What Are E-signatures and Why You Should Make the Switch

E-signatures are the legal equivalent of a handwritten signaturefor a dematerialized document. They use a secure digital certificate with signature authentication, which ensures that the contract has not been altered, and proves that the signature has not been falsified. Recognized by law in many countries, the electronic signature is gaining momentum due to its dematerialized access, which facilitates the signing of legal documents remotely, quickly and securely.

Now that you know a little more about e-signatures, you are probably wondering why you should implement electronic signature solutions in your business processes.

Here are the top benefits of dematerializing your contracts and adopting digital signatures in your organization.

The main advantage of electronic signatures is that they save precious time daily. By simplifying the steps involved in signing legal documents, you save the time needed to print and scan documents, as well as the more than often long delays in getting signatories to sign by hand.

In addition, the sending and reminders to signatories are automated to avoid unnecessary delays and the potential ensuing headaches. By adopting digital signatures, you will no longer have to wait for a late return from your employees and constantly remind them to read and sign their contracts. You’ll also be notified when documents are signed directly on your platform.

You can use all this time saved on administrative tasks to focus on more strategic aspects of your human resources management.

The nightmare of archiving and filing can finally end with electronic signatures. Say goodbye to long minutes spent searching for a particular paper contract amidst a ton of paperwork and filing cabinets! Moreover, digital contracts save a lot of space, especially when our offices have limited space and are overflowing with documents. By implementing this signature process, you will quickly see a positive effect on the space saved in your offices and avoid accumulating piles of paper on your desk.

Speaking of paper files: traditional contracts take time and lead to errors and oversights. Electronic signatures are also a simple and effective way to reduce paper consumption save on printer ink costs, and avoid unnecessary expenses. Even better: paperless offices are good for the planet. Reconciling economy and ecology is simply the best compromise.

One of the significant advantages of electronic signatures is that they are user-friendly. Nothing complicated here: all you have to do is access your contract or onboarding documents and sign them digitally. It’s that simple!

You can access documents via a link sent by email that redirects the signatory directly to the platform and the document to sign. Your employees will quickly learn the right reflexes and will be able to sign the contracts you send them in a few minutes. The documents will already be filed in your platform and accessible anytime. Nothing could be simpler, and your HR department, managers and employees will be happy with this signing process!

If you have security concerns, don’t worry. The law recognizes the electronic signature and its security level, which is identical to the handwritten signature. Therefore, the digital signature is secure, and the document integrity is verified. An electronic signature is also not reusablee (use of a unique ID or code for each signature) for strengthened security. Once signed, the document is unalterable and irrevocable, just like a paper contract.

The data relating to your contracts will also be centralized, preventing the loss of information caused by any paper misplaced or thrown away by mistake. Moreover, the contract will be accessible only to the sender and the signatory, guaranteeing total confidentiality and a very high level of security.

As we previously mentioned, electronic signatures are the ideal alternative to traditional contracts in this remote and hybrid work era. Unfortunately, managers and employees alike do not always have access to the tools needed to sign a paper contract – printer, scanner… – and finding solutions to these issues alone will take considerable time to spend on more valuable tasks!

Electronic signature tools are indeed more adapted to the current digital transformation, but they are a marker of workplace flexibility. Adjusting your management practices to remote work will show your remote employees that you care about offering them tools that are accessible to their everyday life. As for office-based employees, they will equally appreciate this simplified and flexible access to documents. Indeed, they will enjoy being able to sign contracts at home between two tasks and without the risk of forgetting the paper document at home when they return to work. Another key benefit is that your company will attract new generations of workers looking for improved digital processes in their work environment.

Imagine if this digital signature solution was made directly available and easily usable within your company’s HRIS. Your employees would be able to sign all their contracts remotely, with just a few clicks. Signing a document would no longer be a daily headache and a waste of time!

At Folks, we have integrated an electronic signature solution into our HR management software so that you can benefit from all the advantages linked to the dematerialization of contracts.

Automated reminders, time savings, access to all copies of contracts via your HR dashboard, easy access for all signatories… By centralizing all your HR data on our intuitive platform, you will benefit from all these features and much more.