Improving HR Processes: A 4-Step Process
Process improvement—every HR professional’s favorite pastime, right?
Maybe not for most of us, but having processes in place helps ensure tasks are completed properly and efficiently, creating a better experience for everyone and freeing up time to focus on more interesting, strategic items.
Your HR function probably has more than a few processes that could be improved.
Here I’ll share my process for improving processes (I know, very meta) and provide some examples of ways to improve processes like recruitment and onboarding.
HR Process Improvement Framework
HR processes encompass a wide range of activities, from recruitment and onboarding to employee development and performance management.
To stay competitive and efficient, companies must continuously seek to enhance their HR processes.
I’ve found the biggest hurdle for process improvement is getting started, it can feel like an insurmountable task! Breaking it out into separate steps makes it far more manageable.
Step one: Assess current processes
It’s difficult to improve something if you don’t fully understand it. This can be time-consuming, I’ll get that out of the way up front, but normally this step only needs to be completed once.
The first step here is to assess your workflows and tasks and determine what’s documented, who owns it, and when it was last reviewed.
For example, a previous HR department I worked in had a large number of documented processes, but we found that they were stored in disparate places and in varying states of currentness.
Next, you can dive into your HR metrics to identify any areas of concern related to each process e.g. inaccurate headcount, payroll errors, or lengthy time to hire.
By the end of this step, you will have an inventory of processes that can be improved.
Step two: Prioritize
You won’t be able to tackle everything at once, so it’s important to think critically about what processes you want to work on first.
Perhaps getting a few early, easy wins could free up time to take on the larger projects. Perhaps you have leadership buy-in to undertake a big automation project.
Set clear and specific goals for improvement that are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives, initiatives, and values.
For example, my company’s top value is innovation but we still have some annoyingly manual HR processes.
Our goal is to create an innovative HR experience that gives our employee population a positive view of their HR function. We were able to obtain executive buy-in for automating several key processes by tethering the projects to our innovation value.
This step is not a one-size-fits-all approach, so you’ll need to decide what works for your organization with the resources you have available.
Step three: Create a game plan
You will want to set a realistic timeline for completion and I advise including several progress checks.
This may involve simplifying workflows, eliminating unnecessary steps, and automating repetitive tasks using specific HR software (more on this step later).
If you have resources available to help, assigning ownership and responsibility will enable team members to maintain decision-making in their work processes.
This can be a lot to track, and having a project document that everyone can access will help. I like using Sharepoint for these types of projects, but there are many project management tools available.
In my previous example of disparate documentation, we decided to put everything in a central location instead of the silos they were housed in and gave ourselves 6 months to update every document.
This timeline was realistic and achievable for us as a small HR team. We had a brief standing meeting once a month to check our progress and keep us accountable.
Step four: Continuous improvement
Establish a system for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of HR processes. Facilitate feedback from employees and HR staff to identify any issues or further areas for improvement.
For example, you could send a pulse survey to employees after they contact HR with certain requests for immediate feedback, or send a wishlist survey to your HR team once a year for more comprehensive ideas for improvement.
You can use the feedback and data collected to make continuous refinements to the HR processes.
6 HR Process Improvement Examples
Let’s walk through a few examples of common ways you can improve HR processes.
Automate workflows
In the assessment stage, you’ll likely identify manual and repetitive tasks such as data entry, appointment scheduling, and sending routine emails.
You can automate these processes by building an HR tech stack (think HRMS and communications tools) that automates a lot of these processes and allows data flow between different apps and functions.
Digitize onboarding
Employee onboarding is a repeatable process that is begging to be updated at most companies and is one of the most impactful parts of a new hire’s employee experience.
Digitize the onboarding process by providing new hires with electronic forms, training modules, and company resources. This can reduce paperwork, save time, and ensure consistency in the onboarding experience of all new employees.
Specialist onboarding software can help you massively here.
