Electronic signatures for HR: how to digitise employment contracts and employee onboarding
Why use electronic signatures in HR processes?
Electronic signatures allow human resources professionals to replace steps such as printing, handwritten signing, scanning and postal delivery with a digital process. The advantage is particularly evident in onboarding, where documents and approvals often need to move quickly between HR, managers and new employees.
Moreover, a hiring process rarely concerns just one document. In addition to the employment contract, confidentiality agreements, internal regulations, company policies, attachments and other administrative documents may be required.
An electronic signature platform can bring these activities together in a workflow: the HR department prepares the documents, determines who must approve or sign, defines any signing order and monitors completion of the process. The employee can sign online, even without being physically present at the company.
Which HR documents can be signed electronically?
Electronic signatures can be used for many personnel-related documents, including employment contracts, contract amendments, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), regulations, company policies and onboarding documentation.
The required signature level may vary depending on the document. Before digitising a process, it is therefore important to verify any legal, contractual or internal organisational requirements.
In Switzerland, a standard individual employment contract under private law does not, in principle, have to be concluded in writing and may also be concluded orally pursuant to Art. 320 CO. However, there are exceptions and individual clauses for which written form is required, as well as possible requirements arising from collective agreements or other provisions.
When Swiss law requires written form, the level of electronic signature becomes particularly important: a qualified electronic signature (QES) that complies with the requirements of Swiss law can be equivalent to a handwritten signature.
For an HR department, it is therefore useful to classify documents according to the applicable requirements and choose the most appropriate signature level accordingly.
How does electronic signing work in new employee onboarding?
Digital onboarding can connect contract signing with the other activities required to onboard a new employee. The process can start with document generation in the HR management system or ERP and continue with checks, internal approvals, signing by the parties and archiving.
In a typical workflow, HR prepares the contract and other documents; the responsible manager reviews or approves them; the new employee receives them and signs online; any internal signatories complete the process in the specified order. HR can track the status and intervene when a signature or approval is still pending.
With high volumes, automating these steps can significantly reduce administrative work. gmp, an internationally active architecture firm, for example, has digitised contractual processes in onboarding with DeepSign and Abacus.The workflow handles around 300 contractual documents per year, enabling a 92% time saving.
How can remote onboarding be managed with electronic signatures?
In remote onboarding, electronic signatures allow new employees to complete documentation without physically going to the company. Contracts and other documents can be received and signed via browser, from a computer or mobile device.
For the HR department, it is important to be able to track the entire process: which documents have been sent, who still needs to sign and which activities are pending. Notifications and reminders can help manage deadlines without manually checking every individual case.
These features are also useful for companies with staff distributed across multiple locations. Säntis Schwebebahn AG, the company that operates the Säntis cable car and related tourism activities, has digitised various personnel management processes and document signing with DeepSign. The company has around 220 employees across three locations, with hourly staff and variable working hours. Digitisation has reduced activities such as printing, distribution and collection of documents; around 2,700 working-time records are signed electronically every year.
How can multiple documents and signatories be managed in the same process?
Onboarding may include an employment contract, NDA, regulations, policies, attachments and other documents. At the same time, the HR department, candidate, line manager, management and, in some cases, external parties may be involved.
An electronic signature solution should therefore make it possible to manage multiple documents, recipients and roles within the same workflow. Each participant can receive the documents relevant to them and take action at the point specified by the process.
Signing order, approvals, reminders and recipient assignment help coordinate these activities and reduce the number of separate emails and requests. For the new employee, having a structured process also makes it easier to complete the documentation required to join the company.
What should be considered when choosing an electronic signature solution for HR?
The right solution depends on the documents to be managed, the number of signatures, business processes and legal and security requirements. Before comparing providers, it is therefore useful to define the organisation’s specific needs.
| Criterion | What to evaluate |
| Electronic signature levels | Availability of the appropriate signature level for the different documents and applicable requirements. |
| Identification | Ability to verify the signatory’s identity remotely when necessary. |
| Data protection and location | Where data is processed and stored, security standards and data protection requirements. |
| Signatory experience | Ease of signing for candidates and employees via browser and mobile devices. |
| Workflow and traceability | Signing order, approvals, notifications, reminders, audit trail and document status monitoring. |
| Multiple documents and recipients | Ability to manage different documents, signatories and roles within the same onboarding process. |
| Integration | Connection with HR, ERP and document management systems to reduce manual data entry and switching between applications. |
| Automation | APIs and automated workflows to efficiently manage high volumes and recurring processes. |
For companies hiring employees in multiple countries, it is also important to verify the requirements applicable to individual documents in the different jurisdictions. In Europe, the two main regulatory frameworks are ZertES for electronic signatures in Switzerland and eIDAS for electronic signatures in the European Union.
