What does automating HR mean?
HR automation uses software or apps to handle tasks specific to human resources. It can help you overcome challenges, such as sourcing candidates andmanaging benefits effectively. Your HR staff can work more efficiently to better serve current employees and job applicants.
Benefits of automated HR processes
Automating HR processes can offer several benefits for your company. Your HR team will likely notice the most impact, but all staff members and interested applicants can also enjoy a better experience when it comes to HR tasks.
1. Eases staffworkload
The repetitive tasks that your HR staff has to do can eat up a lot of their time. Automating the easier tasks can increase their productivity without sacrificing activities that need to be done. Your staff can put their energy toward other activities that can improve your company overall.
2. Reduces errors
Human error is bound to happen when you do things manually. It doesn’t mean your employees are careless—it’s natural and can’t be avoided completely. HR automation can cut down on potential errors because it takes the human element out of processes. Of course, there can be glitches, but using high-quality software can improve the accuracy of your HR functions. That can save you money and keep your employees happier.
3. Improvesthe candidate and employee experience
Doing things to improve the opinions of job applicants and employees can boost your company’s brand and employee loyalty. Automation can help out with the candidate and employee experience by streamlining processes and allowing them to take care of things themselves.
During the application process, candidates can get quick answers to their questions through chatbots. You can also use automation to recommend positions to them. Easy interview scheduling and automatic communication can also leave a good impression on applicants.
Current employees can manage things like leave, time tracking and benefits on their own with automation. This gives them more control without scheduling a meeting with HR to make simple changes. Little perks like this can help with employee retention.
4. Cuts down on paper use
Completing tasks online through automated processes reduces the paper load in the office. For example, having new team members complete their new hire paperwork through the automated system eliminates the need to print out the documents and use all that paper and ink. It means you don’t need a staff member to process the physical paperwork, including copying, scanning and sending it to the proper locations. Plus, you don’t need the storage space to house physical copies.
5. Offersanalytics
Automationsoftware typically offers up robust analytics that can help you review your HR processes. You can assess data on job applicants, vacation time and benefits usage, among other things. That data helps you uncover trends and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the department so you can make changes.
HR processes you can automate
You can automate several aspects of HR with various software programs. Many of the productsintegrate with one another to transfer data seamlessly. The following areas can be automated.
Recruitment and hiring
Many tasks during the hiring process still need to be handled by real people. However, many tasks are easy to automate withapplicant tracking systems and AI tools. This includes creating job ads, scanning resumes, performing screening tasks, scheduling interviews and communicating with applicants. Chatbots can help automate responses to questions that applicants might have.
Your HR team should still build personal connections with candidates. This might include personalizing the interview process and following up over the phone with interview results.
Onboarding
The onboarding process involves lots of paperwork and routine tasks that are the same for all new hires. Automating the process lets them work through the documentation, such as tax paperwork, contracts and disclosures. It allows the employee to do the paperwork when it’s convenient for them, and it means your recruiting team doesn’t have to sit down with every new staff member to complete the paperwork. You can easily see when the onboarding tasks are complete so you can get the employee started on their work tasks.
Training
Training is typically a part of onboarding, but many companies also have ongoing learning opportunities for employees. Online training sessions can be shared automatically and completed at each employee’s convenience. You have documentation of them completing the training and can get notified when they’re done to make your records easier to manage.
Payroll
Depending on the size of your company and the frequency of your pay periods, running payroll manually could be a full-time job. Automating HR duties related to payroll means the calculations for taxes, pay, overtime and deductions are handled by the software to eliminate calculation errors. The system stores payroll records securely with paper files. You can also find systems that integrate with time-tracking and leave management software to make payroll processing easier.
Employee time-keeping
Along with payroll comes the need for accurate time tracking. Having employees manually track their time can lead to inaccuracies, intentional or not. Using electronic time clocks that use biometrics, PINS, cards or similar methods helps you keep track of time automatically. You can also use time-tracking software on employees’ computers.
Benefits
Benefits enrollment typically happens for new hires after they meet their eligibility period. Open enrollment each year gives current employees the chance to change or add benefits. Employees might also be eligible to change, drop or add benefits throughout the year if they experience a qualifying life event. Automated HR options for benefits allow them to self-select and enroll in the benefits they want to use. Employees can access their benefits faster with less work for your team.
Employee leave
Paid time off is a major benefit that employees appreciate. Tracking time off manually can be tedious and leaves room for error. Automatic leave accrual improves accuracy to ensure your employees receive the PTO they’re owed. Automating the leave request and approval process can also improve employee experience and save time for your HR staff.
Performance reviews
Regular employee performance reviews help you evaluate talent, identify opportunities for training and reward employees for strong performance. It’s also easy to forget to do those reviews at regular intervals. With automation, you can automatically send out the evaluation forms or activities to managers and employees. It helps you stay on track and get the review data you need.
FAQs about HR automation
Will automation take over HR?
Automation programs can handle a large portion of HR duties, but that doesn’t mean machines will completely run your HR department. Automating processes supports the job that your human resources employees do, and it removes some of their duties. However, many tasks still need a human element for effectiveness and accuracy.
What are the challenges of automating HR?
HR automation requires additional training and often involves a learning curve before your team is fully comfortable using it. You also have the initial investment in the automation tools. Despite being objective and removing bias from some processes, automation tools can still make mistakes. You also lose some of the human decision-making that can be helpful in many cases.
Are there some tasks that can’t be automated?
The more complex tasks assigned to the department, such as legal issues and activities that require critical thinking, can’t be automated. Many of the hiring process also requires human involvement to make the best decisions. Even processes that are automated need oversight to verify their accuracy. For instance, automated payroll might still need reviews from staff members to ensure employees are paid correctly.
