HR Automation: benefits, challenges, and opportunities

HR Automation: benefits, challenges, and opportunities
Automation is considered a relatively new cost-effective way to simplify and optimize the work of any department when it comes to cutting-edge companies that work on their daily efficiency and productivity.

Speaking of the HR department, the major issue is that many recruiters get absorbed in loads of paperwork. Luckily, there are many more companies now which provide intelligent automation software solutions for HR departments to reduce countless manual tasks.
HR Automation definition: a method of digitizing and streamlining HRs’ repetitive, tedious tasks by using helpful software.

Why does it matter?

The common HR responsibilities involve arranging interviews, coordinating hiring efforts, and onboarding new employees. It seems like their work is centered solely on people. Thus, the importance of HR automation for small businesses might seem unclear and remain relevant only for big players who use immense amounts of data.

In reality, any company these days uses much more data than it has ever used in the entire history of our world. Huge chunks of tedious and repetitive work lay on the shoulders of professional HRs which makes business leaders increase the size of HR departments to comply with their company demands.

Top 7 HR common challenges which force heads of the departments reconsider the amount of workers needed to fulfill the HRs’ tasks:
The increasing amount of data and daily assignments make the impact of automation on HR much bigger for the majority of businesses – no matter big or small. If they want to grow they have to use tools to collect, store, analyze and utilize data quicker.
Automation gives HRs more time to focus on meaningful complex tasks like building up strategies, talent demand forecasting and succession pipeline planning.

HR automation objectives

There are multiple tasks that can be automated and make any HR’s life easier. Using online tools, an HR specialist can:

  • collect and processes CVs, resumes and applicants at multiple websites;

  • search for the right candidates in the resume database using search bars as opposed to manual flicking through hundreds of pages;

  • conduct onboarding for the new staff with minimal effort;

  • test staff, check the level of the entire team’s skills and knowledge in order to plan further training or personnel changes;

  • conduct training for experienced employees and receive statistics on course completion;

  • motivate workers utilizing gamification, competitions and bonuses;

  • inform the team about the company events in no time;

  • receive employee feedback.

HR Automation: Benefits and Drawbacks (Advantages and Disadvantages)

As the crises of 2020 and 2022 emerged, many companies had to reconsider their approach to teamwork. Some of them managed to stand out as they implemented automation and adapted to new conditions much faster than their competitors. They demonstrated flexibility in rebuilding their framework, easily transferring work processes online and retraining employees.

The automation of HR business processes helped not only to relieve HR specialists, but also to make companies more resilient to shocks and get out of crisis with the least losses. As a result, HR department costs were reduced and the companies’ revenue increased.

So, how exactly does HR automation affect businesses and how great is its impact?

The answers are simple:
  • It saves up to 40% of the recruiter's working time. This means they can dedicate more efforts to doing complex tasks.
  • Automation in personnel selection, training and promotion eliminates the human factor – it enables a non-biased view of a candidate based on data. The personal preferences of an HR specialist will not affect the employee assessment.
  • When an HR specialist leaves for a new place of work, the company will have no difficulty transferring information to a new worker.
  • All data is stored in a single place and is available to all team members. The leaders are always able to receive detailed reports on the level of knowledge and skills of their team. They can also identify involved employees and assess the level of staff training.
  • Automating HR analytics allows you to make hiring, training and firing decisions based on accurate data without using numerous tables.
  • It helps recruiters find the causes of employee turnover and identify issues with onboarding processes.

The 2 key challenges of HR process automation

The recruitment and onboarding technology has been evolving with great success in recent years. However, HR automation case study has discovered a few drawbacks which might affect the integration into the new reality. These stumbling blocks can make HR digitization process less smooth:

The lack of human interaction.

The HR department is initially supposed to be people-centric. Since automation reduces natural human interaction between recruiters and potential candidates, it might cause inaccuracies in candidates’ assessment. This makes live cultural fit interviews and face-to-face contact the key to enabling a successful recruitment.

Money matters.

Some companies find the innovation costly and are not currently ready to invest a lot of money in the required software. Besides, many professionals lack the skills and knowledge required for using the tools, which means that obtaining them would be followed by expensive and time-consuming staff up-skilling.
However, the mechanism is truly revolutionary in the modern HR world, which makes it inevitable for progressive business leaders to utilize HR automation.
As soon as companies are ready to prepare their teams to use HR automation, they will be able to maximize the technology to their benefit.

The Future of HR Automation

We are now in the era where artificial intelligence (AI) continues changing the game in the business arena. AI-powered systems are able to improve HR recruitment automation and their impact is increasing significantly. We can easily expect even more sophistication and efficiency from HR automation systems in the coming years.

As the role of HR keeps on changing, many companies are now searching for the most efficient software that would make it easier to keep pace in the ever-changing market. The increasing need for quick and effective decisions cause HR automation trends to continue evolving.

Automation tools are gradually becoming more and more valuable – companies across the globe are looking for HR automation best practices. Yet, finding the right tool is impossible without exploring various LMS systems.
An LMS is a software application or a cloud-based service used for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs or learning and development programs.

The best HR automation tools

Adopting the perfect LMS system that will empower your HR team can be tricky and time-consuming. Your choice of the one and only software should be based on your company’s needs, goals and objectives. Most businesses are looking for customizable platforms that could help them save money on other software programs and services.
In 2023, there are many superb LMS systems which are easy-to-use and have helpful features and cutting-edge tools to upgrade your HR management. One of them is CleverLMS – an all-in-one cross-platform solution for HR training and recruitment automation, goal-oriented management, and advanced analytics. The system specializes in staff management and engagement solutions. It is a full-featured LMS for implementing all the latest HR trends.

Key features:

✓ Simple builder for complex training courses;
✓ Interaction and stats tracking accessible on a mobile office;
✓ Auto-generated reports on individual user performance;
✓ Integrated email client and calendar;
✓ A built-in Zoom for video calls and seamless communication;
✓ Open API for easy integration with your IT system;
✓ Two-factor authentication with advanced password policy;
✓ Cross-platform functionality: iOS, Android, web;
✓ Advanced customization at no extra cost.
TalentLMS
– a cloud-based comprehensive LMS with a focus on employee training, employee onboarding, and compliance training. It helps to cater to a global audience in different linguistic regions.
Paylocity
– an LMS tool that allows experts to create short modules in the form of microlearning. Its mobile app enables flexible learning for employees to upskill on the go.
SAP Litmos
– a self-service, cloud-based platform built to solve the challenges of external training. It provides user feedback, courses assessment and easy access to student progress.
Looking for cutting-edge automation in your HR department to stay ahead of the curve? Keep an eye on the upcoming HR automation trends and get your employees to embrace the new technologies.

BY VERONIKA SINITSA

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