HR automation has been at the core of revamping businesses to align better with modern technology and infrastructure. Before we discuss automation, it’s essential to know what HR is.
According to Investopedia–
Human resources (HR) is the division of a business that is charged with finding, recruiting, screening, and training job applicants. It also administers employee benefit programs.
Table of Contents
What is HR Automation?
Human resource automation uses software to transform the traditional landscape of human resources management. It involves using digital tools and platforms to streamline repetitive and laborious HR processes.
What is HR Digital Transformation?
HR digitalisation is transforming traditional HR processes by integrating the latest technology. Digital HR transformation allows people to better manage HR processes. Such digitization frees up HR professionals to focus more on people and other core functions of human resource.
If you are planning HR digital transformation and need a helping hand, this article explores the process and its benefits.
Benefits of HR automation
1. Data-driven decision making
HR processes often include working with large amounts of employee data. With HR automation, the data can be digitized, which enables data-driven decision-making. When data is collected and analyzed, managers can leverage analytics to identify trends, patterns, and insights about employee performance, engagement, and other HR-related metrics.
Companies with large workforce depend on predictive analytics to overcome their HR challenges. This is one of the most significant aspects of HR automation.
Businesses can use machine learning and predictive analytics to anticipate future workforce needs, assess the impact of HR policies, and make informed decisions regarding talent acquisition, retention, and development.
2. Transparency and consistency
Organizations must ensure transparency and consistency in its HR operations to maintain a fair and equitable work environment.
With automation in human resources, businesses can ensure that the policies and procedures regarding workforce management are consistently applied across the organization. This approach eliminates instances of favoritism, discrimination, or inconsistency in handling HR matters.
Another benefit of our HR automation is that it makes HR processes more transparent by allowing employees to access information about their benefits, leave balances, performance evaluations, and more. It empowers employees and addresses their HR-related concerns.
Transparency and consistency in HR procedures are also necessary for compliance with labor laws and regulations. Automating HR tasks such as compliance checks and reporting mitigates legal risks and demonstrates a company’s commitment to legal and ethical standards.
3. Better security practices
Running a successful business involves multiple responsibilities. One of the integral responsibilities is ensuring corporate and workforce data remains secure. HR automation addresses data security and privacy concerns at several levels.
When you automate HR processes, you can easily enforce strict access controls. It limits the ability to only view or manipulate sensitive HR data to authorized personnel. HR automation tools also employ sophisticated encryption to protect sensitive data during storage and transmission.
4. Increased employee productivity and better resource allocation
One of the reasons why automation has been critical for the success of every business is the need for improved productivity and resource utilization. Automation in human resources saves valuable resources, such as time spent on administrative tasks such as data entry and document processing.
HR managers can better invest their time and effort to boost employee development and engagement. HR automation brings resource efficiency that helps companies optimize human resources, budget allocation, and technology investments. It ultimately leads to higher productivity and profits.
An instrumental application of HR automation is employee self-service. With apps like Truein, employees can be empowered to handle tasks like marking attendance, managing leave requests, etc.. This frees HR personnel to focus on more complex matters, reducing their administrative burden.
5. Improved communication
Effective communication is essential for the smooth functioning of an organization. HR automation facilitates better communication through automated notifications, better onboarding and offboarding communication, and self-service portals.
HR automation allows managers to send notifications to employees directly, reminding them of important events, deadlines, or tasks. Such a system also serves as a communication hub for HR announcements, policy updates, and organizational news.
The software can automate HR processes to streamline workflows in onboarding and offboarding processes that help improve communication. Furthermore, automation tools can be used to gather feedback from employees through surveys or performance evaluations.
6. Reduced paper costs
HR automation significantly reduces the reliance on paper-based processes by offering paperless document management. You don’t need physical filing cabinets and hard copies when you don’t produce a paper trail.
You save costs on printing, copying, and mailing HR-related documents such as pay stubs, tax forms, and benefits information. Foremost, going paperless aligns with environmentally friendly practices.
7. Reduced errors
Manual HR processes are prone to human errors, another reason why HR digital transformation can help organizations. With HR automation, data accuracy across functions such as payroll can be improved.
It also helps organizations remain compliant with labor laws and regulations, minimizing the risk of legal penalties due to non-compliance. Also, automation tools can provide alerts for potential errors or inconsistencies.
Which HR processes can be improved with HR automation?
1. Recruitment and onboarding
One of the primary goals of HR automation is to facilitate the hiring process by automating job postings, resume screening, interview scheduling, and background checks. With the right system, you can simplify the onboarding of new employees.
2. Time and attendance
Automation in human resources eliminates the need for manual time and attendance recording. Truein is an apt example of an HR automation tool that completely automates time and attendance tracking, reducing manual data entry and errors.
Truein is a cloud-based, hardware-less time and attendance system for full-time, part-time, contract, and distributed employees. Businesses across industries – construction, manufacturing, manpower and staffing, etc. are benefiting from its features.
Its face recognition, AI-empowered technology eliminates time theft, while its features, like GPS geofencing, ensure that workers are paid accurately for hours worked.
3. Time off and absence management
HR automation like Truein also facilitates requesting and approving time off. Such tools allow employees to request time off and managers to address such requests digitally. It reduces paperwork and makes tracking leaves manageable for employees and employers.
4. Reminders and notifications
With HR automation, you can set rules and create systems to send automated notifications and reminders for various HR-related tasks, such as performance evaluations, training, or policy updates. It ensures employees get all crucial notifications, ensuring timely actions and compliance.
5. Expense claims
Automation in human resources also accelerates the processing of expense claims. Employees can upload claims, attach receipts, and track the status of their claims online. Automated approval workflows help process claims faster.
6. Employee performance tracking & evaluation
A significant benefit of HR automation is in tracking employee performance. Automated systems track employee performance over time-based on well-thought key performance indicators or KPIs, collecting data from several sources. This can help make data-driven performance evaluations.
They streamline the evaluation process by providing templates and automated documentation for performance reviews.
7. HR analytics
For data-driven decision-making, you need HR analytics. When you automate HR processes, you streamline data collection and analysis, enabling managers to access insights into employee engagement, performance, and workforce trends. It allows HR to adapt strategies for improved outcomes in line with business goals.
8. Employee offboarding & exit interviews
As important as the onboarding process in workforce management, employee offboarding also demands attention. With HR automation, companies can significantly simplify offboarding by providing checklists and automated workflows for tasks such as equipment return, access revocation, and exit interviews.
Conclusion
HR automation has evolved into a core requirement rather than a mere convenience. Companies that want to grow and improve their productivity embrace HR digital transformation. It offers several benefits, from data-driven decision-making, transparency, and security to enhanced employee productivity and cost savings.
FAQs
1. What is the future of HR automation?
The future of HR automation greatly relies on more integration and advanced technologies, including AI and machine learning. As automation continues to enhance HR processes, businesses will look for more efficient and data-driven HR management solutions.
2. Will automation replace HR?
No. HR automation can augment HR processes and make them more efficient by automating repetitive tasks. However, HR professionals will be required for strategic and human-centered aspects of workforce management.
3. Why should the HR department care about HR automation?
HR automation can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HR processes by reducing administrative burdens. It results in cost savings, improved efficiency, better employee experience, and data-driven decisions, all contributing to growth.
