Nowadays, businesses look for ways to find the best employees – employee onboarding is the first and most important step in an employee’s journey with an organization. Therefore, everyone is in dire need of an optimized onboarding experience. Doing that, the human resources (HR) team can improve employee-organization engagement, and top management can be assured that everyone is doing their best in finding and retaining new talent.
However, the above-mentioned thing is often a challenge for many, and the traditional onboarding process is full of manual and repetitive processes that often lead to poor employee experience, affecting the overall HR efficiency. This is where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) steps in as a solution that can automate, streamline, and bring higher efficiency to all the onboarding processes.
In today’s guide, we are discussing some of the basic challenges found in traditional employee onboarding, and the ways RPA can transform this process.
Loads of manual processes and paperwork
The first area we’d like to cover in terms of some of the main onboarding challenges that organizations have – is manual processes and plenty of paperwork. We all know that hiring comes with heavy paperwork and signing of documents. Both employers and employees are required to fill out plenty of forms, sometimes in a specific order, and convert all the data entered on those forms into proper formats, so that it can be entered in the correct HR, payroll, or even benefits systems.
However, manual and paper-based workflows are often slow, inefficient, and frustrating. Also, there may be errors, and perhaps even fines from regulatory agencies when an organization fails to meet compliance mandates. Deploying Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an obvious thing to do – new hires would have direct digital access to all necessary documents, and automation will create an auditable method to ensure deliverability. RPA is basically a great way to route forms electronically to the right people and in the right order, bringing higher efficiency in every stage of the process.
Lack of coordination between departments
Onboarding is a process that involves a lot of departments and a lot of individuals across them. For instance, HR leads onboarding, but it still depends on IT for some actions and security, operations, facilities, finance, and other business units. Most of the time, coordination is slow between these departments, leading to little accountability if the equipment is not delivered right or the log-on credentials are incorrect.
With Robotic Process Automation (RPA) you can automate this entire process. The challenges with lack of coordination can be solved end-to-end, across all departments. Bots can be set up to trigger alerts and be sent to managers when any worker or department fails to complete their onboarding assignments.
No clear visibility into the process
It seems like organizations of all sizes struggle with lack of visibility into the process. When onboarding is done manually and with plenty of people owning different aspects of it, it’s easy to fail and not see the process as it should be seen. This leads to bottlenecks and a potential interruption in the workflow. If the employee needs to complete important tasks but does not have clear direction, it could even lead to something more serious.
Luckily, there are Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions that come with built-in analytics capabilities. As such, they communicate clarity and give users visibility on each part of the process. Software can tell users how long each step in the process takes, providing probable estimates on when some or more tasks will be completed.
Failure to deliver a consistent and personalized experience
RPA-based onboarding sets a new chapter in the employee experience, allowing users to say goodbye to the cookie-cutter approach. The good thing about RPA is that you can tailor the onboarding workflow to the specific roles of the potential employees. In that manner, salespeople can be sent to a different onboarding track compared to finance professionals or IT people, and each candidate will be provided with specific information and training that is suitable to their needs and role within the company.
When used in the onboarding process, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can free up everyone’s time, allowing managers to give new hires a more personal, warm, and human welcome. This alone can improve retention rates by a lot.
Bottlenecks in the transition between hiring and onboarding
Onboarding and hiring are two different processes. In that manner, employees who go through the hiring process get more personal attention. Candidates that are onboarded, on another note, are still being qualified which is why they do not receive as much attention. However, despite feeling treated like stars, new hires often see a chaotic and impersonal process when they start their work. Here, they are often unable to access all resources or do not get enough assistance from their managers.
A disconnect like this can be a major issue since employees often make up their minds about liking new jobs as early as the moment, they sign the contract. With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), this disconnect can be fully eliminated by making the transition smooth and seamless. RPA can eliminate the paperwork and the waiting and uncertainty. It can also free up time for HR professionals and give new hires the kind of care they deserve.
Conclusion
Given how much it costs to fill vacancies, there is a high cost of failure and companies can no longer afford the risks associated with delivering a poor onboarding experience. When the majority of onboarding tasks are united in a single end-to-end workflow, HR professionals have more time and flexibility to focus on candidates and new hires, making them feel more valued.
The main goal of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) during the onboarding process is to give clarity, visibility, and clear direction. Manual onboarding processes are a thing of the past and a principle that doesn’t work anymore. Nowadays, companies need to automate their onboarding and turn their attention to RPA and HR.
Vraimatic is a leading RPA solution provider that has expertise in delivering cutting-edge automation solutions. If you want to reap the benefits of automation, then consult our experts. We can help you meet your business goals in a cost-effective manner.
