What HR functions can companies automate with AI?
HR teams have moved beyond administrative and people-focused tasks and are now harnessing data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to create radical changes in the way businesses manage people. Automation is a key driver of these changes.
As I explain in my recently published book ‘Data-Driven HR: How to Use AI, Analytics, and Data to Improve Performance» (2nd edition), this change is not just about streamlining operations and improving efficiency. It’s about adding strategic value to organizations by freeing HR professionals from routine tasks so they can focus on more complex and creative responsibilities.
Let’s look at some of the ways HR is using the latest automation technologies to increase efficiency, strengthen employee engagement, and drive data-driven decision-making.
6 Top Ways Businesses Are Automating HR for Tomorrow’s Workplace
1. Recruitment process
The recruitment process is one of the most critical and difficult aspects of HR. With recruitment process automation, organizations are now able to streamline and improve their hiring process, from automating job postings to facilitating initial candidate screening and even interview planning. Automating parts of recruiting processes can improve efficiency and also combat unconscious bias, a deep-rooted problem in recruiting.
Johnson & Johnson used Textio, an AI-automated writing tool, to evaluate its job postings for unconscious bias. The AI-powered software found that much of the language used in the company’s job descriptions leaned toward masculine terminology.
By making strategic changes to its job postings, guided by AI, Johnson & Johnson saw a significant improvement in gender diversity among candidates, with a 9% increase in the number of female applicants. This example shows how automation, combined with advanced AI, can improve operational efficiency while promoting greater diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.
2. Employee Onboarding
The traditional onboarding process, often characterized by piles of paperwork and lengthy checklists, can be overwhelming for both HR professionals and new hires.
Through automation, businesses can simplify and standardize the onboarding process to provide a more streamlined and less stressful experience. Automated systems can handle tasks such as generating checklists, planning onboarding activities, and handling digital document management. This type of automation can allow HR professionals to focus on the more personal aspects of onboarding, including providing a consistently warm welcome to all new hires.
3. Benefits Administration
Managing employee benefits is a crucial but complex task that includes things like enrollment, tracking, and adjustments. A manual approach can lead to errors and inefficiencies that negatively affect HR operations and the employee experience. Automating benefits administration can significantly simplify these processes.
Automated systems can handle various elements of benefits administration with minimal human intervention, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. Whether facilitating open enrollment, tracking individual benefits, or making necessary adjustments due to life changes, automation helps alleviate the manual workload of HR teams and provides employees a smoother and more reliable experience with their benefits.
4. Payroll processing
Payroll processing is a fundamental HR function that requires a high level of accuracy and efficiency. Unfortunately, this is also a task with a lot of risk of human error when done manually. This can lead to issues such as incorrect salary calculations and late payments. Introducing automation into payroll processing can reduce or eliminate these problems.
Automated payroll systems can seamlessly handle a variety of complex tasks such as calculating wages, deductions and taxes, while ensuring compliance with changing regulations. The result is a significant reduction in errors, a more streamlined payroll process and a better employee experience.
5. Time and attendance tracking
Without automation, time and attendance tracking can consume a significant amount of administrative time and effort. By implementing automated tracking systems, businesses can monitor employee hours, vacations and time off with high accuracy and minimal human intervention.
These systems simplify the collection and processing of this data, improve accuracy and eliminate errors related to manual entry. The result is improved operational efficiency, more reliable data for decision-making, and increased transparency for employees about their work hours and leave balances.
6. Compliance management
Compliance management is a fundamental part of HR that involves enforcing company policies and complying with various laws and regulations. This is a complex and often demanding task due to the large number of ever-changing regulations that vary by location.
Through automation, HR teams can now maintain a higher level of consistency and accuracy in their compliance efforts. Automated systems can track regulatory changes in real time, update policies accordingly, and ensure employees are informed quickly. This reduces the manual burden of monitoring and implementing compliance and significantly decreases the risk of inadvertent non-compliance. Automating this process helps businesses avoid potential legal pitfalls and preserve their reputation.
HR reinvented through automation
The future of HR lies in harnessing the power of automation. As these examples illustrate, the impact of automation is far-reaching, driving operational efficiencies and creating a more engaged and satisfied workforce. Through the power of data, analytics and AI, HR can transform from a traditional administrative function to a strategic partner that drives organizational success.