The hiring process can be tedious.
- Generate an eye-catching job description.
- Sift through dozens, or hundreds, of applications.
- Decipher WHAT ON EARTH is written on said applications.
- Enter candidates’ information into data collection system.
- Find storage for applications, resumes and cover letters (there’s room in a back closet somewhere, right?).
And that’s all before interviews and background checks have even started! Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an easier, faster, and cheaper solution to your hiring and screening needs?
Paperless hiring platforms offer your ministry just that – a simpler and safer way to manage one of the most important aspects of your organization. It can be easy to dismiss a paperless office as too expensive or too complex to implement – especially for shoestring-budget or -staffed ministries, but the return on your initial investment will be so tremendous you’ll wonder why you didn’t ditch the white stuff a decade ago when everyone starting ‘going green.’
Protect My Ministry’s paperless solution, Ministry Mobilizer, is one of the most complete, time-saving tools you’ll find in the hiring and screening industries today. It offers offsite backup, data security and round the clock accessibility to your volunteers’ and staff personnel files and records. Here’s what else you get:
- Online background check authorization & online forms
- Online policy & applicant agreement
- Create custom categories/stages for applicants
- Keep notes and upload documents
- Automated notifications for new applications
- Unlimited secure online storage of documents
But don’t just take our word for how beneficial paperless hiring and screening solutions are. Check out these five reasons we curated from some top-rated articles on why you should be relegating your photocopier to the back closet instead of cramming it full of more paper.
1.) Document security. “Even a locked file cabinet is vulnerable to being broken into by someone with prying eyes. Your paper documents are not safe from those who really want to see them. In a paperless office, you can add several levels of security to keep unauthorized persons from seeing sensitive material.
The best document management software allows you to set individual and role-based security at the folder and file levels. This means that you can give different people different access to folders and documents based on their roles within the company. For example, you may want to give a manager read, write, modify and delete permissions on a specific file while giving his or her direct report only the read permission. Users without any assigned permissions on the file can’t access it at all.
A good security system also includes a tracking history so you can see when the document was last accessed and who has been accessing it. Placing security on folders and documents also can help your firm meet established business compliance requirements.” source: https://community.aiim.org/blogs/dennis-kempner/2014/07/29/ten-benefits-of-going-paperless
2.) Printing and Storage Costs – “Printing hard copies of business documents requires the purchase of paper, toner, ink, the printers and their maintenance. In most organizations, going paperless can save more than $500 per person per year in these supplies.
Paper files take up space and many organizations are forced give up their office space to file cabinets and boxes of documents. Paperless companies greatly minimize their need for storage space as a single hard drive, or the Cloud, can store millions of documents.” source: https://community.aiim.org/blogs/dennis-kempner/2014/07/29/ten-benefits-of-going-paperless
3.) Growth Potential – “Transervice Logistics in Lake Success, N.Y., helps companies manage their delivery systems. The human resources staff found they had more than 30,000 pieces of paper to track and store in their 1,000 employee records. With that information now stored electronically, the department was able to handle the addition of 500 employees (potentially 15,000 more pieces of paper) without needing additional space.” source: https://money.howstuffworks.com/how-paperless-offices-work1.htm
4.) Disaster Recovery – “Small businesses that have all customer records stored in half a dozen filing cabinets in the office face the risk that these files might be damaged or destroyed, or that the business may lose access to the documents for a time, said Alan Baker, president and chief consultant at Spitfire Innovations. “I have personally seen an office fire, a burst water pipe, a flood, an extended evacuation, and a malicious employee damaging and altering files,” Baker said. “In each case, the paper files were recoverable, but if they had been electronic and stored somewhere in the cloud, there would have been little or no impact and the business would still be able to operate.” source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6461-reasons-to-go-paperless.html
5.) Maintain Routine Compliance – “Many companies need to comply with legislation that requires specific procedures and processes in record keeping. For example, financial services need be able to show that their information is unaltered to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and medical practices must comply with HIPPA to prove that their records are safe from prying eyes.
There is no document management software that enforces industry standards and compliance. However, these programs can help you establish strict guidelines and processes to ensure compliance in case of an audit.” source: https://document-management-software-review.toptenreviews.com/the-benefits-of-going-paperless.html
This last point is critical in the hiring and screening industries because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and anti-discrimination laws regulated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A paperless platform is the ideal solution to help stave off any human error that might occur during the application, interview and screening stages.
Our experts would love the chance to explain the benefits of Protect My Ministry’s paperless solution, Ministry Mobilizer, to you and your faith-based organization. Better yet, take advantage of our free 30-day trial of Ministry Mobilizer to see how easy it is to streamline your background screening process. Give us a call at 1-800-319-5581 or email us at support@protectmyministry.com today to get started saving your ministry precious time, money and resources.