Human Resource Management is a fundamental part or function of any organization, regardless of its size. Whether it is hiring new employees, training, or ensuring that local labour laws are complied with, HR processes cannot be taken lightly. However, the function of the HR department has always been perceived as manual and tedious. Nevertheless, with the entry of automation into HR spaces, that is all changing for the better. Companies are thinking of ways to automate processes wherever possible, and HRM is one obvious choice for the same. So what does this mean for current and future HR professionals? They need to adapt to the coming changes or be left behind in the dust.

HR Process Automation and Key Benefits

Automation, we know, is the process of increasing the efficiency of departments by the use of tools or systems to carry out repetitive, time-consuming and manual functions with minimal human interventions. This frees up the workforce to concentrate on more important tasks such as decision-making and strategy formulation.  By automating standard and repetitive HR activities, organizations can reduce the cost and time they spend on manual HR planning and processing.

Traditionally, HR was focused on the roles we described above. Now, there is a new perspective for HR professionals and business leaders to view HR management from, which is Strategic Human Resources Management. Though it may seem like a simple addition of a word at first glance, strategic human resource management identifies the long-term best uses of human talent. Furthermore, with strategic automation, HR can give its invaluable attention to strategic roles of HR such as talent forecasting, pipeline succession and so on.

Why does not adopting new changes become a problem?

Some of the readers may think, “So what’s wrong in staying the same as it is all working perfectly well?” There are several reasons why that is not in the best interest of the company and those issues will only compound as the business grows. Here are 3 reasons:

1.       Loss in Efficiency 

Automation radically increases efficiency as repetitive and manual tasks can be carried out automatically without human intervention. Failing to adopt automation will result in your HR staff having their time spent on monotonous and unproductive tasks.

2.       Human intervention increases the margin for errors

Functions such as updating the timesheet, calculating payrolls, leave-balance calculations, etc., can be easily done by machines and are not easily prone to manipulations. Humans, by contrast, are prone to sentiments and errors. Once set up, automation does it perfectly, without any errors, unlike the human counterpart.

3.       New Candidates Can Have a Bad Experience

Candidates have a disheartening experience if HR does not follow up with them after an interview, which is easier said than done. HR staff are swamped with more important tasks, making them forget or miss out on getting back to candidates. This is a bad hiring experience, and even if they are eventually hired, it is bound to leave a bad taste in their mouths.