9 Important Automations for HR in 2024 | Everything You Need to Know

"Need a vacation leave or have an issue with your salary? Everyone runs straight to HR for solutions. But beyond that, the HR role covers a wide spectrum—from managing employee onboarding to handling payroll. And in 2024, if you're still doing all of this manually, it's time to step up! Embrace “automation” and go from being the 'boring HR' to the 'cool HR' everyone loves!"

What is Automation for HR?

Automation for HR is the use of software to digitize and automate repetitive and time consuming tasks.  Instead of handling things manually—like onboarding, payroll, performance reviews, or leave management—HR automation allows you to set up workflows that run automatically, saving time and reducing human error.

For example, automating:

• Onboarding: Automatically send welcome emails, assign training, and set up employee profiles without manual intervention.
• Payroll: Automatically process salaries and taxes, ensuring timely payments.
• Leave Management: Automatically track leave requests and balances, so HR doesn’t have to keep a manual log.

Why is Automation for HR Important ?

HR automation is important because it makes everything run smoother and faster. Tasks like payroll, tracking attendance, and onboarding new employees take up a lot of time when done manually. Automating these processes lets HR teams focus on more valuable tasks, like improving employee engagement and creating development programs. It also reduces mistakes, especially in areas like payroll and legal compliance, which can cause problems if done wrong.

Automation saves money by cutting down on paperwork and manual work, making things more efficient. Employees benefit too because they can use easy self-service tools to request time off or update their info, making their experience better and increasing job satisfaction. As a company grows, automation helps manage more work without overwhelming the HR team. In short, HR automation helps companies work smarter, save time and money, and keep employees happy.

9 Important Automations for HR

1. Employee Onboarding Automation

Onboarding is exciting for the new joiner, but for HR, it's a detailed process with multiple steps. Ensuring every step is followed for a smooth onboarding experience is essential, and keeping track of it all can be a challenge.

To make the onboarding process enjoyable for HR as well, they can implement the following workflows.

• Creating a New Employee Profile Updating new hire details from Google Sheets to BambooHR takes time. With the integration, it's automatic. Whenever a new row is added in Google Sheets, a new employee is automatically added to BambooHR. Quick and easy!
• Send Alerts Your company is growing! A great way to welcome new hires is by posting in Slack. With the integration, details about new employees added in BambooHR will automatically post to a Slack channel. 
• Welcome New Employee Welcome new team members with some fun! Once the automation is set up, it will trigger whenever you add a new user to Slack, automatically posting a "welcome" GIF from GIPHY to the #general channel. 

2. Employee Offboarding Automation

When an employee leaves, HR often juggles logistical tasks with a personal sense of loss and the challenge of ensuring a smooth transition.

To make the offboarding process hassle-free, HR can implement the following automated workflows.

• Informed Team Members When an offboarding request is submitted in Zendesk, it can be a bittersweet moment. An automated workflow can instantly notify the team on Slack, ensuring everyone stays informed. It allows for a smooth, respectful transition while giving the team a chance to say their goodbyes with care.
• Schedule Exit Interviews and Surveys If you use a spreadsheet to track employee departures, you can automate sending an exit survey. When a departure is logged, an email or direct message with the survey link can be sent automatically through your team chat, like Slack or Microsoft Teams. 

3. Payroll Processing Automation

Wages and salaries play a crucial role for both the organization and its employees. When not calculated properly, it can create dissatisfaction among staff and even pose financial risks to the company. Ensuring accuracy in compensation is essential for maintaining a positive work environment and organizational stability.

To ensure payroll processing is error-free and timely, HR can implement the following automated workflows.

• Automated Payroll Calculation:By integrating payroll software with time tracking and attendance systems, wages can be automatically calculated based on logged hours, overtime, and leave. This eliminates manual calculations, reducing the chance of errors and ensuring that employees are paid accurately and on time.
• Tax and Deduction Automation:Automate the calculation and application of tax deductions, benefits, and other withholdings. This ensures compliance with local regulations and reduces the administrative burden on HR, while providing employees with accurate deductions every pay period.
• Approval Reminders:Set up automatic reminders to notify HR and management teams when it’s time to review and approve payroll. This ensures that the process moves forward without delays, guaranteeing timely payments.
• Payslip Distribution:Once payroll is processed, automated workflows can send digital payslips directly to employees via email or a secure portal. This saves time and ensures employees have quick access to their salary details.

