What are the HR Processes That Can Be Readily Automated

The HR Department is a quintessential function in any organization. It plays multiple critical roles such as that of a resource management specialist, atraining facilitator, a policy change agent, a work environment custodian,partner, etc.

With so many core tasks at hand, it is unfortunate to note that an HR manager spends an average of 14 hours a week doing mundane, repetitive paperwork, and as many 1 in 10, spend more than 30 hours a week doing the same (according to a research conducted in the US from 16^th February to 9^th March 2017, by Careerbuilder).

Can’t the advancement of technology help reduce this effort and make the HR department more productive? The importance of ‘human touch’ in human resources is undeniable, and technology can never replace that. However, by bringing in automation, not only can we better utilize our HR experts, but also cut costs, save time, eliminate errors, avoid any scope of discrimination or biases and improve data security.

So the real question is which tasks of the HR function can be automated without impacting the ‘personal’ element of the department.

The most obvious tasks that can be easily automated are the transaction-based repetitive activities such as writing standard emails, analyzing data, employee onboarding and answering FAQs. For example, Cisco has created a voice command app that can answer all the basic questions for newly recruited employees like ‘what is the leave policy?’, ‘what health benefits can I avail?’ etc.

It is also interesting to note that some companies like Unilever, Facebook, IBM and GE have gone much further and have used artificial intelligence to automate their recruitment screening process. Unilever, for example, received over 2,75,000 applicants for entry level positions through the ads placed in various digital media. After being validated on the basic qualification criterion, a candidate has to pass through 12 games, online tests and videos before being selected for a face to face interview. By following this recruitment automation, Unilever HR department spends time interviewing only the best candidates with almost 80% of all who attend the interview being offered a job.

Key areas to consider for HR automation

Some of the key areas that can be considered for HR automation are provided below-

Human Resource Management System

According to Wikipedia, Human Resource Management System (HRMS) is defined as ‘a form of HR software that combines a number of systems and processes to ensure the easy management of a business’s employees and data. Human Resources Software is used by businesses to combine a number of necessary HR functions, such as storing employee data, managing payrolls, recruitment processes, benefits administration and keeping track of attendance records’. The process flows prebuilt in the HRMS usually follow international best practices hence its implementation help streamlinecompany’sHR workflows to meet global standards. With all the employee information and documents made digital, data mining to pull up statistics and reports could then be done in matter of seconds.

Employee Performance Appraisals

Periodic performance appraisals are a major challenge and a time-consuming process for managers due to unavailability of accurate performance data. If the KPIs are clearly defined, and pulling of data &updating records is automated, it will make the process much more efficient and effective.

Leave Management

Applying for leaves and leave approvals over emails is extremely hard to track and map. This is one process that can be quite easily automated with inexpensive off-the-shelf software solutions readily available. This will help save hours of manual effort spent by the HR department in leave reconciliation.

Time Attendance Systems

Gone are the days of maintaining log books for tracking the time in and time out of employees. Automation using a time attendance biometric or smart card machines can save 15+ hours for a manager in a month, with no manual collation & reconciliation of data required during payroll processing.

Employee Recruitment

One of the most arduous tasks for the HR department is filtering through the huge pile of resumes of applicants, to find the right candidate for a position. Automating a part of these administrative tasks can speed-up and streamline the recruitment process. Smart recruitment automation solutions which are available now, allow you to configure different screening mechanisms based on position and hiring criteria. Candidates can take these various tests online and the HR department will receive profiles of only the top-ranking candidates ready for the final interview.

New Employee Onboarding

Onboarding is the second-most time-consuming activity for the HR Department, after recruitment. Collecting all documents from the candidate, drafting and filling up contracts, getting them signed and filed, take up a large chunk of an HR manager’s day. By having all these done online through a portal and using digital signage can reduce paperwork and save cost and effort.

Perhaps one of the most effective tools for improving the efficiency of the onboarding process is video. By utilising video for training, communications and hiring, HR departments can save both time and money on onboarding. It also enables them to simplify the process of introducing new features and products within the organization. Video production companies that specialize in HR videos like IG1 Communications are at the forefront of this change.

Claiming expenses

The manual process of claiming expenses involve handling multiple excel-sheets and paper bills, making the process not only tedious but also prone to a lot of error. Automating this tedious and repetitive process is extremely simple and will free up HR personnel to work on other more important tasks.

Summary

This is an era of massive technological advancements with machines getting smarter and being able to perform more complex tasks across various domains. Adopting these developments does not mean completely replacing your HR personnel through automation, but instead, means evolving them into a more focused strategic department for handling talent.

Parts of this article are brought to you by IG1 Communications via Presscast.io