Automating HR processes can save your organization time and money, and allow your human resources team to focus their energy where it counts: on personal interactions with your employees, rather than on time-consuming manual tasks.
HR automation can streamline nearly every process your HR department handles, from the recruitment and onboarding process to leave requests and exit interviews. Not only does it make your HR team’s job easier, it can improve the employee experience.
Here’s how to use software to automate HR processes and simplify HR workflows at every stage of the hiring process.
How Do You Automate HR Processes?
HR process automation refers to any type of workflow that uses technology to perform tasks that would otherwise need to be done by hand. HR automation tools may include stand-alone software, as well as integrations with existing tools — such as a program that sends automatic reminders to job candidates through your email client.
HR automation works best with repetitive tasks that don’t require a lot of human input or decision-making, such as:
- Data entry
- Scheduling
- Notifications
- Time-tracking
- Accounting
Automated tasks should have a triggering event or a consistent place in your workflow. For example, when a candidate accepts a job offer, your HR system could initiate the employee onboarding process by sending out a welcome email for new hires.
Not all HR tasks can be automated, and an automated system shouldn’t take the place of trained HR professionals. After all, new employees may still expect a personal touch in their interactions with HR staff, and some tasks are simply too complex to entrust to HR automation software.
Still, HR automation can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to complete manual processes — and reduce the risk of human error along the way.
Benefits of Automating HR Processes
The benefits of automating HR processes go beyond saving time and money. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of HR automation and some HR automation examples:
Reduced Human Error
Whether you use paper forms or spreadsheets, manual tasks like data entry are a key source of human error in the HR management process. By digitalizing these tasks, you can ensure that the data you collect is up-to-date and accurate.
For example, by providing a self-service payroll portal, employees can enter their bank account info and update their payment details themselves, reducing the risk of human error during the enrollment process.
Improved Collaboration
Repetitive tasks that require the input of multiple stakeholders or team members are ideal candidates for automation. If two or more people need to sign a document, it’s time-consuming and inefficient to email a PDF back and forth.
HR automation software can send out contracts automatically based on pre-existing templates. Each party can attach their digital signature in real-time, allowing you to complete the task in less time and with less paperwork.
Better Oversight
Automation makes it easy to keep a digital paper trail of your HR systems so it takes less time to problem-solve if anything goes wrong.
Managers can review the performance of team members in real-time, and individual stakeholders can check in on the status of a request to see if it’s been viewed or is awaiting further input.
More Data
Finally, automating HR processes makes it possible to collect data that you can use to inform your human resource management strategies.
From employee retention metrics to hiring costs, analyzing employee data can help you improve your recruitment process and other processes over time.
5 Types of HR Processes You Can Automate
HR process automation is easy to implement and the right tools can provide immediate benefits to your HR team. From employee training chatbots to time-tracking apps, there are dozens of HR automation tools you can use to streamline your workflows.
Let’s take a look at five ways you can automate HR processes at your workplace:
1. Recruitment
The recruitment process has changed dramatically over the past decade, with applicant tracking systems (ATS) and AI tools taking on an increasing amount of the workload.
These tools can screen resumes, schedule interviews, send out offers of employment, and more. Although there are some pitfalls to avoid, such as bias in resume screening software, an effective automated recruitment process can improve outcomes for your HR team and employees alike.
2. Onboarding
An efficient onboarding process is the first step to a positive employee experience — but it’s also one of the trickiest parts of the process to get right. New employees need to be guided through payroll and employee benefits enrollment, set up user accounts on company software, and review training materials.
Some companies use chatbots to walk new employees through the process, ensuring that they complete each step successfully and can get help if they need it. Others use online quizzes and assessments to get new hires up to speed.
By spending less time filling out paperwork, new hires can get started on the job with less hassle, leading to improved employee satisfaction and retention.
3. Performance Management
Performance management is a big part of the HR team’s responsibility. By standardizing performance reviews with HR automation, you can undertake them more frequently and more consistently, and involve more stakeholders in the process.
For example, HR automation software opens the door to 360-degree feedback, peer reviews, and other appraisals that are more difficult to do on paper.
You can also use HR software to monitor timesheets and address recurring issues with tardiness or improper use of leave.
4. Time Off Requests
Leave of absence management is another time-consuming process that can benefit from automation. Each leave request involves multiple levels of oversight, including compliance with leave laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
You can use HR automation software to track leave balances, assess leave eligibility, allow employees to upload supporting documents, and more.
5. Offboarding
Employee offboarding can be an uncomfortable process for your HR team, especially if an employee is leaving on less-than-favorable terms. But performing exit interviews or surveys is key to reducing turnover and improving employee retention.
When you automate this process, you can gather feedback from departing employees in a secure and confidential manner, and ensure that you don’t miss anything — such as collecting security badges and removing access to internal systems.
HR Process Automation Best Practices
Automating HR processes doesn’t require you to overhaul your entire HR department. In many cases, you can digitize one workflow at a time, or introduce new integrations alongside software that you already use.
However you choose to go about it, here are three best practices to keep in mind:
Train Your Team Properly
HR automation may require your team to learn new tools and HR software. If you don’t take the time to introduce your HR staff to these new systems, they may not use them as efficiently and they may fall back onto the current way of doing things.
By having clear goals for the new system and taking time to explain how it works, you’ll be more likely to get full buy-in from your HR department.
Fortunately, with a low-code or no-code system like Pulpstream, your employees won’t need to have advanced coding skills to figure it out.
Don’t Automate Everything
HR automation works best with tasks that are simple, frequent, and repetitive. There’s no point in creating a complex workflow for tasks that you only do occasionally or that require a lot of human input or decision-making.
Knowing when to automate HR processes and when to leave things alone can simplify your transition to a more efficient workflow.
Provide Personalized Support
Don’t let HR automation software serve as a barrier between employees and your HR team. Ensure that your HR team is available for face-to-face support when necessary, and can step in to handle more complex issues and leave requests.
Job candidates and new hires may appreciate the convenience and reduced paperwork of HR automation — but they don’t want to feel like a cog in the machine.
Starting a new job should feel like joining a team, and your HR automation tools should facilitate that process, not replace it.
Streamline Your HR Processes With Automation
HR automation can eliminate manual tasks and reduce human error at many points in the hiring process, from recruiting to onboarding. You can also use HR automation to streamline leave requests, manage benefits, conduct exit interviews, and more.
Pulpstream is a cloud-based management platform that makes it easy to automate HR processes and customize workflows without having to write complex code.
Get in touch today to request a demo and learn more!
