The document discusses the challenges and benefits of automating HR processes. It describes a case study where the author was hired as a consultant to automate the HR processes of a mid-sized engineering organization. The author conducted workshops and meetings to understand current processes, challenges, and stakeholder needs. They recommended automating key processes through software like Workday and Cornerstone while highlighting how it would save costs, improve communication, decision making, and employee development. The role of HR is shifting from transactional to more strategic business partnership as automation handles routine tasks.

1. Effectiveness Efficiency and Engagement of HR Automation
In last few years, I have developed my own unique process of networking with leaders and
professionals across industries and it has worked efficiently for our mutual growth. I call it as
“Service Model of Networking” asopposed to “Sales Model of Networking”. The “Service
Model of Networking” doesn’t work on the basis of “revenue earned from every professional
network”; instead, it works on “value addition” or “Unique Selling Proposition (USP)you
bring to the table, it is much focused and creates win-win outcomes. Through “Service Model
of Networking”, I don’t seek business from people in my network instead, I ask for
their feedback on my work and my ideas that may eventually add value to their
organizations. I believe, it is very engaging and at the same time non-irritating approach. It
has helped me to reach out and develop a wonderful relationship with many CEOsand
Managing Directors of small and mid-sized organizations (less than 5,000employees).
Last year, in the month of March, I was contacted by the CEO of a mid-sized engineering
organization headquartered in Gurgaon. The organization which currently employs 625+
employees is now considering few global acquisitions and is also planning to set-up a new plant
in Pune. Till date, 15 employees were managing the Human Resource activities through Microsoft
Suit, primarily MS Excel and low-level software for managing payroll. My initial conversation with
the CEOindicated that he was not happy with the functioning of HR Team. He asked me about
my experience and level of involvement in HR Automation Projects and if I will be interested in
taking up aproject with the organization. After I submitted my detailed response to him, he called
me for a meeting at his office in Gurgaon. In a daylong meeting with CEO, CFO, and other
stakeholders, we discussed the expected outcome of the project, commercials and budget
involved, and a timeline to submit the project. Asa part of the project, I was asked to evaluate

2. their existing processes, suggest a cost-effective solution to develop software in-house or to
purchase it from the market and get customized. I was asked to provide alist of best THREEHRMS
available in the market if buying from outside or prepare a detailed project plan and help in
getting it executed if opting for in-house.
Challenges Involved in Successful Implementation of HR Automation
1. Process Owners Opposing the Change - Like any other change, this change was also
furiously opposed by process owners. For them, automating processes implies learning
new skills. If they fail to do so, they might risk losing their jobs. During my initial
interactions with the HR team, they gave me numerous reasons as to why automation is
a bad idea. One of the reasons was, losing “human touch”. Someone said, “We are
working in HR Function, therefore, we need to understand feelings, emotions, and
difficulties of our employees and resolve it accordingly. With automation, everything will
become mechanical and we will lose a chance to interact with them and as a result, there
will be high attrition”. Another HR manager said, “These people don’t know how to
operate computers. They are too rigid to learn new things. It will increase the workload
on HR Department”. Yet another member of HR Team blamed the leadership of the
organization, “They never discussed it with us. That’s how they treat us. We work so hard,
sometimes we work for 12-13 hours a day and yet they don’t involve us in decision
making. They should have involved us in this decision as it was about our department
before appointing you as a consultant and paying such a huge amount (I don’t know how
they found about my commercial fee). We would have felt motivated had they given that
amount to us instead of wasting it”. It took me a lot of time to convince them and show
them an opportunity to grow and learn new skills. I also gave them an insight into how
they can develop their career in HR and be more effective. I won’t claim that the entire
HRteam was convinced with my explanation and argument but 3/4th of the lot were.
2. Running Parallel Systems–HR prefers to run parallel systems - manual as well as
automated HRprocesses. Though they continue with the manual process as abackup plan
to ensure functional continuity until the automation is completed and employees get
enough training to use processes efficiently and effectively. However, the truth is that in
many mid-sized organizations, they never really move to automation. I know few
organizations where they manage time-office and payroll in MSExcelaswell asin

