Inquiry - A caller is in need of an application to convert their school
sports registration form to an online format.  Rather than having
parents bring their students into the office to register, they would
like the capability to have them go to the school sports website, click
on a link to fill out the form, and have the information automatically
stored into an easily accessible database.  They also need the ability
to run different reports on the data, such as figuring out what shirt
sizes are needed for each age group and team without the hassle of
manually reviewing each form.

Solution - The eForm-Connect package would be customized and downloaded
to the sports department workstation.  The URL for the link can then be
placed onto the website for parental access.  Once downloaded, parents
have access to then fill out the form on their home computer.  The
eForm-Connect application also provides the capability to have a parent
or guardian electronically sign the form for approval.  Eform-Connect is
engineered as a relational database, allowing the Forms Manager to run
reports on the data stored.  With eForm-Connect, the system
administrator is able to run a specified report at the click of a button
and get instant results rather than go through the manual sorting of
forms into age groups, shirt sizes, etc.

Inquiry - A university would like to implement a new application to speed up the process of distributing, acquiring, and securely filing a variety of student enrollment forms.  Many of the forms require multiple signatures.  One example of the multiple signatures involved is:

1) The student first electronically completes the form and includes an electronic signature.

2) The student then emails it to a faculty member who then adds an electronic signature for approval.

3) The form is sent on to the Registrar for final electronic signature.

4) Finally, they would also like to integrate all form data into the student record database at the Registrar’s Office.

Solution - Although this process may sound complicated, eForm-Connect makes this multiple signature and data storage process easy and hassle free for all of the users involved.

When a student has received an email notifying him/her of the required forms, the student selects the web link to the university’s eForm-Connect application, logging in using secure login authentication.  When finished completing the form, the student electronically signs the form.  eForm’s electronic signatures are secure and fully comply with Federal ESIGN regulations.

Once the student submits the form along with electronic signature, it closes the browser and is automatically sent via email to the faculty member responsible for approval.  The faculty member then repeats the process, enters the web link, reviews the form and electronically signs the form.  Again, upon submission, eForm closes the browser and automatically emails it onto the Registrar.

The Registrar will then complete the process by reviewing, signing and submitting the form.  Each time the form is submitted the database is updated.  eForm-Connect also integrate eForms data with the university’s student records database.  eForm-Connect greatly reduces the time and work involved in obtaining multiple signatures on a form and eliminates countless hours spent by university staff manually filing thousands of paper forms.  eForm Connect dramatically improves a tedious and time-consuming process by combining eSignatures, with multiple email forwarding – an elegant automation of a formerly manual process.

Inquiry - Does eForm-Connect allow users to have access to all of the
forms, or only forms specific to the user?

Solution - The Account Management Tool, which is part of the Desktop Application Console, allows the Forms Administrator to determine what forms the users have access to.  This is beneficial because it enables companies who offer multiple forms within their eForm-Connect application to limit access of specific forms to specific users. Users will only have access to forms they are supposed to complete.  We can also optimize the Account Manager Tool to map users to specific supervisors. For example, a supervisor can log in to see all of the forms that have been filled out by users he/she is responsible for.

Inquiry - Can you upload or scan a copy of an image into the eForm-Connect file system?

Solution - Yes, eForm has the ability to easily upload or scan an image to a form in the database.  One example of document imaging that one of our customers currently is using is uploading a scanned image of an employees drivers license into their employee records without any hassle.

Inquiry- A company has a need to have their forms in an electronic format.  In particular, their Discrepancy Notice Form which they use internally to document parts that require further review.  There are several levels of authority access that will be required.  They also need the system to be fully accessible as a database so they can run customized reports. Another form this company uses is a procedure/instruction form on who fills out the form and when.  They anticipate that eventually all forms like our HR documents will also be converted over to a paperless system

Solution- eForm-Connect can provide a solution for all of these requests. The Discrepancy Notice Form can be filled out electronically and capture the form data.  eForm-Connect can programatically route the completed form to go through the different levels of authority to speed up their work flow process.  The Discrepancy Notice can be sent via email to each new level and notification can be received once the form has been approved. Data is captured into a database of their choice or a database provided by LimaCorp and can be integrated with other databases either locally or remotely.  Forms can be emailed out or automatically submitted to a supervisor with a click of a button.

Inquiry - Contractor has the need to fill out reports out in the field. They will have little or no internet connectivity. Once they are connected to the internet they need to be able to have the forms routed to the next level of authorization (supervisor). From there the supervisor needs to review, comment and sign the form before forwarding it onto the main office. Fields need to be locked once a signature has been obtained at each level.

Solution - eForm-Connect can provide for a secure batch upload of the forms filled out while not connected to the internet. Once the form is filled out and signed the form will become locked for editing of any field above the signature. When connection to the internet is established the forms will be qued and sent up to a supervisor. The supervisor can be determined by a field selected on the form. The form will be sent to the supervisor and again locked upon signature collection. The form will then be routed to headquarters for final review, signature and storage. A flag will be placed on the form for fields that have “bad” data and can be easily viewed for corrections.

Inquiry - Mental Health Agency that would like to go paperless by filling out their patient records electronically. Some fields on the form require drop downs. They would like to be able to send the form out via email to collect a supervisors signature. After the form has been completed and saved they would like a copy sent to folders on the server that are broken down by patient name.

