In the latest webinar from The HR World, an informed and involved panel of HR experts got to grips with the current and future use of automation within the HR function. Askaniusz Sawicki, People Services & HR Transformation EMEA Director, Ricoh Europe – also the webinar’s sponsors – was joined by Aaron Alburey, Managing Director and Co-Founder of specialist HR and People transformation consultancy LACE Partners, and Alison Richardson, Director of HR Operations, Yodel.
Askaniusz offered an in depth and intriguing view into the technology and approach surrounding the use of automation in HR. Alburey’s experience in implementation and application of automation was also in evidence while Richardson was able to cite specific examples from her own company where automation has been introduced in areas such as recruitment. Indeed this latter example was particularly valuable in showing the benefit of automation. Yodel expands its workforce by many thousands in the run up to the busy period around Christmas and it cannot expect to achieve this expansion through the work of human recruiters alone. By using automation technology it is possible speed up the process, giving a better experience to candidates and enabling HR professionals to spend their time on more value adding activities.
Indeed, this was one of the principal benefits of using automation. By enabling systems to share data and make administration processes work without the need for a human to do anything, employees and resources can be better used elsewhere with employees feeling more engaged with the work they are able to do.
Key to deploying the technology correctly, however, is an understanding of what data is important and how it should be used – as well as keeping one eye on where human intervention is still valuable. Askaniusz was able to explain how his business solution ensured the right data went to the right place and person, underpinning processes such as onboarding and payroll. Aaron Alburey was also clear that getting automation right was a great way to deliver satisfying candidate and employee experiences.
The webinar was packed with insights, thoughts and practical steps forward and demonstrated that while systems and solutions are already in use there is a huge amount of potential to still be explored. No doubt but this will be a subject to which we will return to in the future.
