Why do human resource offices require applicants to fill out forms when the information is exactly the same as what's on a resume?

Standardization to avoid lawsuits claiming bias would be my main guess. Sometimes you can find useful hints in the discrepancies between the resume and the form. Hiring is all about trying to read between the lines and discovering that which the applicant is trying to keep from you.

(I also wonder – not to derail – why doctors make you fill out a three page health record every year even if you say that nothing has changed!)

The HR form has the info in a standardized format, while your resume does not (and might be missing info that they want).

Standardization, as others have said. That way the evaluator doesn’t need to search for the data – it’s always there in the same place.

If a file only had the resume in it, the HR officer would have to search the text for the information they were looking for, and if all the information weren’t present in the resume, the employee would need to write it down anyway, so with a standard form, the information is always present and easily readable.

Also, some HR forms may ask different questions that may not be on a resume, for example, “have you ever been arrested?” and if yes, “please explain.” That might not be information that someone would offer on their resume.

@janbb and they have me fill out an up-to-date form online, just to keep me standing (back hurts) when I get there and ask most of the same questions. I almost always ask them why, when I just filled out the online form the day before. Pisses me off SO much! My back hurts to just stand there for 5 minutes! And many times I was just seen somewhere in their health system the week before!

The information they have needs to be the most recent. They will not trust a resume that may have been updated multiple times.

They probably want to see certain information at a glance in a certain area of the application instead of having to try to spot it in some resume’. (Others here have said the same.)

Because like most HR departments, they’re using an enterprise software solution to process applicants. Since software does most of the work they need you to fill out the forms that they use to filter applicants with. If you get through that, someone real may actually read your resume.

That software is really helpful if HR needs to do a quick search for some info, or make some kind of company-wide summary report.