Employee Information Forms: What They Are, Plus a Free Template

How well do you know each of your employees? And how quickly could you find their details if you needed them? 

If you have comprehensive employee records, locating their information should be easy. From personal and work details to medical issues and tax status, the relevant forms give human resources teams a comprehensive view of each employee. 

An employee information form is just one part of the picture — but it’s a crucial one. Employee information forms bring key details about your workforce together into a single, accessible location.

In this article, we'll discuss what an employee information form should look like, as well as when and why you should use it. And we’ll provide you with a template to help your team craft consistent, accurate, and accessible employee information forms. 

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What is an employee information form?

An employee information form is a simple document for collecting and storing key details about an employee. 

Whenever you hire a new employee, you’ll need to collect some key information, including:

• Personal details: Name, address, employee contact information, and emergency contact details
• Employment information: Job title, department, start date, and salary

Your employees will also fill in these details on a wide range of documentation over the course of their careers — from job application forms and employee onboarding paperwork to benefits request forms, tax forms, and eligibility for employment forms. But the employee information form (also known as an employee information sheet) is the format companies use to make sure they get the basics in a single document. 

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Benefits of Employee Information Forms

Employee information forms make it quick and easy to access your employees’ records, helping your HR department be more efficient and effective. But there are other ways that employee information forms can benefit your business.

They give you better insight into employees and teams.

Employee information forms can let you see employees’ skills, certifications, and job levels. This could help you identify team members who have the right expertise for a project or who would benefit most from skills or leadership training. They can also help you monitor diversity in your workforce and highlight gaps where you could use more inclusive practices.

With consistent employee data, you’re better equipped to support employee performance and build a holistic workplace that promotes business growth.

Further reading: For more about how to create a high-performing culture, download Lattice’s ebook, The HR Handbook to the Transforming Workplace.

They enable better team management.

Employee information forms give managers and leaders useful information right from the onboarding process, enabling them to organize, lead, and support their teams more effectively. 

What’s more, comprehensive employee data helps inform effective communication for an inclusive team environment. With a clear idea about who’s on their team, managers are in a better position to foster positive collaboration. 

Ready to organize your employee data? Download our employee information form template.

Other Types of Employee Personal Information Forms

Here are a few of the other sources of information that you’ll need to compile to get a full employee record: 

• Job offer letter: Given to each new employee at the end of the recruitment process, this will state their name, position, start date, and location.
• Contract of employment: In addition to the job offer letter details, the contract will set out the employee’s role and responsibilities, work schedule and compensation, and more. 
• Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification): Employees complete this form on or before their first day to demonstrate their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Employers need to keep a valid Form I-9 on file for all US employees. 
• Form W-4 (Employee Withholding Certificate) and any additional tax forms: Employees fill in their filing status, dependents, tax credits, and other factors, which tells the employer how much federal income tax to withhold from their paychecks. Employers need to keep Form W-4 on file for each employee and update it if the employee’s circumstances change. 
• Direct deposit authorization form: Employees who prefer to have their pay lodged directly into their bank account use this to fill in their bank account information and authorize the payroll team to make the deposit. 
• Background check documentation: In the US, 95% of employers conduct some form of background screening of their employees, according to a 2021 report by HR.com. This might cover employment, education, and financial or criminal history to ensure employees are suitably qualified. Background check documentation will capture the employee’s consent, as well as the outcome of the screenings. 

Along with the basic employee information form, these other employee details are crucial components of your employee record. These forms help you stay on top of your obligations — including employee payments, labor laws, tax regulations, and data privacy standards — and protect your business from costly penalties. When you’ve got accurate records about your employees on hand, complete with their verified I-9 and W-4 forms, you won’t have to stress when auditors come calling.

Of course, you should routinely ensure your employee information forms are in line with regulations like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). 

Organizing Employee Information With HR Tech

As you've likely seen, employee information can be dispersed across diverse forms and documents. That can make it difficult for your HR teams to track down necessary information and compare details. 

This is where the right HR software can shine. You can use an HR information system (HRIS) like Lattice HRIS to capture, store, and manage employee information with ease. With customizable, calculated, and conditional fields, Lattice HRIS lets you tailor your data capture for each person’s country, department, or role.

Lattice HRIS also centralizes your employee record in a way that can be seamlessly integrated into your workflows to optimize your HR strategies, decision-making, and employee data protection. 

When should you use an employee information form?

The first and most obvious moment to use an employee information form is when you are onboarding new hires. Capturing that basic personal data in a new employee information form makes sense on day one. 

But employee information is not static. People move, get new phone numbers, and even change their names. They’ll gain new skills and qualifications and may get promotions or raises. Whenever your employees’ situation changes, you should update your records to reflect it. 

Periodically check employee data forms and provide employees the opportunity to update them. Everything may be as it was, but the routine review offers assurance. And on the occasions when there has been a change, you can remedy it easily, ensuring you always have a clear and accurate picture of your people. 

Here are some key moments when you should use an employee information form.

• Onboarding: Have your new employees complete the employee information form on — or ideally before — day one. Be sure to check everything is in place by the end of the onboarding process. For more ideas on what to include in your onboarding process, check out our guide Create a Master Checklist for Onboarding New Employees. 
• Status Changes: Regularly remind your staff to let HR know of any changes to the details in the employee information form so that the details can be kept as up-to-date as possible. Even better, encourage your employees to update their employee information forms themselves. A platform like Lattice HRIS makes it simple for employees to view and update their details. 
• Annual Audits: Conduct an annual audit of employee information forms to ensure that everything is present and correct. With electronic employee information forms, you can set automated notifications to flag any missing details or upcoming expiry dates. 
• Offboarding and Exit Interviews: Use your employee information forms to conduct exit interviews and offboarding of departing employees. Remember that you may need to retain elements of their information for a certain period after they leave. 

Harness employee data for good with Lattice.

Comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date employee information is indispensable for managing your workforce effectively. With all your employees' details at your fingertips, you can keep workflows smooth and efficient, make smarter decisions on performance and progression, and support the safety and compliance of your workforce. 

An integrated HRIS system like Lattice gives you a centralized repository for all your employee data — a simple, secure single source of truth, with everything you need in one place. 

As Amanda Heironimus, people partner at Long-Term Stock Exchange, put it in a quote shared to our site, “Lattice HRIS is helping us unify our employee records into one organized space. No more Google Drive personnel files or hand-crafted comp histories. Going forward, we can house it all in one easily accessible, beautiful-to-look-at space.”

With advanced permissions and real-time updates, Lattice HRIS empowers your employees to manage their own records and ensure everything is accurate. Our HRIS Report Builder also lets you easily generate unified, customizable reports from real-time employee data to spark insights and improve your HR decision-making. 

To see how Lattice HRIS can help your HR teams build an interactive, intelligent, and comprehensive employee information form, book a demo.