Automation can remove manual, time-consuming processes in nearly all areas of business, and human resources (HR) is no different. Many of the HR tasks that companies are forced to labour over can be streamlined, which gives leaders more time to focus on growing their business and helping their people succeed.
The ELMO 2019 HR Industry Benchmark Survey Report found that on average, managers spend about 149 hours per year conducting performance appraisals and an average of 15.2 hours per month on payroll accounting. The survey also found that 70 per cent of respondents have a budget for HR tech implementation despite the time spent on HR administrative tasks. Yet only 63 per cent considered it a high or medium priority.
While freeing up time is its own incentive, there are other reasons why a business should look to automate its HR processes:
Improving record-keeping
In many organisations, the HR records are stored in a maze of esoteric spreadsheets. This creates a ‘key person risk’ if only one person in the business knows where this information is and how to decipher it – without relying on the Rosetta Stone! Having proper record keeping is crucial to reduce mistakes, processing delays and improve compliance.
Performance shortfalls
In a growing organisation, every individual needs to be performing to the best of his or her ability. Without a performance management process or a learning and development strategy in place, it’s difficult to help people improve their performance and to truly measure how well someone has done.
A holistic view of people management
Understanding how the various elements of an employee’s experience with a company are entwined drastically helps improve their experience with a business. If someone’s performance is uncharacteristically lagging and data shows they haven’t had a break in years, it’s a clear sign some time off is needed. A technology platform that looks at the whole employee journey, not just one portion of it, leads to more informed and insightful decision-making.
Before businesses automate their processes with a technology solution, they need to conduct their due diligence and understand what solution will work best for them. Factors such as data security, the integration capability with other areas of the business and the analytics functionality are key considerations.
In the post-pandemic recovery, it will be more critical than ever before for businesses to remain competitive. Time should not be spent on unproductive or non-revenue generating activity if it can be reallocated to tasks that will help boost the bottom line.
Most importantly, the recovery will also require businesses to focus on their people and their wellbeing. To do this, organisations will need a holistic view of each individual and using automation to spend less time on administration is one way to achieve this.
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