According to Gartner’s 2016 Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites, the top two reasons companies are investing in a new HCM solution are to globalize/consolidate business processes, and to increase HR process automation.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why so much focus (and financial investment) is directed to automating HR process.
Reduce time spent on administrative tasks.
According to USC’s Center for Effective Organizations, 73.2% of an HR Professional’s time is spent doing administrative tasks. That means that less than 2 days per week are dedicated to work that generates a productive outcome. Which brings us to the second reason…
Productivity Gains through HR Process Automation
Closely related to reducing administrative time is increasing overall productivity. Automation can free up time. HR Transformation involves dedicating more time to strategic initiatives such as Succession Plans, Competitive Compensation Plans and Training Programs.
By automating administrative tasks, Process Automation can create “strategic time” from “administrative time.” This enables HR to be more productive in terms of generating business results.
Improved Accuracy and Compliance
When a process is performed manually, it’s prone to human error. Once a process is properly automated, the opportunity for error is virtually eliminated.
Compliance is another issue. If you ask five different HR representatives to perform the same set of tasks, you can potentially end up with five different versions. In areas such as Employee Relations, non-compliance can be costly. Automating a process assures that the process is executed in a consistent manner. And many systems can produce an audit trail, that may serve as proof of compliance.
Better insight and more effective decision-making
When a process is automated, information is entered on a digital “smart form.” This means the information is captured as data which makes it reportable.
Let’s say you’ve automated the process for investigating harassment claims. If the process captures data including location, the type of harassment and the outcome, you can easily generate insights into root-cause cultural issues that exist in a particular location.
Thus, automated processes can generate such useful insights. And if you have the insights, you can act on them to fix problems.
Morale & Engagement Gains
Let’s face it – not many people enjoy manually filling out forms. And the thrill of sending or receiving a fax isn’t what it used to be. In today’s digital consumer environment, being asked to do manual administrative tasks can be downright demoralizing. According to Gallup, the opportunity to spend more time doing meaningful work is a key driver of employee engagement. And when you automate administrative work, you’re creating more time for that “meaningful” work.
In Summary
HR process automation can have a powerful ripple effect across the organization. In addition to reducing time spent on administrative tasks, it can increase the business value of HR through productivity gains. It assures greater accuracy and compliance with less effort. It enables more effective decision-making through broader and deeper insights. And finally, it can increase morale and employee engagement.