3. Software. The only way to move towards HR Process Automation is to completely shut-
down the manual process and use the software efficiently and optimally. There might be
few challenges in the initial months of implementation, may be 4-6 months, but after that,
it will be easy to work. It will not only save the time but will also increase the accuracy.
Don’t create a pain for lifelong if something can be cured with a hospitalization for 4 -6
months.
3. Inaccurate and Incomplete Database – For an automation of HR processes to work
flawlessly, TWO things must be accurate and updated by minute – Process Flow and
Database. If process flow and database are inaccurate and incomplete, then no matter
which HRMS one uses and how expensive it is, it won’t give the desired result. Hence, it
is a responsibility of HRto audit the database and process flow on regular basis, preferably
on weekly basis. I remember one case where an employee was offered a salary of
360,000/- INR per annum, however, a manager who was responsible for adding details
into the system, added 3,600,000/- INR per annum. As a result, the new employee
received a salary of 300,000/- INR per month. After four months this error came into
notice but by then the employee had already left the organization. There was another
case of an employee receiving full salary for THREEmonths after leaving the organization
because the person who was responsible for updating the database missed clicking a tick
in the system. In order to maintain database confidentiality and determine accountability,
it is important that database updating rights are given to few people only.
It took me 30 meetings, involving over 50 stakeholders, in a span of FOURmonths to understand
existing processes and gather information; challenges faced by HRteam and leadership team and
create a document and process flow diagrams. In the next phase of my project, I had to conduct
a feasibility study and make recommendations. I conducted a one day workshop for the entire
HRteam on atheme “Changing Role of HRin an era of Automated Processes and Digitalization”.
The integral message of the workshop was tohighlight following SEVENbenefits of HR
Automation and the new role of HRFunction –
1. Saves Space–I visited one organization that employs 4,000 employees and is into business
for last 20 years. They have rented a warehouse to stock lakhs of files which probably they
will never use.When we automate HRsystems, it savesspace by eliminating or minimizing
paper records and thereby removes the need for extensive filing systems and large

4. storage areas, which in turn saves the organization’s money on rent and utilities. It also
speeds up the process of document/information transfer as and when required thus saves
postal and courier expense. It also eases up the audit processes conducted for various
legal compliances or certification issuances such asISO,CMM, PCMM, etc.
2. Improves communication with employees across functions and geograp hies – I
remember days when employees would walk down to HR Department, sometimes they
had to wait in a queue to ask for information (leave balance, letter for address proof,
interpretation of any policies, etc.), make a complaint (discrepancy in salaries) or get their
queries resolved. With automation of HRProcesses,leave records to get updated inreal
time, all policies are made available to employees, complaints can be raised online where
they get a ticket number and a turn-around-time (TAT), and failing to respond within TAT
automatically escalates the issue to a higher-up in the hierarchy. Process-flow has been
set in such a way that an unresolved complaint gets escalated to CEO or Managing
Director of the organization. Therefore, the automation brings in transparency in the
system. Any announcement can be made instantly through the intranet. Communication
becomes quick, effective and low-cost.
3. Factual and Quick Decision Making - Automation of HR Processes enables Process
Owners to create any kind of report and analytics thereby helping them to make every
kind of decision. Through automation, any leader can access the information he requires
while being at any place in the world without a necessity of exchanging emails with HR
team members.HRAutomation hashelped managers to determine when and who to hire
and what best methods are for employee development. Automation has allowed skill and
competency matrices readily available to decision makers; hence, before looking outside
for required skills and competence, organizations look within and hire talent within by
ways of transfers, promotions, etc.
4. Increases Productivity and Cost Optimization – As discussed above, with automation HR
saves physical spacerequired for keeping files and cost of employees requiredto maintain
those warehouses and storerooms, communication becomes efficient, quick and low-
cost; and quality and speed of decisions improve, thereby, increasing bottom-line
profitability. HRAutomation also saves the time of those who need to communicate with
HR on regular basis. Time saved has a direct impact on resource optimization and
increased productivity. Organizations are able to achieve more with fewer resources at a
low cost. Accomplishing more in less time boosts morale.