A large-scale example: digital onboarding at Migros Ostschweiz
The Migros Ostschweiz case shows the impact of electronic signatures in a high-volume hiring process.
Before digitisation, the hiring process involved several manual steps and contracts were sent by post. Finalising a contract could take up to ten days, affecting administrative processing times and the waiting time for new employees.
With the introduction of DeepSign, contracts are managed digitally and new employees can sign them online. Migros Ostschweiz manages around 200 electronic signatures per month and has reduced the time required to finalise contracts from ten days to a maximum of two days.
At these volumes, the reduction in processing time results in a faster hiring process and fewer administrative activities related to managing paper documents.
What role can DeepSign play in HR processes?
Once the requirements have been defined, the available platforms can be compared based on the organisation’s needs.
DeepSign is a Swiss electronic signature solution that supports personnel management and digital onboarding processes. It offers simple electronic signatures (SES), advanced electronic signatures (AES) and qualified electronic signatures (QES), digital identification through DeepID and features for managing recipients, signing order, approvals and reminders.
For processes involving multiple documents, the Envelope feature makes it possible to group them within the same signing process. APIs and integration options also make it possible to connect electronic signatures to HR management, ERP and document management systems.
An example of integration at significant volumes is PHBern, University of Teacher Education of the Canton of Bern, which has digitised around 1,000 employment contracts per year with DeepSign and DeepID. Data from SAP HCM is used to generate the contracts, which are then reviewed, approved and signed digitally. DeepID is used for the identification required for the qualified electronic signature.
DeepSign therefore represents a solid option for Swiss organisations seeking to digitise not only contract signing, but also the steps that precede and follow it. For further technical details, it is possible to consult the integrations already available with DeepSign or contact the team to assess integration options with the systems and processes already in place within the company
Conclusion
Electronic signatures for HR can simplify the management of employment contracts and onboarding documentation, particularly in processes involving multiple people, different documents or employees working from different locations.
When choosing a platform, it is important to consider the required signature level, identification, data protection, ease of use, workflow management and integration with existing systems.
The objective is not simply to replace a handwritten signature with a digital signature, but to create a process in which document preparation, approval, signing and management can take place more efficiently and traceably.
Frequently asked questions
Can employment contracts be signed electronically in Switzerland?
Yes, but the document and applicable requirements must be considered. A standard individual employment contract under private law does not, in principle, require a particular form pursuant to Art. 320 CO. However, there are exceptions and clauses subject to formal requirements. When written form is required, a qualified electronic signature (QES) that complies with Swiss requirements can be equivalent to a handwritten signature.
What type of electronic signature is required for an employment contract in Switzerland?
There is no single signature level suitable for all employment contracts and HR documents. The choice between a simple, advanced and qualified electronic signature depends on the document’s legal and contractual requirements and the required level of assurance.
Is it possible to send multiple onboarding documents in the same process?
Yes, if the platform supports multi-document workflows. The employment contract, NDA, regulations, policies and other attachments can be grouped and managed in a coordinated manner, avoiding the need to create a separate signature request for each document. This simplifies HR’s work and provides the new employee with a more organised onboarding process.
DeepSign provides the Envelope feature, which makes it possible to group multiple documents into a single signing process and manage them together.
Which electronic signature solutions are suitable for Swiss HR departments?
The solution depends on the organisation’s requirements. An HR department should evaluate at least the available signature levels, signatory identification, data protection and location, browser and mobile signing, management of multiple documents and recipients, traceability and integration options with HR or ERP software. DeepSign is one of the Swiss solutions that supports these requirements and is used in HR processes by organisations such as Migros Ostschweiz, PHBern, gmp and Säntis Schwebebahn.
Which solution is suitable when both internal employees and external parties need to sign?
It is useful to choose a platform that makes it possible to manage different recipients and roles within the same workflow. Signing order, approvals, identification, reminders and browser-based signing are particularly useful when the process simultaneously involves HR, employees, managers and external parties.
Can electronic signatures be integrated with HR or ERP software?
Yes. APIs and integrations make it possible to connect electronic signatures to HR, ERP or document management systems, reducing manual activities and switching between applications. In high-volume processes, this makes it possible to automate a larger part of the HR workflow.
