The personnel management department is one of the main divisions of the organization. They do candidate screening, onboarding, internal events, training, assessments. It is very difficult to monitor the fate of each employee in the company, especially if your staff is scattered around the globe. This is where automation is needed.
What is HR automation?
Automation of work with personnel is a process of increasing the effectiveness of the personnel department by eliminating manual tasks and providing the opportunity to focus on key processes, such as selecting and nurturing talents, motivating, and adapting personnel.
Automation is a technology and its application to control and monitor production and services. It performs tasks that were previously performed by people.
Automation of work with personnel helps to increase efficiency in the company by reducing the time required to complete tasks, without compromising the quality of work. It’s best to automate administrative tasks, such as working with the candidate database, creating reports, and template documents: calculating vacation pay, sick leave, etc. These routine tasks can take a lot of time.
Investments into intelligent automation (IA) technologies
Benefits of automating HR processes
We all tend to make mistakes, especially if we process large amounts of data. If there is a way to minimize the possibility of errors, then it is better to do it. Here are the N key benefits of HR automation:
- Increase of department productivity through improved sharing and storage of information.
- Increase in employee engagement through the introduction of gamification and interactive programs.
- Reduction of document processing costs.
- Reduction of recruitment costs through efficient database management and recruiting automation.
- Minimization of the human factor, reduction of data processing errors.
- Improvement of the quality of data analysis and reports through intelligent analytics systems.
The HR function itself is very diverse and versatile. Some of the processes can be automated and run offline.
HR features that can be automated:
- Operating part (vacations, sick days, days off). These features can be linked to ATS/CRM mailing systems in a convenient format.
- Surveys and polls (preparation of survey templates, tabulation of results, which will be accrued by formulas). There are several free services (Google forms, Surveys) or relatively inexpensive (Survey Monkey) that allow you to template the surveys and launch them delayed.
- Recruitment process (recruitment management and recruitment funnel). These include tools for forming and managing a recruiting funnel. Here are the main principles of software selection: convenience, accessibility, and flexibility. We used the Google Sheets + Google Chat + Trello combination. Now we have switched to a specialized CRM system, which includes database management, project and contract distribution, social network contact parsing, scheduling, and execution control services with detailed statistics. Separately, the option to add customers to the general recruiting funnel window. The less you need to finish and fill in with your hands, the better the environment is.
Data automation greatly optimizes and enhances company processes. It also ensures their retention and ability to be implemented remotely.
What will be difficult to replace:
- Live communication of colleagues in a free atmosphere to strengthen team spirit and create an atmosphere of trust. Analog: convenient online format calls in a casual, entertaining atmosphere (online: cooperative & board games, English class, small group calls within one team to clarify anything). Also, informal chat rooms aka (Kitchen or Smoking area) work well.
- Management of motivation. This parameter should be transferred into an online call format and supplemented with constant sections of polls. Ideally, supplement the process with an in-house training and advanced training program.
- Adaptation. Part of the problem is solved by a unified checklist for each item and the availability of free-access documentation. It is better to translate all the training materials into the available online format as well. The picture is well complemented by a busy grid of 1-1 calls and periodic ringing in an informal atmosphere.
- Role-playing games and training sessions. It is very difficult to model and observe the process in a remote format. The process of discussing the results of observations is even more difficult. Alternating is participating in external organizational hackathons or sprints. It is better implemented in batch format. If the result of these programs is to form a team, then the discussion should be done individually, supported by the forms of the survey.
- Celebrating holidays and birthdays. Here you need to develop certain traditions and follow them. First, it is best to conduct some anonymous and open surveys of the employees’ expectations and desires. This will help create ready-made celebration models and increase employee loyalty/engagement. Why? You are not just celebrating something, but celebrating it just as your employees want it.
