County of Los Angeles, Department of Human Resources
Furthermore, paper-based file sharing involves time-consuming effort. To view files, employees need to make an appointment, then wait on couriers or travel to remote locations to pull documents. Information can be difficult to access or misplaced. Outdated manual methods also introduced compliance and security risk with delayed responses to record requests under information access legislation or subpoena. Even digital files lacked integration and central access.
The County assessed all personnel transaction processes, gathering information on personnel records handling frequencies and storage requirements. Starting with a pilot in three departments, the County established a central online repository of countywide personnel records with OpenText™ Documentum™ , with plans to replicate across all departments.
“OpenText replaces the manual process of maintaining paper files with an automated, central and trusted system of electronic employee personnel records,” said Roozan Zarifian, chief information officer at the County of Los Angeles Department of Human Resources. “It provides real-time, secure and auditable access and adheres to standard retention policies in accordance with County policies.”
The integrated Electronic Personnel Digitization and Records Management system (ePR) supports a strategic County goal to realize tomorrow’s government today by transforming how information is shared, protected and stored. As its foundation, Documentum provides an established file structure and searchable index keys. Single sign-on is achieved through the cloud-based SharePoint® Office 365™ portal for easy access and management.
Murtaza Masood, assistant director for Branch I, County of Los Angeles Department of Human Resources noted, “For the first time all personnel files will be centrally accessible from the cloud by the employee. It increases employee productivity by reducing manual processes.”
Building upon electronic access, the County is automating employee lifecycle workflows such as onboarding, transfer and termination. It turned to OpenText to govern all aspects of content management for its ePR system: OpenText™ Intelligent Capture to digitize paper documents, OpenText™ Documentum™ xCP for business process management and OpenText™ Records Management to automate retention and disposition.
The County ePR system also integrates with six enterprise HR systems to capture documents natively from source systems. The County is transforming manual processes by using up-front forms and electronic data, reducing the need to print and scan paper files. Down the line, users track document checklists, prompt notifications for annual and scheduled tasks, and audit compliance reports from a central location.
The Documentum central online repository for personnel records will continue to be replicated until all departments are transformed, touching every employee. The County of Los Angeles has seen many benefits since implementing the solutions:
- By avoiding mailed paper documents, the County expedites onboarding for new employees and eliminates delays or travel for employees to view files.
- HR staff members use advanced discovery features to search and retrieve additional material, increasing productivity with constructive tasks rather than paper shuffling.
- Records managers now rely on Documentum to inform external audits in a timely, compliant and verified manner. They rest easy knowing digital retention and records management also safeguards files and provides recovery in the event of a natural disaster.
Along with benefits to employees, the County of Los Angeles estimates a substantial return on investment for the countywide ePR deployment. The Department of Human Resources conducted a return on investment (ROI) analysis quantifying time spent by HR staff to access and manage documents, copy files, recreate lost documents and transport material, as well as space used and expenses incurred to store the information.
