How Nexus digitalizes its HR tasks with e-signatures

The identity and security company Nexus Group has been digitizing its HR tasks thanks to its own e-signature solution Nexus GO PDF Signing. “E-signing enables faster and safer processes. In addition, the e-signing service is easy and smooth to use,” says Sabina Olsson, chief human resources officer (CHRO) at Nexus.

Nexus has around 300 employees in a number of different countries, and the HR work previously involved many manual processes. The digitalization journey is made step by step, and an important part was to streamline the employment process.

“We wanted to get rid of paper handling and piles of unsorted papers on our desks. The manual work took a lot of time: for us who work at HR, for our leaders in the organization, and for the newly employed – they had to either come here to sign their contracts or mail them. The process was unnecessarily slow, and there was also a risk that the contracts would get lost along the way,” says Olsson.

Nexus became a pilot project for its own service

To solve the problem, Nexus became a pilot project for the new e-signature service Nexus GO PDF Signing. It’s a cloud service that enables an organization’s users to make reliable electronic signatures on PDF documents. The portal can either be used as a stand-alone service or integrated into the organization’s existing systems. Nexus chose the latter option, which means that login to the e-signing portal is managed via the Nexus authentication platform. The authentication platform is also used to log in to all other systems that Nexus employees need to access. Employees log in using the Nexus Personal Mobile app.

“Personal Mobile is a very easy way to log in with two-factor authentication – it’s like using Swedish mobile BankID. And the best part is that we only need to log in once to access all systems: the e-signature service, HR system, time reporting system, and so on,” says Olsson.

Possible to choose authentication method

Each HR employee has an account in Nexus GO PDF Signing, and anyone who wants documents e-signed just uploads them to the portal, invites one or more people to sign, and clicks the send button. You can also write direct messages to those who are to sign, and choose how they are to identify themselves when signing.

“We can choose from several types of two-factor authentication, such as our own authentication app Nexus Personal Mobile, Swedish Mobile BankID or Freja eID. We can see who has signed and who we are still waiting for, and we can send out reminders. Once all recipients have signed, we get a notification, and then we can download the document and save it,” says Olsson.

A future-proof and compatible solution

Nexus GO PDF Signing is compatible with EU regulation eIDAS, which means that it is possible to make advanced electronic signatures (AdES) with the service, and that it can be integrated with authentication platforms that accept foreign eIDs. As of September 29, 2018, all public organizations must comply with the eIDAS requirements.

“It will probably not take long until businesses also have to comply with similar regulations. I think it’s very good that we use a future-proof e-signing solution,” says Olsson.

Also used for e-signing of policies

Nexus also uses the e-signature service to sign internal policy documents.

“Electronic signatures are a smooth, cost-effective and legally sustainable way to make sure that employees have taken note of our updated policies and practices. Earlier, employees only signed our policies when they first joined the company. When the policies changed, we never got them signed again since it would have meant too much paper handling to get physical signatures,” says Olsson.

E-signatures necessary for HR efficiency

Nexus GO PDF Signing was launched in 2017 and the service now has a wide range of customers, including the Swedish municipalities of Lomma and Karlskrona.

“Electronic signatures are necessary if you want a more efficient HR function, so I can sincerely recommend it to all HR departments. We have digitalized a large part of our HR process now, which means that we save a lot of time on reduced paper handling and that we have better control on our documents. In addition, we have become more environmentally friendly. Another benefit is that we are perceived as a faster and more modern employer,” says Olsson.