In the age of the digital revolution one if not the only thing necessary to survive is the ability to adapt by digitizing your services. If you adapt, the outcome will be more than mere survival and chances are that if you do things right, you will actually thrive. In the recruitment field, this translates to the automation of processes which is desirable because it entails scalability which is the basis for any profitable business nowadays.
Things are barely paper-based anymore and thus HR service providers must employ next-generation automation technologies that eliminate common time-consuming situations that HR professionals encounter. HR automation software can also dramatically transform HR departments by compressing HR specific processes, making HR functionalities more efficient and effective and not to mention that proficient employees can use their talents in more meaningful ways.
HR automation is the process of enhancing the efficiency of the HR department by freeing employees from manual tasks that are often considered tedious. This approach to doing HR allows the staff to focus on complex tasks like decision making, employee interactions, and strategizing.
Employees liberated with the help of robotic process automation (or RPA technology) from repetitive, mechanical tasks will deliver better customer service because of more consistent process execution. The more elements of the hiring process are automated with AI and machine learning capabilities the more routine tasks are eliminated from the employee’s tasks thus changing the quality of the work for the better. All the while, automation ensures that the recruitment process is compliant with regulations.
There is also an abundance of data that can be stored across HR processes. And on data stored in a convenient form, various operations can be performed. HR management can harness the benefits of automated data analysis such as speed and error-proof analysis. This does not mean that creativity does not have its place in the whole recruiting process. However, creative workers have the means now to reduce the impact of their biases and deliver better and more productive outcomes.
In other words, the essential benefit of automation in recruiting: cost-effective strategies that assure better recruitment services. In the recruitment business, just as in any other business, doing things that scale matter. And thus, scalability that brings in results, can be achieved through automated HR processes.
One trend that saves companies money within their human resources department is the use of enterprise content management software. This is possible because human resource jobs are document and form-driven thus making the combination of HCM software with HR automation very efficient. The software is used to import documents into digital repositories, to organize imported documents so that they are searchable and retrievable, to store files in standard formats for sharing to multiple devices, to archive records, or to make audits simpler by making it easier to gather information. All this information stored in digital format can be efficiently handled through HR automation by automating routine tasks, by creating and updating data thus making different workflows available to different users on-demand and when needed in a timely manner, or by influencing the company’s communication system. This goes to show that any business can benefit from HR automation when applied to repetitive processes.
At a deeper level of analysis, HR automation has trends within itself. In 2019, multiple surveys and studies highlight 6 important trends in this regard. First of all, HR Automation is spurring job change in HR departments but not job losses as many fear. As AI-driven software is implemented, people can shift their attention and focus on more valuable HR work. Another change in HR automation is the cost. Bots are decreasing in cost and becoming more and more accessible to companies. Moreover, companies adopted AI-powered chatbots to be an interface with applicants, screening them or helping them with the application process. HR automation was also used increasingly in employee testing and training. Through HR automation employees had better access to training materials as they were delivered when needed. Automation and AI are also being used to diminish unconscious bias within HR for example in the hiring process and internal promotions. Another way automation is already being useful reflects in the improved communications between HR and employees, particularly for younger workers who demand more real-time feedback.
HR departments urgently need an idea of how technology will – perhaps more radically and suddenly than ever before – shape the future of work, especially automation. There is a wide range of projections and predictions about just how profound these changes will be. And the role that HR will need to play will differ according to which one comes to pass. But one thing is certain, HR professionals and their organizations cannot afford to say no to HR automation. A recent study conducted by the Oxford Martin Programme on Technology and Employment at the University of Oxford has shown that 64 percent of those surveyed fear that automation will lead to significant challenges for future labor markets. According to a 2015 CSIRO report, more than 40 percent of the Australian workforce (a staggering number of 5 million people) could actually be replaced by automation in the next 10 to 20 years.
It is easy to assume that people in the recruitment industry fear that human resource automation technologies could disrupt the way things are done, with negative outcomes. Realistically, the most immediately urgent role of HR professionals seems to be around minimizing employer-employee tensions around possible job losses. Employees need to understand that an automated HR future must not scare away employees because if history is to repeat itself, the jobs created could be better than the ones destroyed.
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