Streamline recruitment
If the recruitment process wasn’t included in your inventory in Step 1, it should be. If you haven't done so already, consider implementing an applicant tracking system (ATS) to manage job postings, applications, and candidate communication.
ATS software can help screen candidates, track their progress, and even help create a hiring pipeline for hard-to-fill roles. Many of these programs can also provide valuable metrics about your hiring process and candidate experience.
Provide self-service options
HR professionals can spend a lot of unnecessary energy fielding questions and updating employee information, here are a few suggestions to help with that:
Employee and manager self-service
Options may already be within your HRIS software for employee and manager self-service.
Utilize them, as they can provide employees with access to update personal information, view pay stubs, request time off, and enroll in benefits. This reduces the HR team's workload and empowers employees to manage their own information.
Manager self-service options within your HRIS is another place to look for process improvements. There may be functions you can easily turn on for managers so they can process routine employee changes on their own, such as making reporting changes and approving time off requests.
Centralized knowledge base
Create a centralized repository of HR policies, procedures, FAQs, and resources. This can help employees and managers find answers to their questions without having to contact HR directly. Enabling this repository to be easily searchable and accessible to all employees is key.
There are many intranet options available at a range of costs and efforts. Many HRIS platforms have this feature available, as well.
Electronic document management
If you haven’t done so already, begin storing HR documents digitally in a secure system. This makes retrieving and sharing documents and employee data easier, reducing the need for physical paperwork.
Compliance calendar and year-end checklist
I talked a bit about a compliance calendar in a previous article on HR compliance, and I cannot sing its praises enough.
The calendar I use is linked to a shared HR calendar in Outlook, and each item on the calendar is linked to an event on the HR calendar. These “in your face” reminders work well for galvanizing action on compliance.
Leverage a year-end checklist by embedding it in your compliance calendar. As part of my team’s year-end checklist, we review process documentation and perform regular maintenance.
This allows for a cycle of continuous improvement without the heavy lifting of starting from scratch again, as I talked about in Step 4 above.
Sidenote: The year end checklist shouldn't be combined with or take the place of your other HR process checklists.
Challenges Of HR Process Improvement
While it all sounds good in practice, improving HR processes is unlikely to be plain sailing. Common challenges are:
- Resistance to change: Employees and managers might resist changes due to fear of the unknown, comfort with current processes, or skepticism about the benefits of new systems. This is why any major changes need a proper change management plan and communication strategy.
- Lack of clear vision: Without a well-defined goal and strategy, HR process improvements can become unfocused, leading to wasted efforts and resources.
- Limited resources: Budget constraints, limited personnel, and inadequate technological tools can hinder the implementation of new HR processes. This is why it’s important not to prioritize effectively and set realistic timelines.
- Maintaining compliance: HR processes must adhere to various legal and regulatory requirements and ensuring compliance while implementing changes can catch you out.
HR Process Improvement Best Practices
Lastly, in light of the challenges highlighted above, some best practices to keep in mind when improving HR processes.
- Set clear objectives: Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for the improvement process.
- Employee involvement: Involve employees in the planning and implementation stages. Gather their feedback and address their concerns to foster buy-in and reduce resistance to change.
- Open communication: Foster open and transparent communication within the HR team and across the organization to communicate change effectively and gather feedback.
- Benchmarking: Compare your HR processes with industry standards and best practices. Use benchmarking to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
- Performance metrics: Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for your HR processes
- Have a customer-centric mindset: The new school of thinking is to think of people ops like a product where employees are treated like customers with the focus on improving their experience with HR processes. Find out what might improve their experience, whether that's systems integration, simplifying tasks or minimizing meetings.
A Culture of Continuous Improvement
HR process improvement is a natural part of enhancing your human resources function.
By following a structured approach that includes assessment, analysis, redesign, and ongoing monitoring, you can streamline your HR processes, reduce costs, improve employee satisfaction, and ultimately better contribute to the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals.
Embracing a culture of continuous improvement in HR can lead to long-term success in today's dynamic business environment, and provide employees with an effective HR experience.
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