8 Examples of HR Automation

Two-thirds of HR leaders say their department is facing digital transformation and HR automation; yet, only 40% have a plan to navigate this new territory.

HR handles job posting, applicant screening, onboarding, benefits, performance tracking, departures, and more. When a company grows, has multiple locations or works remotely, it is impossible to survive without automation.

Legacy HR software can require custom programming, in addition to being quite expensive and complex. The good news is that HR automation is now both cost-effective and easy to deploy.  

What is HR automation?

HR automation is technology that works by automating recurring HR processes and streamlining document-heavy tasks. Without sacrificing quality, it dramatically reduces the time required to complete HR processes.

It can handle many critical administrative tasks such as data feeding, file creation, document sharing, selection of candidates with specific skills, pre-filling of forms, etc. When handled manually, these types of tasks can take hours.

Why should your company look into HR automation?

HR automation offers many benefits, including reducing printing and physical storage costs while providing convenient access to online files at any time and from anywhere.

When employee data is centralized, the efficiency of selection, recruitment and training is increased. Just as importantly, employees feel more engaged when they have time to focus on strategic tasks that contribute to the company's business goals.

When onboarding is automated, new hires can get right to work instead of spending their first week sifting through piles of paperwork and forms.  And data entry errors can be reduced.

This time savings also translates into reduced costs, especially when the HR team can become more productive.

Focus on what matters most: your people
The average HR department spends 40% of its time on tedious administrative tasks, such as pulling data from one system and entering information into another. If processes were optimized, HR could spend more time finding and retaining top talent.

With HR automation, you can create an environment that eliminates unintentional bias - an environment where you can focus on the most important aspect, qualifications. In addition, it's not uncommon for new hires to lose some of their enthusiasm after being consumed with filling out paperwork and managing emails.

Yet, if you automate your HR workflows, new hires and long-time employees won't feel as overwhelmed. Almost any HR process can be kicked into high gear and instantly improve the HR department's workload while increasing the engagement of employees who interact with HR.

8 Common Examples of HR Automation

Employee onboarding
Employee onboarding is one of the most time-consuming tasks the HR department takes on on a regular basis. From posting job openings to collecting resumes to interviewing and networking with new hires, all of these processes can be automated. Hiring, powered by HR automation, can speed up the onboarding process while reducing associated costs.

In addition, tracking, analyzing and measuring performance is not an easy process. In many cases, biases and inefficiencies can be part of the cycle. HR automation, on the other hand, allows for accurate tracking of the most meaningful KPIs to ensure that each employee's contribution is aligned with business goals.

Disengagement
Onboarding is not a pleasant process for either the employee or the employer. In some cases, it can feel awkward and forced. Nonetheless, records of disengagement must be collected and processed. In addition, company materials must be accounted for, returned and verified. Then, steps must be taken to remove the terminated employee from the payroll and benefits.

Instead, use automation to handle each of these tasks quickly, reliably and consistently to make the onboarding process more manageable and avoid any potential legal issues.

Leave Requests
There are many reasons why a team member may file a leave of absence request - whether it's for a medical procedure, sabbatical, training, or other. Processing each leave request is both tedious and time consuming. Plus, the time it takes makes it harder for HR to respond and approve requests in a timely manner.

In contrast, intelligent automation can provide secure and instant approvals while immediately updating employee leave records. As a result, HR can monitor and approve all leave requests more quickly and efficiently, and everyone is happy with the convenience of the process.  Watch a video on creating leave requests in IceHrm.

Expense Claims
Before HR automation, HR administrators had to wade through various Excel spreadsheets and piles of paper files. As a result, it took days or even weeks to sort through an employee's expense records. Even with a manual, detail-oriented process, expenses could be dated and have inaccuracies. Prior to any filing, the HR team had to process each expense through the company's system. It must also be reviewed and approved by the employee's manager. Then it has to go to the accounting department. It's the same process regardless of the amount of the request.

Not surprisingly, delays pile up, causing frustration and fatigue. However, with HR automation, tedious manual processes are eliminated while reducing accounting errors and freeing the HR team from involvement in outdated processes.

Payroll
In the age of government regulation, manual payroll processing exponentially increases the risk of error. Instead of manual processing, HR automation can provide accurate calculations, maintain payroll records to meet IRS and U.S. Department of Labor mandates, and ensure that employees are paid infallibly and on time.

Time Management
If you are still using a manual employee time tracking system, it is likely that employees are entering their work hours once the week is over. This form of time tracking is often error-prone, as not everyone remembers everything that happened during the workday. This is not a bad intention, but people cannot be expected to remember everything that is not usual, such as doctor's appointments, traffic jams, time off to pick up the kids from school and other unexpected activities. Without automation, this can become a real headache at payroll time.

Employee Benefits
Over time, employee benefits can be constantly changing for each employee due to life changing events, open enrollment, etc. Not to mention that it is extremely difficult to track employee benefits through paper and manual processes. It's time to mitigate the costs associated with benefits administration through HR automation. For example, you can automate the following:

• Benefits eligibility
• Benefits education and training
• Benefits changes due to life changes (marriage, divorce, move, birth of a child, new health condition, etc.)
• Open enrollment
• Benefits Integration

Managing employee benefits does not have to be a nightmare.

Tax return
Tax season is always exhausting for many businesses, as is tax compliance. The good news is that HR automation can give your business the opportunity to grow quickly. Using this cloud-based platform ensures that you charge the right taxes for your products and services, as well as use taxes. In addition, you can automate payroll taxes in accordance with each state's legislation.

In conclusion
Before you spend more resources hiring additional employees to manage your HR tasks, consider automating your HR processes. As organizations continue to evolve at breakneck speed, there's no reason to compete at a snail's pace using manual processes. With IceHrm platform, user-friendly interface and unparalleled support, you could be on your way to a streamlined and optimized HR department.