interviews, but the information on those documents usually moves to digital spaces for safe keeping, readers said.
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“I still use paper notes for my work to do list—simply because I like marking things off. For actual documentation purposes, I am all electronic now.”—Jamie Jackson, co-host, HR Besties, creator, Humorous Resources
“Same.”—Ashley Herd, co-host, HR Besties, founder, Manager Method
“I have tried several e-note options but keep returning to paper/pen. I like the feel of writing my notes…and feel there are few good options to help me move forward.”—Tobie Matherne, director of HR, Drylock Technologies USA
“I write notes if I’m meeting with my boss or a director. Otherwise, Otter [transcription software] takes my meeting notes for me so I can just pay attention.”—Kathy Nolte, administrative operations manager, Dancing Goat Gardens
“The only thing I have paper notes for is my to-do list for work and a notebook where I take chicken scratch notes during meetings (to help me with follow-up for the to-do list).”—Kate Karre, HR practice leader, Fine Point Consulting
Let’s get digital, digital. “There are numerous benefits to removing paper from your HR processes. One in particular is the benefit of building a more proactive versus reactive HR function—for example, being able to pull reports on recruitment efficiency will help you figure out where to quickly pivot in order to enhance your processes for better and immediate hiring results.”—Stephanie Manzelli, CHRO, Employ
LaSala also pointed to the inherent benefit of digitizing paper processes in the age of AI: usable, juicy, rich, people data.
“When you look at how much data HR departments are gathering…all of these things really go together in a paper world. You never see that again…unless something happens, and then you [have] to go searching for it… [When it’s digital] I can find it really quick, but really, it also helps your management style,” he said.