Using IncaMail to achieve a paperless office “We could set up an HR portal where employees can access payslips and other information for themselves”

Physically mailing documents such as payslips is costly and time-consuming. Thanks to IncaMail, Swiss Post is driving digitization forward and paving the way towards the paperless office. “Fictitious Ltd” shows how HR departments can save resources, costs and time sustainably with IncaMail.

Printing out payslips, putting them in envelopes and mailing them physically – this is still common practice at many companies and organizations, even in the digital age. As is the case at “Fictitious Ltd”. This has bothered Hans Meier, the company’s HR manager, for a long time. After all, it’s unsustainable to print so many documents for almost 1,000 employees every month, stamp the envelopes, take them to the post office and then have them delivered. Apart from the environmental aspect, the costs for paper, toner and postage add up to a significant amount over the course of a year. And the printer and enveloping machines have become increasingly faulty over time. What can be done to optimize the process and communication channels? Outsource printing and mailing? Or – considering rising prices for raw materials and energy – choose a digital solution? Let’s follow HR Manager Hans Meier and his colleague Carla Maggio as they go through the decision-making process.

“We could set up an HR portal where employees can access payslips and other information for themselves,” suggests Carla Maggio. “Hmm, that’s a complex IT project. It would involve a lot of sensitive data,” says Hans Meier. “80 percent of our staff work in assembly and don’t have access to that kind of portal at their workplace. To ensure a high level of acceptance, we would need to train everyone thoroughly. And that would be even more difficult to arrange for our temporary employees.” “What if we send the payslips to the employees’ private e-mail addresses?” says Carla Maggio. “It would obviously be important to be able to send the documents directly and easily from our payroll system. And of course, it needs to be easy for our staff to receive and open the protected documents. Including via mobile means.” She hesitates. “And are we even allowed to send such confidential data by e-mail?”

It’s a valid point: the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) clearly state that personal or individual data must be protected when it is sent in electronic format. Any company that violates this principle would face significant sanctions.

Carla and Hans then start looking at the cost of mailing the payslips physically: all in all, they estimate a sum of over 12,000 francs per year. How could these costs be reduced?

The Meier-Maggio team researches the subject thoroughly. Data protection, sustainability issues, increased efficiency, cost savings and easy handling for employees – all these factors lead to Fictitious Ltd’s decision to choose IncaMail, the e-mail encryption service from Swiss Post.

Content sent via IncaMail is not visible to third parties. At the click of a mouse, the data is encrypted according to international standards with patented SAFE technology and is not permanently stored anywhere. Employees receive their payslip directly to their private e-mail address as a secure and electronically signed e-mail. Outgoing and incoming IncaMail messages are documented by Swiss Post and are verifiable at all times. IncaMail is officially recognized by the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) as a secure delivery platform.

Another important argument for Fictitious Ltd: the switchover to electronic delivery via IncaMail can be implemented without a costly IT project. Thanks to its flexible interfaces, IncaMail can be used directly from business software such as SAP, Abacus or Microsoft Dynamics.

This allows the company to implement IncaMail for bulk mailing from its business software within two days. Swiss Post provides instructions, templates and checklists to inform and train employees free of charge. So now there’s nothing standing in the way of efficient encrypted mailing.

For staff at Fictitious Ltd, the solution is extremely practical: employees do not have to log in to a separate company portal, can access the information worldwide at any time and can archive their payslips in their mailbox.

What about costs? Hans Meier and Carla Maggio calculate everything again: apart from the setup costs, there is just a small annual flat-rate fee per employee. By eliminating printing, packaging and physical shipping, they achieve a cost saving of 60 percent.