Your HR department has incredible talent: make the most of it with processes!
The human resources function has become increasingly decisive in recent years, with more complex and strategic tasks being assigned to it.
That's why it's important not to drown in this flood of responsibilities, and to proceed ME-THO-DI-QUATELY. Your ultimate goal? To run your business to the best of your ability while pampering your staff. All while aligning yourself with the company's objectives, of course.
To achieve this, there's only one solution: formalise and structure all your HR processes.
So, how do you turn these processes into value drivers for your organisation? Focus on the definition, the method to follow and an example of an HR process map.
But what exactly are HR processes?
HR processes: definition
HR processes are defined as :
- HR strategy,
- as well as all the actions and interactions between them,
necessary for human resources to achieve their objectives.
The aim is to
- to support the company's ambition and development,
- develop its human capital by listening to its employees.
☝️ In this sense, HR processes echo the different stages of the employee journey, each of which requires its own modus operandi:
- recruitment
- onboarding
- development
- retention,
- offboarding.
What are the different HR processes?
There are different types of HR process, all linked to specific tasks. Of course, there are the major themes relating to the employee journey mentioned above (recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, etc.).
But given the complexity of the tasks associated with human resources, we need to go into a certain level of detail in order to respond perfectly to each challenge.
For example, in the development phase, the processes might include :
- holiday requests
- expense claim management
- teleworking requests
- employee file management
- business travel requests
- declarations of working hours, etc.
☝️ Obviously, each company has its own specific characteristics. While some processes are common to all (recruitment, for example), others depend on the organisation in place. Typically, a company operating a flex office system will be required to introduce rules to ensure that staff are rotated around the premises, that each employee has a desk, etc.
Focus on critical processes
Some HR processes are considered to be more critical than others in terms of the challenges they present. Human resources must therefore pay particular attention to ensuring that they run smoothly:
💡 Here are a few examples:
- Skills development: as we become increasingly aware of the strength of human capital for a company, skills management has become a major issue. Supporting and listening to your employees fosters their commitment, and at the same time makes up for the lack of certain skills in-house. Handy when recruitment is tight!
- Recruitment: here we come to recruitment. As you know, the business world is currently facing a shortage of talent in various sectors. By working on your recruitment process, you're putting all the chances on your side to make sure you don't end up dead last in the race.
- Payroll management: managing payroll involves dealing with a number of constraints: legal compliance, data security, etc. At the same time, it sometimes proves to be a challenge. At the same time, it can be critical to enhancing your employer brand: poor administration, late payments... and the company's reputation can be tarnished.
Why are HR processes important?
There are many opportunities arising from well-defined HR processes.
Over time, organisations have come to understand the decisive role played by human resources. At a time when we realise the extent to which a shortage of talent or a decline in employee motivation are undermining overall performance and productivity, HR is working to :
- attract the best people, in particular by creating an optimal and competitive working environment,
- develop them
- retain them over the long term.
At the same time, the Human Resources department must reflect the company's ambitions and follow the same course. In other words, it is at a decisive crossroads:
- which must take account of employees' wishes
- while at the same time honouring the corporate culture and business objectives set by management.
Hence the importance of formalising processes to meet all these challenges 💪.
How to set up effective HR processes
Step 1: list all your HR activities
To organise your operations as effectively as possible, start by identifying all the actions that depend on you, by major theme, without worrying about their interrelationships and responsibilities.
For example, for the recruitment process, there are :
- identifying recruitment needs
- drafting the job advertisement,
- distributing them via the various channels at your disposal (job boards, website, LinkedIn, etc.),
- receiving and processing applications
- conducting interviews,
- communicating with candidates,
- selecting the new recruit.
Step 2: consult your employees
Employees are in the best position to pinpoint the problems they encounter on a daily basis.
That's why we recommend that you create HR processes in collaboration with the field. In this way, you can ensure that your strategy is not only relevant, but also that the rules are better adopted and taken on board by all your teams.
Why not, for example, set up focus groups, or send out questionnaires designed to gather feedback from employees?
💡 Are you familiar with the Design Thinking method? It's an innovative process that allows you to roll out projects based on the real needs of a persona, in this case the different profiles encountered in your company: manager, junior employee, senior employee, etc.
