Using Bulk Sending of Fixed-Term Agreements at Eduvos
Efficiency is a term commonly used in business. But why is it such a desirable outcome? Simply put, efficiency allows workers to focus on other important priorities.
That’s why, for higher education institutions operating at scale, improving administrative efficiency has so many benefits. It boosts operational capacity, allows teams to focus on strategic priorities, and even improves the staff experience.
At Eduvos, one of South Africa’s largest private higher education institutions, contract management had long been a manual process that couldn’t keep pace with the volume and speed of HR operations. The institution’s workflow was weighed down by hundreds of fixed-term staff agreements that needed to be managed.
Recognising that its old paper-based workflow needed improvements, Eduvos transformed its contract signing process using Adobe Acrobat Sign, implemented with the support of Learning Curve.
The Challenge: Manual Processes Slowing Down HR Operations
Before adopting Adobe Sign, Eduvos had long relied on a largely manual process for issuing and signing staff contracts. This process saw administrative teams draft contracts in the following sequence:
- Draft the contract in Microsoft Word
- Convert it to PDF
- Have it signed by a company representative
- Emailed it to candidates for signature
While functional, the process was bogged down by several inefficiencies. Contracts often took up to two days to move from creation to final signature. Candidates without Adobe signing rights had to print, sign, scan, and return documents. These steps often caused delays and frustration.
According to Zahn van Niekerk, Human Resource Business Partner at Eduvos, the biggest pain points were clear:
“There were delays in sending out and receiving signed contracts, the candidate experience was compromised, and documents or attachments were sometimes not properly linked to the contract.”
The administrative burden was significant, especially during peak renewal periods.
On the Hunt for Speed, Simplicity, and Scale
Eduvos needed a solution that would eradicate the friction from the signing process while staying professional and consistent. The HR team desperately wanted to reduce turnaround times, eliminate unnecessary printing and scanning, and improve the overall experience for both staff and candidates.
What was most important was that the solution needed to work at scale. As a large and thriving institution, Eduvos routinely processed large volumes of contracts, making efficiency and bulk handling a major win.
The Solution: Adobe Acrobat Sign with Bulk Send
Working with Learning Curve, Eduvos implemented Adobe Acrobat Sign, with a particular focus on the bulk send capability for contract renewals.
Adobe Sign allowed the HR team to prepare standardised agreement templates and send them to multiple recipients simultaneously. This feature was crucial. In the past, contracts went out one after the other in a tortuously slow process. Now, with one click, contracts could be sent to several recipients at once.
Just as crucial was that each electronic contract was wrapped up in a legally binding digital signature workflow. Contracts could be signed securely from any device, without requiring recipients to create Adobe accounts or download additional software.
Time Savings Achieved and Capacity Reclaimed
The impact of Adobe Sign at Eduvos was immediate and measurable. By using the bulk send feature, the HR team was able to issue over 450 contract renewals in just a few hours, a task that would previously have taken days of manual effort.
Zahn van Niekerk explains, “A huge amount of time and effort was saved with the implementation of Adobe Sign, especially with the bulk send option.”
Beyond speed, the process became more reliable. Contracts were easier to track, the correct attachments stayed linked, and the risk of documents being misplaced or delayed was effectively removed.
Feedback from both HR staff and employees has been overwhelmingly positive. For HR teams, the process became simpler and much more transparent. For employees, signing contracts no longer involved printing contracts to sign them in wet ink and then scanning them back into PDF format.
These mirrored outcomes are seen at other educational institutions across the continent, where Adobe Sign has dramatically reduced turnaround times and eliminated document loss by providing a secure, digital workflow.
Supporting Eduvos’ Broader Digital Strategy
The introduction of Adobe Sign has had visible effects beyond contract management. By doing away with administrative bottlenecks, Eduvos has been able to reclaim time and attention and redirect them towards higher-value activities.
According to Zahn van Niekerk, “The transformation has greatly influenced Eduvos’ overall digital strategy in that it removed barriers to sending and signing contracts, creating more capacity to focus on activities aligned to our values of relevance and entrepreneurial spirit.”
This shift reflects a broader reality in higher education, that digital tools are most valuable when they free institutions to focus on people, strategy, and innovation, not admin and paperwork.
The Bottom Line
Adobe Acrobat Sign allowed Eduvos to modernise a critical HR function without disruption or complexity. By replacing a manual, time-consuming process with a simple, rapid, and scalable digital workflow, the institution greatly improved its efficiency, enhanced staff experience, and created space for strategic focus.
Central to this success was Eduvos’ partnership with Learning Curve. Through the direct involvement of Learning Curve’s Adobe Sign Specialist, Bishen Gosai, Eduvos benefited from a deeply customised implementation, with workflows designed around their specific institutional requirements. Bishen’s specialised expertise and hands-on guidance ensured a smooth transition, rapid adoption, and long-term sustainability. Together, Eduvos and Learning Curve demonstrated how the right technology, combined with the right expertise and partnership, can deliver meaningful, lasting transformation.