HR Teams Are Overworked: Streamlining HR Processes

Here’s how companies can relieve HR’s burden

As work strategies, locations and priorities constantly shifted over the last two years, human resources (HR) shouldered much of the burden. The unprecedented number of U.S. workers leaving jobs — and the resulting mad dash of hiring seen across industries — only added to the pressure on HR teams struggling to keep a pulse on their current employees. 

The Paychex Pulse of HR Report revealed that 70% of the 1,000 HR professionals they surveyed believed 2021 was the most challenging year of their careers, while 98% said the role of HR had fundamentally changed. And a 2021 study in Turkey looked into the role of HR managers as “toxin handlers” at their organizations — absorbing the emotional turmoil of others — with the findings tying that burden to HR managers’ own feelings of emotional exhaustion and burnout. 
 

It’s no surprise that so many HR professionals saw last year as challenging. 

Some business leaders tried to cope with the onslaught of changes by adding tools and technologies as part of their digital transformation efforts. That might have seemed like help to HR teams, but what resulted was a mix of decentralized systems that still forced HR teams to pull information manually from many separate systems, taking up time and increasing the possibility of errors with each step. 

Not only that — with information in so many different places, an overfilled tech-stack can lead to knowledge silos and data loss that hinder teams from sharing information and make it impossible to have a single source of truth. Spending so much time on manual tasks to fix bad data or find the right data in the first place keeps HR teams from pursuing meaningful goals, such as salary transparency efforts and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives. 

HR professionals are overworked, understaffed and dangerously close to burnout. After two years of constant upheaval, they need lasting support from the organizations they serve. The caretakers, so many business leaders relied on during the toughest moments of the pandemic, need a dose of the care they have given others. 

They need comprehensive tools that make their work easier instead of just adding a new step to their days. And they need leaders, who notice when they are hurting and step in to help.

A Central Platform Streamlines Processes

Instead of leaving your HR teams to bounce between systems chasing the information they need, consider a people analytics platform to connect all those apps, making information accessible, eliminating constant manual tasks and enabling transparency. 

Deloitte found that high-performing organizations are twice as likely to use people analytics software as low-performing organizations. With that kind of impact, it’s not surprising that 70% of organizations said they had invested in people analytics over the last 12 months. 

By integrating systems into one central platform, HR teams can automate processes on organizational charts and spreadsheets, unlocking access to data. Centralized data allows teams to work from a single source of truth, resulting in reliable reporting that doesn’t require checking data accuracy from multiple locations. With customized reports that come together easily, HR teams can surface insights that prompt meaningful action. And by having easy access to the data they need, HR teams can propose necessary changes — for instance, timely adjustments to headcount planning — and implement them easily across systems.  

Accessible Data Empowers Managers and Employees 

HR teams also spend a considerable amount of time finding information for managers, especially when data is confusing or difficult to navigate. A people analytics platform that offers visualized insights into your entire organization makes it possible to drill down to granular details about each employee, and managers feel equipped to find what they need, alleviating some of the strain on HR teams. 

A dynamic organizational chart that visualizes team structures, including organizational levels and future hires, gives managers insight into planning so they are empowered to understand their teams and advocate for their people. 

In the same way, that kind of transparency gives employees the freedom to know more about how they fit into the organization. And with integrated apps, employees can complete many basic HR tasks themselves so they have the information and access they need when they need it. It also means employees can take their more complicated questions to HR and know someone will have time to work with them because they’re not bogged down with manual tasks. 

Consistent Feedback Keeps Everyone on the Same Page 

Implementing a comprehensive people analytics platform boosts your organization’s ability to keep a pulse on all of its employees and make adjustments to provide the support needed for great work. A platform makes it easy to collect valuable insights about employee experience, capturing all your survey data in one place and allowing employees to share anonymous, meaningful feedback on core initiatives, including DE&I, engagement and company culture. 

By eliminating the hurdles between organizations and their employee experience data, leaders can respond quickly to give employees the support and tools they need, avoiding burnout and keeping employees engaged and included. With automated surveys that collect employee responses after one-on-one meetings and at other regular intervals, HR teams have the information they need without having to send each survey manually. Anonymous feedback about DE&I and engagement initiatives gives HR teams concrete data to measure their success and adjust strategies, surfacing what’s actually important to employees so they can move forward without reliance on anecdotal feedback. 

A Robust People Analytics Solution Alleviates Stress on HR Teams

Implementing a platform that offers transparency for all members of an organization, with visualized insights customized for each team member, allows HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives and innovative and creative work that will uplift the whole organization. With managers handling more of their own teams’ needs, HR can develop the talent of existing employees, while looking ahead to hiring and onboarding priorities. 

And with regular employee feedback, HR teams don’t have to guess how team members are doing. They’ll have actionable insights to take care of everyone — even, and especially, the caretakers themselves. 

Emily Connery is the Vice President of People & Talent at ChartHop. Emily is a creative and adaptive human resources leader with 10 years of diverse experience in both early-stage startups and large corporate environments. She has a proven track record of success in driving organizational effectiveness and coaching managers to attract and retain top talent while positively impacting the bottom line. Connect Emily Connery