Digital Safe: How to encourage your employees to connect?

The digitalisation of Human Resources is well underway in Belgian companies. One of the pillars of this transformation is the digital safe, which centralises and secures HR documents for employees. But while the tool ticks all the technical and regulatory boxes, its success depends on a far more human factor: employee buy-in.

The digital safe, a powerful but still underused tool

Most digital safe solutions on the market are technically reliable, secure, and compliant with Belgian legal requirements for data protection. They allow employees to access their payslips, contracts, certificates, or any other HR document at any time.

However, a digital safe that isn’t used remains an untapped potential. Too many organisations simply activate the system without truly supporting employees in adopting it. The result? Some never even activate their access. Others forget their password or don’t see any added value compared to the paper format they were used to.

For the digital safe to truly deliver on its promise, it’s essential to understand how employees interact with it, what motivates them to use it, and what might hinder their engagement.

 

 

 

What employees fear about the digital safe

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of an average employee. They receive an email inviting them to activate their digital safe. If they’ve never heard of this tool, several legitimate questions may arise:

  • Is it really useful?
  • Are my data safe?
  • Will I receive less HR information than before?
  • Will I have to log in every month?
  • If I prefer paper, is that still possible?

These questions, if not anticipated by the company, create a climate of hesitation. And in an already busy professional environment, anything that doesn’t appear immediately useful or mandatory is put aside.

Some concerns also relate to perception:

  • The tool is seen as complex.

  • The employee doesn’t understand its concrete use.

  • They see no difference from previous habits.

5 levers to overcome these obstacles and encourage employee buy-in

To motivate employees to use the digital safe, the key is to create a gradual usage dynamic, supporting them from launch and over time. Here are five levers HR can activate:

Lever 1: Tool accessibility

Access to the digital safe must be immediate, simple, and frictionless. A unique link in HR emails, visible presence on the intranet, a clear interface – all these contribute to making the first connection intuitive.

Additionally, mobile compatibility is now a must. Employees should be able to view their documents from their smartphone, without a complicated process. The smoother the tool, the more naturally it will be used.

Lever 2: Recurrence

One of the best ways to create a habit is through repetition. Don’t limit yourself to monthly payslips. Regularly add other HR documents:

  • Internal memos

  • Employment certificates

  • Year-end communications

  • Individual appraisals

  • Acknowledgement receipts

Each new document is an opportunity for interaction with the tool. By establishing this regularity, you instil the idea that the digital safe is a living, useful space – not a dormant archive.

Lever 3: Trust

Many employees don’t adopt the digital safe simply because they don’t see what’s in it for them. That’s why it’s important to highlight its concrete benefits:

  • Access to all HR documents in one place

  • Available anytime, even after leaving the company

  • Long-term preservation guaranteed

  • Greater security than paper or email

Don’t hesitate to share internal testimonials. When a colleague explains how they easily retrieved a document via the safe, it’s often more convincing than theoretical HR arguments.

Lever 4: Supplying the digital safe

The worst scenario for a newly connected employee is arriving on an empty platform. It reinforces the idea that the tool is useless. To avoid this, consider migrating past records by importing previous documents.

Even if this takes a bit of work initially, the benefit is clear: the employee immediately sees the value of the tool – several months or even years of payslips at their fingertips. The immediate effect is positive, making adoption easier.

Regularly supplying the safe also ensures it remains relevant and active. The more useful information it contains, the more it becomes a reference point in employees’ administrative lives.

Lever 5: Usage rather than activation

Too many companies aim for “100% of employees with an activated safe.” But that’s not enough. The real goal is for employees to use it. Activation without usage has no value.

To achieve a high adoption rate, think in terms of user journey:

  • What does the employee see first?

  • What’s their first action?

  • What will they find next?

  • Do they have a good reason to return in 15 days, a month, six months?

Answering these questions will help build a smooth and useful experience, naturally encouraging habit formation.

Key Takeaway

The digital safe can be much more than just a document storage space. It can play a key role in the relationship between the company and its employees, by making information accessible, secure, and centralised.

But to do this, it must be seen as a communication and proximity tool, not just an administrative obligation.

Your turn: simplify access, populate content, highlight personal benefits – and you’ll see employee engagement grow sustainably.

 

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