HR managers turn to email and intranet

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Human resources departments are increasingly using electronic means to tell employees about policy changes, but nearly half do not require any record of agreement, according to new research by NETconsent.

The majority of the 100 human resources managers surveyed at a recent HR conference in London said they use electronic human resources (e-HR) methods, with 33 per cent informing staff of policy changes via email. Another 28 per cent use the company intranet, while a fifth send out hard copies.

However, while email and intranets can help with distribution, it's hard to tell if staff have read or agreed to the changes, said NETconsent. Just three per cent use a system with an electronic audit trail and 45 per cent of respondents said they don't require any acknowledgement to new or altered HR policy documents.

Dom Saunders, the operations director at NETconsent, warned that an organisation could be open to litigation if it can't prove members of staff have been told of policy changes. "Having a clear audit trail of who has seen and agreed to policies is essential if companies are to protect themselves," he said.

But e-HR systems are not being widely used for such tracking, the study showed. Almost half of firms which keep a record of acknowledgement do so on paper, while another third use email.

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