Away with paper: (From left) Linda Jones, Lisa Baxter, Siobhan Evans, Helen Duncan, and Karen Bergsma dumping the hardcopy method for an online system.

The Human Resources Department's move towards "an efficient and cost-effective" paperless system has taken its first tentative steps with its first interactive online forms.

Driven by the Human Resources Systems Support Office, the first e-form was launched on 16 August and, in a first initiative, will allow staff to capture and update their employees' personal details. It replaces the paper-based method that took up to six weeks - with the assistance of additional personnel - to complete.

Business systems manager Lisa Baxter says the new system will allow seamless integration into HR's SAP information system, without any intervention from HR administrators or Excel spreadsheet uploads.

Part of the Adobe Interactive Form Technology licensed to UCT, the e-form looks much like its hardcopy cousin, but with some electronic intelligence, Baxter notes.

The technology pulls information from the form, identifies the relevant employee, and updates their record on SAP. All this without clicking a button - apart from the 'Send' button to return the email and form.

"This will reduce manual effort, and we hope it will free staff up to focus on more customer service-oriented issues," said Baxter.

The initiative will also reduce paper and printing costs, and improve turnaround times and data quality.

(ICTS and Blueware Consulting helped implement the system.)