In Natural HR's Documents module, it is possible to set up Company Documents that require an electronic signature from employees, for example to signify that the document has been read and understood.  

When a document is signed, several pieces of information are recorded.  The user's electronic "signature" (which can either be generated from their name or drawn), their name, the date and time, their IP address and some information about the browser they used are also recorded.

Setting up Electronic Signatures

Firstly, you should ensure that a default declaration has been created for employee electronic signatures. This declaration will appear wherever a signature is required.  An example declaration might read "I have read and agree to the attached document."

To set up your default declaration, as an administrator account, navigate to:

Administration > Company > Settings > Company settings

Click on the 'Self-Service' shortcut or scroll down to the 'Self-service' section, and locate the final field in this section entitled 'Electronic signature notification text'.  This is where you can create your declaration text. 

Once completed, click on the 'Submit' button at the bottom of the page.

Uploading a Company Document Requiring Signatures

To upload a new Company Document, you will need to go to:

Documents > Company Documents

Click on the 'Upload'  button near the bottom of the screen.  The following screen will be shown:

To require electronic signatures from a document, you should set the Electronic signature required field to 'Yes'.  Once you have set this to 'Yes' an additional field will be displayed for the declaration.  This will contain the Default Declaration Text from your Company Settings, but can be overwritten if you need a different text for this document:

Viewing Document Signatures

Once an employee has signed the document, signatures can be viewed by clicking on the 'View Signatures' icon in the 'Actions' column next to the company document. 

This will display a table containing the names and works IDs of employees who have access to the document, along with a label indicating whether the document has been signed by the employee, and if it has been signed, information about the signature provided. 

If the employee has signed the document, you can view the signature by clicking on the 'View' option in the actions column:

Important Note:

A Company Document which has been signed by employees cannot be deleted and will need to be archived.  In the case of an Employee Document which has been signed, the 'Document View Status' can be set to 'Private' in the case of an Employee Document if the document is no longer needed.

How to electronically sign a company document

A notification will appear in the To Do section of the employee's pop out menu inviting the employee to sign the document directly. The notice will contain the label 'Document Signatures', as shown below:

Once the employee has clicked through this notice, they will be taken to the below screen where they can download the document to view its contents and electronically sign it:

Employees can use the 'Auto generated' signature option to type their name into the box and automatically generate a signature.  Alternatively, the 'Draw manually' option will allow them to provide a free-hand signature using their mouse, trackpad or touchscreen as available.

You can direct employees to a version of this article relevant to their access level here.

Please Note: If you do not have any text within the 'Electronic Signature Notification Text' field in Company Settings and you don't have a declaration written specifically for a document requiring a signature then the notice to complete the signature will fail and redirect the user to the Homepage so it's essential to ensure one of these is completed.

Additional Resources

• A training video is available in our library on the topic of Documents is available here.
• A knowledgebase article on the topic of Company Documents and Categories is available here.