Future-Proofing the People Function with Automation

How HR can use automation to gain time, reduce risk, and stay ahead in a fast-changing world.

Introduction: The Stakes Are Rising

HR teams are being asked to do more with less. More strategic work, more data-driven decisions, more personalized employee experiences—often with limited resources and increasing complexity.

In this environment, manual processes don’t just slow things down. They create risk, reduce consistency, and prevent HR from focusing on the work that truly matters.

Automation isn’t about replacing people. It’s about eliminating low-value tasks, reducing error, and building capacity for high-value, human work.

If we want the People function to remain relevant, efficient, and credible, automation can’t be optional. It must be strategic.

Automation as a Strategic Lever

Automation is not just about tools or workflows. It’s a capability that unlocks transformation across the HR value chain.

Think about how many hours your team spends on repetitive tasks—generating offer letters, calculating PTO balances, tracking compliance training, answering the same policy questions again and again.

Now imagine if those hours were spent on things like improving onboarding experiences, redesigning internal mobility programs, or analyzing exit trends to improve retention.

Strategic HR isn’t just about having good ideas—it’s about creating the space to act on them. Automation gives you that space.

Where to Start: Identify the Friction Points

You don’t need to automate everything at once. Start by identifying the highest-friction, highest-volume areas in your current processes.

These are often:

• Manual data entry across systems (e.g., between ATS and HRIS)
• Repetitive communications (e.g., interview scheduling, FAQ responses)
• Approvals that require chasing or reminders
• Compliance tracking or documentation generation

Focus first on processes that are rules-based, repetitive, and time-consuming. These are ideal candidates for automation and will deliver quick wins.

Even small improvements in these areas can significantly increase your team’s bandwidth and reduce burnout.

Choose Tools That Fit Your Stack and Skillset

There are plenty of automation tools on the market—some embedded in existing systems, others standalone. The best ones for your team will align with two things: your current tech stack and your team’s comfort level.

For example:

• If you use Google Workspace, you can build lightweight automation with Google Apps Script or tools like Zapier.
• If you're already in Workday, explore native workflow automation and notifications.
• For recruiting or onboarding, look at what your ATS or employee experience platforms offer out of the box.

Don’t overcomplicate it. Simple automation—like auto-generating onboarding emails or triggering alerts for contract end dates—can have outsized impact.

Don't Automate What You Don’t Understand

One of the biggest risks with automation is locking in bad processes. If your current way of working is inefficient, automating it just makes the inefficiency faster.

Before automating, map the process. Ask:

• What’s the goal of this task?
• Who’s involved, and when?
• Where are the delays or breakdowns?
• What are the handoffs or dependencies?

Only then should you start looking at automation. The best outcomes come from combining process clarity with automation—not skipping the thinking step.

Bring Managers and Employees Along

Automation often involves changing how people work. If not handled well, it can create confusion or resistance.

Communicate clearly about what’s changing and why. Make it easy for managers and employees to use the new process. Train them if needed. Collect feedback.

Automation works best when it’s invisible—when it feels like things just work better. But to get there, you need a strong change plan.

Be explicit about the benefits. Less manual back-and-forth. Faster responses. More consistency. Fewer errors. That’s what you’re delivering.

Make Room for Exceptions

Not every process can—or should—be fully automated. There will always be edge cases that require human judgment or flexibility.

Build automation with exceptions in mind. For example, automate onboarding emails for standard roles, but route executive onboarding through a concierge process.

Avoid the trap of over-automating. If people feel trapped by rigid systems, they’ll find workarounds, which creates new problems.

Use automation to handle the routine. Keep people focused on what’s uniquely human—judgment, empathy, problem-solving.

Measure and Adjust

Automation isn’t a one-time project. It’s an ongoing capability that should evolve with your business.

Set clear metrics. Track adoption. Monitor time saved. Watch for unintended consequences or bottlenecks.

Review your automations regularly. Are they still solving the right problems? Are there new opportunities now that your processes have matured?

Treat automation as a living system—something you maintain, tune, and improve over time.

Final Thought

The future of the People function is not just about technology. It’s about what we do with the time and clarity that technology creates.

Automation is not about eliminating roles. It’s about unlocking capacity—so we can design better experiences, build stronger teams, and lead with insight.

If we want HR to be a driver of innovation, equity, and growth, we have to free it from the burden of manual work.

The future won’t wait. Let’s build the systems that make us ready.