Human Resources is called what it's called for a reason. Gone are the days when HR managers were only responsible for monotonous paperwork, recruitment, and legal issues. Today, with a varied and vast workforce, HR managers are called upon to perform wider duties and to move from administration to strategy. With a shrinking budget and staffing, Human Resources is aspiring to do more with less. The question is, how?

If you are still performing HR tasks with spreadsheets and manual inputs, it might be that your company is not keeping pace with the technologically progressing world. When you fall behind the times, your outdated talent management system can send your well-regulated department into chaos. Below, are 5 clues that your manual HR system is getting dysfunctional. 

• You feel that your intellectual capital is wasted on numbers and spreadsheets.
• You need more staff to get your HR work done.
• You're not sure if your employee’s confidential information is secure. 
• Your operational costs are taking up too much of your budget.
• You're reimbursing too much because your system doesn't flag duplicates.

If you're facing the above symptoms, you'll probably want to know how to tackle the situation. 

Well, this is when automation comes to your rescue.

Technology is revolutionizing the way the world works and the way people communicate. To stay current, Human Resources has taken a great leap into the world of cloud computing and automation. If you're wondering how automation can help HR managers, here are the 5 best HR tasks to automate to keep your organization up to date.

Onboard with ease

First impressions matter! The ultimate aim of onboarding is to help new hires get acquainted with the company and their job. If not perfectly planned, though, the entire process can get messy. A steady flow of information can help your new hires learn about the company and their job step by step. Auto-generated emails and notifications can guide your new hire through onboarding processes as well as keeping them updated about training sessions and other important events. A well-outlined, automated onboarding process can help reduce initial recruitment costs, improve employee retention, speed up the whole process, and reduce errors.

Automate your letters  to save time 

HR managers are often deluged with requests for simple pieces of correspondence like employment verifications and proofs of address. Business letters seem simple and mundane, but automating them is one of the most important ways to save time in the HR department. Letters can be requested, approved by the appropriate authority, and then auto-generated based on your tailored templates.  

Do more with time tracking 

Time is a resource that one cannot afford to waste. Manual time tracking can be one of the most tiresome jobs for a manager, and one of the hardest to accomplish with a disorganized system. Imagine managers spending so long tracking their employees' work time that they have no time to do their own work! An automated tool for time tracking and timesheet generation could help you save time, money, and resources and get a more accurate picture of the time spent on a particular job. With effective time tracking, you can make sure you're only paying for the hours that were actually worked.

Travel without stress 

Travel can involve all kinds of hassles. Approvals, reimbursements, and expenses all require their own paperwork, and each step is another opportunity for miscommunications and back-and-forth emails. Inaccuracies and inconsistencies frustrate travelers and HR staff equally. Automated travel and expense requests create hassle-free communication and tracking. Automatic email notifications let key staff see when a request is submitted or approved, keeping the process moving. And by automating transaction exporting, you can keep your financial systems in the loop without duplicate data entry.

Make it a smooth send-off

It's always hard to say goodbye to an employee. After all, you've invested time and effort in their success. And now that they're leaving, you have a time-consuming stack of paperwork to be done. So why not make it easy for both your employee and yourself? Exit process automation lets you customize email templates, set email alerts, add checklists, and create better workflows in just a few clicks. Exit procedures have never been easier than with automation.

So what do you get by automating the above 5 HR tasks? Continuing with our theme of fives, here are 5 important benefits of HR automation.

• Increase HR managers' efficiency and productivity.
• Increase employee engagement.
• Reduce security breaches and human errors.
• Keep costs down by reducing completion time by each task
• Keep better track of your HR tasks.

No business modernization is complete without the human element. HR teams need technology that works well with their workflows, and the right software solution can turn your HR management from a chaotic struggle into a smooth and well-oiled machine. Automate your Herculean HR tasks and move forward into the digital world.