Step 3: Formalise each process
You now have a better idea of all the activities that come under your function.
Now you need to organise them in such a way as to :
- ensure that operations run smoothly (your time is precious and you don't want your processes to turn into a gas factory!
- respond to the company's vision (top-down approach);
- take into account feedback from employees (bottom-up approach).
Step 4: Assign responsibilities to each employee
A number of players are involved in HR processes, starting with the employees themselves. With the help of good organisation, everyone is in a position to know their degree of responsibility for a particular action.
👉 For example, as part of a teleworking request process, you may decide that each employee should proceed independently, using dedicated software. Approval then goes through their N+1. In this case, there's no need to involve management, who clearly have other things to worry about. On the other hand, the latter will have set out the rules to be respected beforehand with the managers (how many days a week are authorised, etc.).
💡 Obviously, this distribution of roles is closely linked to the corporate and managerial culture in place. Indeed, a company operating on a horizontal model will leave more responsibility to employees than those based on a more pyramidal structure.
Step 5: Keep a close eye on your processes
Once your HR processes are well established, your work doesn't stop there.
You need to evaluate them constantly to identify any areas for improvement.
In short, nothing is set in stone, and you need to be constantly updating your processes to adapt to the realities on the ground and the ups and downs of the business.
What about mapping HR processes?
As soon as we talk about processes, whatever their nature, the question of mapping quickly comes up.
Mapping processes means formalising them using clear, visual diagrams in order to :
- centralise all the information in a single document ;
- improve communication around these processes;
- clearly highlight the stages that make them up and the interactions between them;
- make them easier to understand, particularly for new recruits joining the company;
- to identify at a glance the blocking points.
💡 To help you with this task, we suggest using mind mapping tools.
Example of an HR process
To best illustrate what we're saying, here's an example of a mapped HR process, more specifically a process designed to fill a vacancy:
👉 This example will show you why it's a good idea to map out your processes, to make them clearer and easier to understand.
After all, you're always faced with different options in your day-to-day work. Here, a recruitment manager submits a job offer to you to fill a gap in his department. You have the option of approving or rejecting it. And if you approve it, then you can do the recruitment yourself, or decide to use the services of an external party.
Process automation: the solution?
Process automation, and the digitisation that goes with it, is becoming more and more the norm.
And with good reason, as the human resources function becomes increasingly complex, many HR professionals are finding themselves overwhelmed by administrative tasks, to the detriment of their essential role: supporting employees.
By using software, in particular HRIS, that automatically executes rules predefined by you, you save precious time so that you can concentrate more on your core business and on higher added-value tasks.
🛠️ Here are just a few examples:
- Foederis is a complete software package that is both an HRIS and a TMS (Talent Management System). Thanks to its flexibility and rich functionality, it is suitable for all types of companies and sectors. More specifically, you can choose from 12 modules to standardise your different processes: recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, training and skills management, etc. At the same time, thanks to its 'talent management' focus, you have the tools you need to put the employee at the heart of your strategy, and offer them the best possible experience throughout their career.
- HRMAPS is a feature-rich, 100% scalable HRIS that supports you in your administrative and talent management. It covers the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to leaving the company. With this software, you can automate all your administrative tasks and focus on the essentials: helping employees to grow within the company.
- Aimed at companies of all sizes, UKG's solutions are designed to digitise HR processes, from time and labour management to administration. To facilitate exchanges between HR teams, operational managers and employees, UKG integrates HR Service Delivery and Workforce Management tools into the HR information system. This automates workflows while enabling employees to obtain answers to their questions on a self-service basis. The result: time savings, particularly for HR and operations, and an overall improvement in the employee experience.
What's in it for me?
HR processes guarantee the efficiency of the human resources department and help to increase its value. Co-constructed with employees, but also with management, they reflect the company's culture and objectives.
But to make the most of the potential of these processes and make them easier for teams to understand, it's a good idea to map them out. At the same time, rely on software that automates non-strategic tasks. This way, you stay focused on the company's greatest asset: its human capital.
Article translated from French