HR Notes is an element of the Human Resources module that allows you to maintain a record of key HR events (e.g. pay rises, contract changes, role changes, etc) and notes within your employees’ personnel files. Each Note is recorded against a specific employee and stored in a dedicated register within their individual record, from which it can be viewed and modified at any time. In addition, Activ allows you to link each Note to other items stored within your Activ system, and to add attachments, enabling you to signpost your users to relevant resources such as contracts, certificates, and letters.
Access to your employees’ HR Notes is controlled using the Human Resources: HR Notes permissions area, allowing you to provide users with access to your employees’ HR Notes without requiring them to have access to the rest of the Human Resources module. This may be particularly useful if you want to allow team managers to add and edit Notes, but not to access the rest of the HR data that is stored in your system.
It is important to be aware that by default Activ allows all users to view their own HR Notes through the My Details module even if they have no permissions to the Human Resources module (see Employee Permissions: Control a User’s Access to their own HR Notes). As such, you should not use an employee’s HR Notes to record any information that you do not wish the employee to see. Notes entered into this area are as much for the employee’s reference as they are for the HR Team’s reference, and are most effective when used to keep both the employee and your HR staff informed of key developments. They may be particularly useful when paired with the Human Resources – My Notes – Notify me of HR Notes created against my account notification setting, as this can be used to alert employees of their HR developments when it is not viable to contact them directly (see Notifications – Automated Alerts, Notices and Reminders).