4. Performance Management Automation

Effective performance management is key to driving employee growth and achieving organizational goals. However, manual performance tracking can be time-consuming and prone to inconsistencies, making it challenging to maintain fairness and accuracy. 

To enhance performance management, HR can implement the following automated workflows:

• Automated Goal Setting and Tracking:By integrating performance management software, goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) can be automatically set, tracked, and updated. This allows employees and managers to monitor progress in real-time, ensuring alignment with company objectives without the need for manual updates.
• 360-Degree Feedback Collection:Automate the process of gathering feedback from peers, managers, and direct reports. By scheduling regular feedback cycles, the system can automatically send surveys or requests for feedback, ensuring timely and comprehensive evaluations from multiple perspectives.
• Recognition and Reward Automation:Implement workflows that automatically identify and highlight top performers based on set criteria (e.g., achieving goals, receiving positive feedback). This can trigger notifications for managers to provide timely recognition or initiate rewards, boosting employee morale and engagement.

5. Performance Evaluation Automation

Performance evaluations are essential for assessing employee progress, providing feedback, and identifying areas for improvement. However, manual performance evaluations can be time-consuming, inconsistent, and prone to delays. 

To streamline the evaluation process, HR can implement the following automated workflows:

• Automated Evaluation Scheduling: Automate the scheduling of performance evaluations by setting predefined intervals (quarterly, bi-annual, or annual). This workflow will send reminders to both managers and employees, ensuring evaluations are conducted on time without any delays or last-minute rushes.
• Data-Driven Performance Insights: Automatically compile performance data from various sources (such as project management tools, time tracking systems, and feedback) to provide managers with insights into employee productivity and achievements. 
• Automated Evaluation Reports:After the evaluation is completed, an automated workflow can generate detailed performance reports, summarizing the feedback and scores. These reports can be shared with employees and managers, providing a clear and structured overview of the evaluation results.

6. Time and Attendance Tracking Automation

Accurate time and attendance tracking is super important for managing payroll, staying compliant with labor laws, and keeping employees accountable. When it's done manually, though, it can lead to mistakes, inefficiencies, and take up way too much admin time. 

To streamline time and attendance tracking, HR can implement the following automated workflows:

• Automated Time Logging: Integrate time-tracking tools to automatically log employee work hours. This eliminates the need for manual clock-ins and outs, ensuring accurate and real-time tracking of employee attendance, overtime, and breaks.
• Overtime and Leave Management: Automatically track and flag overtime hours or leave requests. When an employee exceeds their standard working hours or applies for time off, an automated workflow can notify HR and the employee’s manager for approval or further action.

7. Data Management Automation

Efficient data management is the backbone of any organization, ensuring that important information is accurate, accessible, and secure. However, manual data entry and management can lead to errors, delays, and inconsistent records. 

To improve data management, HR can implement the following automated workflows:

• Automated Data Entry:Capture and enter data automatically from various sources, such as forms or employee records, reducing human error and ensuring real-time updates.
• Data Backup and Recovery:Set up automated backups to safeguard important HR data. In the event of an issue, automated recovery ensures that no information is lost and can be restored quickly.

8. Exit Interviews

When employees leave an organization, the exit interview provides crucial insights into their experience and areas for improvement. 

Here are some automated workflows HR can implement to streamline exit interviews:

• Automated Exit Interview Scheduling: Automatically schedule exit interviews as soon as an employee submits their resignation. An automated system can send calendar invites to both the employee and HR, ensuring the interview happens promptly without manual follow-ups.
• Exit Survey Distribution: Automatically send an exit survey to departing employees after their resignation is logged. This can be done via email, Slack, or Microsoft Teams, allowing employees to provide anonymous feedback even if they can't attend a formal interview.
• Automated Reminders for Completion: Set up reminders for employees who haven’t completed their exit survey or attended their interview. This ensures the feedback loop stays intact without the HR team needing to chase employees manually.

9. Training Automation

Continuous learning and development are essential for employee growth and organizational success.However, manually managing training programs can be cumbersome and time-consuming. 

