E-signatures for employees in the new normal: Forrester’s findings and recommendations
Signatures aren’t just important for delivery drivers and repair receipts—they’re crucial for tracking compliance for employees and business processes, too.Here are a few of the most relevant statistics found in Forrester’s report:
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- Over 60% of surveyed business leaders said that eSignatures are necessary for their business to stay competitive.
- Universally, respondents knew that e-signatures are more budget-friendly, boost employee productivity, and also integrate with “everyday productivity applications”.
- 58% stated that since the COVID-19 pandemic started, more and more of their coworkers and competitors are rolling out electronic signature solutions.
- Digitizing document processes and document workflows is firmly connected to a better employee experience, 40% of respondents noted.
- 77% have decided that they search for e-signatures as a key part of any digital document solution when looking to purchase or upgrade.

Who is using eSignatures?
It’s not just customers signing for deliveries who should learn to appreciate e-signatures: Forrester notes in the final recommendations section that it’s key to view document digitization as an opportunity for the whole workforce—not just front staff and management teams.
The operations opportunity for e-signatures
With the findings showing that e-signatures (and digitized documents as a whole) aren’t seeing as much use by departments like operations, it’s worth highlighting why they should be.
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- Automation is on the mind of every leader responsible for digital transformation. When the best platforms are automating signature processes to make employees more productive, it’s time to explore how to apply that to your operations and HR departments.Signatures are just one of the many cogs in the employee experience wheel that can be digitized and automated. Sign-offs for safety checks, approvals and receipts are all tasks that benefit from being searchable and digital.
- The typical office structure has changed with remote teams and work-at-home setups. By implementing e-signatures as a baked-in part of your employees’ digital workplace, their true value will shine more quickly than you may think.Onboarding, routine training and screening processes can be streamlined with e-signatures. And if they’re part of your employee app, they’ll be sent to direct reports upon completion.
- When signatures are stored digitally, security risks and the potential for lost documentation go down. Forrester’s findings show that workplaces that aren’t using e-signatures and similar digital document processes are placing individuals at 10x the risk.
How digital sign-offs can be an addition to your organization
Moving from the print, sign, scan and email loop towards electronic sign-offs can make a world of difference for everyone from HR managers to frontline staff. It’s best to view a signature as more than just a signature: With iTacit, for instance, signatures are integrated right into forms and checklists. This way, an important policy can be a step in a form, with the whole form only being completed once the signature has been inputted. Then, a direct report will get the submitted form sent right to them, with the whole compliance process being completed once their sign-off is—well, signed off on! More than eSignatures, paperless signatures enhance traceability, lower risks and are an all-round valuable tool for the digital workforce.eSignatures are a worthy investment
The switch to digital documentation will only gain more momentum, with the future promising an even greater showing for the digital workplace.
Cameron is iTacit’s Digital Marketing & Demand Specialist. A storyteller and passionate communicator, Cameron is busy most days researching the latest trends and keeping content relevant and engaging.