Solution - eForm-Connect can provide a solution for this. The patient forms can be filled out via online desktop consoles or via the web browser. Due to the nature of their work it makes sense for each individual to have a desktop console to fill out the forms. Forms can be emailed out or automatically submitted to a supervisor with a click of a button. The data can be hosted securely by LimaCorp or can be hosted on any SQL compliant database. eForm-Connect can programatically route the completed form to reside in the patients folder on their server.

Inquiry - Caller has a need to have their New Hire Paperwork filled out electronically and have the information sent to their current HRIS system. They also would like to receive notification when a packet has been completed.

Solution - eForm-Connect will allow your employees to fill out all their new hire paperwork online. Required fields can be determined so that a form is filled out completely. Once all the forms have been completed, an email notification can be sent to the manager to let them know that the forms are available for viewing. Data collected on the forms can be sent to their HRIS system automatically.

How to Eliminate Paper Forms within your Human Resource department

(Why Paper Forms for the Human Resource Department are increasingly a thing of the past)

By Dennis C Lima

This white paper explains why and how the high cost and unnecessary tedium of paper form processing in Human Resource management can eliminated.

After reading this report, you will know:

How the Internet and secure communication technologies enable near total accessibility to form processing systems;
Why the ESIGN Legislation Act of 2000 provides better signature authentication than the paper and pen; and
How work flow and data quality are enhanced in measurable ways.

This white paper establishes, without ambiguity that: There is absolutely no technical or legal reason NOT to computerize your paper forms.

When Human Resource managers consider implementing a paperless form processing system, two questions are raised, on technical and one legal:

1.After we capture forms and data in a computer, how do we collect and process it?
2.For forms that require one or more signatures, how do we implement electronic signatures in a legally sufficient way?

1. The Technical Answer: Secure communication technologies found on the Internet.

The reach and reliability of the Internet enable vast majority of organizations to connect to and interact with huge stores of information and conduct commerce with any business offering an electronic store front.

Financial institutions and commercial entities have perfected the implementation of secure communication technologies that far exceeds the secure communication requirements of most Human Resource form processing systems. To state in a different way: The technology used to secure billions of dollars of trade daily on the Internet is available for Human Resource form processing systems, although it is rarely needed.

Even if an organization’s internal computing network is not connected to the Internet, the same secure communication technologies are available for implementation. With an organization’s computers securely networked, capturing forms and form data into a database are reduced to a few points and clicks of a mouse. Form data are now available for reporting, analysis, and integration into other systems without redundant or manual data entry.

Hence there is not technical reason to not digitize your paper forms and make them available on your employees’ computers for fill out and submission.

2. The Legal Answer: ESIGN 2000 legislation

Human Resource managers often grapple with the concept of electronic signatures: how do we guarantee the validity and authenticity of electronic signatures AND make sure they are legally sufficient?

The federal ESIGN 2000 legislation puts this issue to rest. Still there is confusion and a resulting uneasiness with implementing electronic signatures.

The confusion is easy to understand. The first generation of electronic signature solutions revolved around the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) technology. Industry titan Adobe offers PKI technology with their ubiquitous Acrobat product. This is how most people are first exposed to electronic signatures. The technical complexity and tedious implementation requirements are, in a word, frightening.

The ESIGN 2000 legislation defines electronic signatures as “an electronic sound, symbol or mart attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record executed or adopted by a person with intent to sign the record.” That’s what happens when you buy a book on Amazon.com.

And, interestingly, because authentication data are captured in the information system supporting electronic signatures, electronic signatures have, in fact, a higher degree of authenticity than signatures made with pen and paper. Things like white-out and forgeries are intractable problems for paper based signatures.
Hence, there is no legal reason a digitized paper form cannot have a valid, authentic signature attached to it.

So, How Would it Work?

It does not take much to imagine how you can start automating your Human Resource department form-based work flow and seamlessly capture form data along the way.

Here’s how a common Human Resource department work flow scenario can become paperless.

Example: Instead of putting a Time Off Request Form out of the desk, an employee now can click on the company’s HR support website and access the digitized version of the form. The form is the electronic version of the paper form with which the employee is familiar BUT the form is a lot easier to fill out because:

1.Balloon help (pop-up help text) displays how much vacation time the employee has remaining this year.
2.The employee’s name and start date as well as the current date are already pre-filled;
3.The employee can electronically sign the request; and
4.Instead of putting the form in an internal mail envelop and dropping it in a supervisor’s mail slot, the employee clicks on the ‘Email Form’ button, selects his/her supervisor’s email address from a list presented in a drop down box, then clicks the ‘Send’ key.
5.The request appears in the supervisor’s email inbox. The email provides a link which brings the supervisor to the same electronic form (that was signed by the employee) on the HR web site (after logging on to the web site)_.
6.The supervisor approves the request by signing at the appropriate spot, then saves the form.
7.Saving the form triggers an email alert that informs the employee that the request has been granted.

Please note: No paper = High data quality, streamlined processing, happy employee, happy supervisor, happy HR department.

Take the Next Step:

Check your email for our invitation to visit our Form Upload site for a free estimate on what a customized eForm-Connect package would cost after incorporating your forms. Have your form file ready for upload.

Also, check your email for an invitation to try our Free Online Trial or go to www.eformconnect.com.

Call us at 877-426-7338 or email us at info@eformconnect.com for more information on what it would take for you to get rid of the costly paper forms in your HR department!