Here are some automated workflows HR can implement to streamline training:

• Automated Training Assignments:Automatically assign training programs based on employee roles, onboarding requirements, or specific performance metrics. This ensures that every employee receives the right training at the right time without manual intervention.
• Training Reminders and Notifications:Set up automated reminders to notify employees about upcoming training sessions or deadlines for completing online courses. Notifications can be sent via email, Slack, or other communication tools, reducing the need for HR to manually track progress.
• Course Completion Tracking:Automatically track employee progress through training modules and generate reports on completion rates. This makes it easy for HR and managers to monitor who has completed required training and who may need follow-up reminders.

What are the Benefits of Automations for HR?

Why should you invest in HR automation? To answer that question, let’s have a look at some of the key benefits of HR automation.

1. Saves Time: Automating repetitive tasks like payroll processing, leave management, and onboarding frees up valuable time for HR professionals, allowing them to focus on bigger projects like employee development or improving workplace culture.
2. Reduces Errors: Manual processes can lead to mistakes, especially in critical areas like payroll or compliance. Automation minimizes human error by standardizing workflows and ensuring accuracy.
3. Improves Employee Experience: Automation speeds up processes, so employees get faster responses to requests like leave approvals, performance feedback, or salary inquiries. This leads to greater satisfaction and trust in HR.
4. Enhances Productivity: HR teams can be more productive with automation, handling high-volume tasks like recruiting or training administration more efficiently and scaling operations as the company grows.
5. Ensures Compliance: Automation helps HR stay compliant with labor laws and regulations by automatically keeping track of employee data, tax filings, and other legal requirements, reducing the risk of costly compliance issues.
6. Boosts Data-Driven Decisions: Automated systems can provide HR with valuable insights and analytics, enabling better decision-making on hiring, performance management, and employee retention.

Some Popular HR Automation Tools:

BambooHR 

BambooHR is an all-in-one HR system that helps organizations automate many HR tasks. With BambooHR, you can track employee hours, manage benefits enrollment, and run payroll automatically—all from one platform. 

This eliminates the need for manual data entry and approvals, allowing your HR team to focus on more important tasks instead of getting bogged down in routine processes. It's a simple way to save time and keep things running smoothly.

Workable

Workable is a recruitment platform that helps companies make hiring easier. It lets you post job ads, manage applications, schedule interviews, and work with your hiring team—all in one place. Workable also uses AI to help find the best candidates, making the hiring process faster and more efficient.  

Zoho People

Zoho People is an HR software that helps companies manage employee information and tasks like tracking attendance, handling leave, and managing performance reviews. It keeps everything in one place, making it easier for HR teams to stay organized and work efficiently.

Challenges to Automation for HR and Their Solutions

• Data Security and Privacy Concerns:Challenge: Handling sensitive employee data can raise concerns about privacy and data security, especially when automating HR tasks.Solution: Implement strong data encryption, secure access controls, and compliance with data protection regulations (like GDPR). Regular audits and employee training on data security can also help mitigate risks.
• Customization and Integration:Challenge: HR systems may not easily integrate with existing tools or allow for necessary customizations to fit unique business needs.Solution: Choose HR software that offers flexible integration options, such as APIs, and allows customization to fit the specific requirements of your company.
• Loss of Human Touch:Challenge: Automating HR processes, such as recruitment or employee feedback, might make interactions feel impersonal, affecting employee engagement.Solution: Balance automation with human interaction by automating routine tasks while keeping personal, human involvement in key areas like employee feedback, recognition, and conflict resolution.
• High Implementation Costs:Challenge: The upfront costs of implementing automation systems can be high, making it difficult for smaller companies to adopt.Solution: Start small by automating the most time-consuming tasks and gradually expand as the benefits and ROI become clear. Many HR tools also offer scalable pricing plans for businesses of different sizes.
• Lack of Flexibility:Challenge: Some automation systems can be rigid, making it hard to adapt to changing business processes or policies.Solution: Opt for HR platforms that are known for flexibility and scalability. Ensure that the system allows easy updates and adjustments as your organization grows and changes.

Unlock Full HR Automation Potential with viaSocket’s App Integrations

HR automation becomes even more powerful when integrated seamlessly across various apps and platforms. viaSocket offers a unique way to unlock the full potential of HR automation by connecting multiple applications into a single workflow, ensuring that tasks like payroll, recruitment, onboarding, and attendance tracking happen efficiently without manual intervention.

Few automated Workflows that you can try now and start your automation journey as an HR.

Frequently Asked Questions