5. 5. Effective Hiring – Managing Talent Acquisition in its manual format is one of the most
tedious tasks, particularly when the organization wants to use multiple channels of
sourcing. In talent acquisition, a missed or lost resume can be a very costly affair. It is
important to collate all resumes for an open position at a single place, evaluate them
thoroughly, share it with the hiring manager, and organize interviews in a timely
manner. With an applicant tracking system, the hiring team can write a job description
and promote it widely on job sites and social channels with just a few clicks. Qualifying
questions automatically eliminates unqualified applicants and help uncover the best job
candidates. It accelerates the recruiting processes and allows the recruiting team to focus
on interviews and deliver outstanding candidate experience. Also, by reducing
administrative work, the recruitment team will be able to cut costs and add to the bottom
line of business.
6. PerformanceManagement–Next to recruitment, the most critical HRfunction is effective
performance management and in the dynamic business environment that we are living
in, KRA’sof employees change several times in ayear, employees need regular feedback
to keep a track of their performance, and coaching and mentoring should be given to
those who are lagging behind in their performance targets. Discussing performance once
in a year can be suicidal. Automated employee performance management tools make it
easier for managers to give feedback and easily manage performance review. Automated
performance management system allows HRto provide descriptions of ratings, especially
for job skills, and forces managers to use a prescribed rating scale that helps in improving
the consistency of ratings. Thus, employees perceive the process tobe fairer.
7. Development of Bench Strength and Succession Planning– With automation, it becomes
easier to manage available skills and competencies in the organization more efficiently
and effectively. Employees become aware of skills and competencies they need to move
to the next level. They can apply for any open role within the organization with a fair
knowledge of their probable success rate. HRcan help the organization create a learning
centre to prepare a talent pool of high-potential and high-performing employees to
ensure business continuity.
With automation of major HR Processes, the role of HR Professionals in an organizatio n has
changed dramatically. It is no longer transactional, administration or activity based. It has moved
more towards BusinessPartnership. Those HRProfessionals who like change, who are quick

6. learners and adaptors, not only managed to survive in this profession but also moved to never
before seen levels of an organizational hierarchy and got promoted as CEOs,Managing Directors
and Country Business Heads. On the other hand, those who resisted the change and were slow
learners have either moved to other professions like sales, digital marketing, customer services,
etc. or they are still working in similar roles in lower salary bands. To remain relevant and
successful in HR, when major tasks are getting automated, professionals in this function must
develop following competencies –
1. Leadership Development & Business Continuity – Help the organization in identifying
high-potential and high-performing employees; facilitate leadership development
programs; coaching leaders and managers to develop competencies required for high
impact and high-risk roles, and correcting behaviours or employees that are hindering
their growth potential. This role of HR not only requires them to focus on high-potential
and high-performing employees but also give attention to low-performing and low-
potential employees. Help low-performing and low-potential employees get aligned with
business goals and strategies. If they don’t improve as per the requirement then Talent
Managers must recommend Leadership Team to eliminate such employees from the
system. By doing so, HR Professionals will help the organization in creating a culture of
accountability, performance, and rewards. It will also ensure business continuity.
2. Inculcating Winning Behaviour among salesperson – Till a few years ago, it was assumed
that HRcannot play a significant role is Sales and Marketing. However, now scenarios are
changing. AsDigital and Social Media has begun to take a centre stagein our lives, HRcan
certainly play an important role in product or service Marketing, Branding, and
Positioning. Of course, they must have Business Acumen, and be well versed with
organizational offerings. Also, as Behaviour Scientists and Performance Coaches, HR can
play a significant role in developing a competitive edge among salesperson of
organizations.
3. Analytical with reasoning and logic – With process automation in place, HRsare now
sitting on huge data, which can now be analysed and used effectively in taking
decisions. Today many organizations are looking for metrics or analytics in HR which are
not just related to people but also on processes such as recruitment, retention,
compensation, succession planning, benefits, training & development, performance and
appraisal and many others.

7. 4. Effective Communication and Employee Engagement – With several of HR processes
getting automated, now HR has plenty of time to get innovative with employee
engagement and ensure that every employee of an organization is aware of
organizational mission, vision, goals, products, and services. They can also ensure that
every employee is able to see the significance of his role in the big picture. HRis now free
to play a significant role in preparing an effective communication strategy and plans to
address needs to all stakeholders based on the mode of communication preferences of
every social group taking intoconsideration cultural barriers.
It took me TEN months to complete the project and submit my reports. It was a wonderful
experience. While studying their existing HRProcesses, I also got a chance to analyse their office
administration process, and believe me, those were very tedious, time-consuming and expensive.
The organization could have saved millions of dollars per year by streamlining those processes.
Having understood their existing processes, growth plans and expectations from HR, it was
discovered that there is no single software that can address every requirement of this
organization. Therefore, I recommended them - Workday or Ceridian (Dayforce HCM) for
addressing their Talent Administration needs and Cornerstone OnDemand or Ascentis for their
requirement of Talent Management in multiplelocations.
I am a strong believer of a fact that automation of HRprocesses is not athreat to HR
Professionals working in this profession. Instead, it allows them to free up their time and make
a significant contribution in areas where it matters. In coming years, I foresee organizations
coming up with more innovative tools and software to address challenges of Talent Acquisition,
Performance Management, and Talent Development. There is a huge scope for further
automating HRprocesses. With automation, the role of HRwill evolve further and it will get
closely aligned with BusinessStrategy, Profitability,and Customers.
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