Today, especially with most organizations going remote and hybrid, it is quite uncommon to find companies that are not giving the adoption of robotics and cognitive automation technologies a second thought, if not already incorporated. And most importantly, such technologies are intended not to replace the human element in the HR function but to adjunct and augment human talent.
Why Adopt Robotics & Automation in HR?
Recent research by EY found that HR employees spend over 93% of their time on repetitive tasks. They also found that almost 65% of HR rules-based processes can be automated. This only reiterates the role and significant need for HR automation, especially, Robotic Process Automation.
Some of the most futuristic and accelerating HR teams are already applying RPA to help in repetitive and time-consuming tasks. There are others who are experimenting with technologies one step ahead by employing advanced cognitive automation technologies, like ML and NLP to augment HR processes like recruitment.
Employing automation with RPA & CA, organizations can get the most benefit from:
- Increased deliverable and quality output
- Enhanced employee productivity
- Improve employee satisfaction
- Better efficiency & effectiveness
- Reduced costs
RPA Vs CA
Though part of the automation spectrum, Robotic Process Automation and Cognitive Automation are entirely two distinct technologies.
The HR domain has a high potential to employ automation technology like RPA due to the presence of large volumes of transactional activities that are suitable for RPA. Organizations can automate employ RPA to automate HR tasks to free up resources to focus on high-value tasks like strategic and innovation-centric functions of talent development, retention, and policy implementation.
RPA predominantly uses software “bots” to automate manual, repetitive, and rule-based operational tasks like verification data entry, payroll data entry, etc.
On the other hand, CA has slightly enhanced and varied uses in the HR function. It can leverage NLP (via chatbots or voice commands) to interact with customers to answer queries, resolve inquiries, and process requests to HR teams as and when required. It mimics a virtual assistant in the HR team who takes care of day-to-day HR policies and other general and routine transactions and inquiries and the likes.
CA has varied and specialized complex applications like predictive analytics and people analytics in the HR function. It can offer cognitive insights by employing ML and data analysis tools for advanced data mining and data analysis. This can help in revealing inefficiencies and unearth new relationships for better informed and effective decision making and aid in continuous improvement that impacts the overall growth and strengthening of organizations.
R&CA Solutions
In the business scenario, there is an ever-increasing demand for R&CA solutions- RPA & Cognitive Automation solutions. Creating competitive advantage through automation, R&CA solutions cover the following areas in HR:
- Robotic Process Automation
- Document Capture
- Data extraction
- Cognitive engagement
- Machine learning
- Cognitive Insights
- Natural language processing
- Data management
- Data science
Impact of RPA & CA in Human Resource Domain
Robotic Process Automation and Cognitive Automation has immense potential and proven possibilities in the HR domain of small and large organizations. Among the vast array of benefits, it can bring to organizations, the most key ones are:
- Less Risky– RPA & CA is a non-invasive HR automation technology that is less risky for organizations since it has minimal disruptions.
- Ease of Integration– It is easy to implement into the existing ecosystem of organizations.
- Enhanced Productivity and Performance– Automation can help to free up resources in the HR teams to focus on high-value tasks such as HR strategy development, employee engagement, and retention tasks, and contribute better to the organization.
- Easy to Scale– Since the operational costs of employing automation technologies like RPA is negligibly low, it becomes easy to scale operations when required without worrying about any mounting costs.
- High Precision– RPA also offers highly accurate results and outputs that can in turn lead to rapid decisions and better data analytics, outperforming their human counterparts.
- Consistency– The RPA & CA technology is highly consistent and accounts for perfect replication and error-free performance eliminating any variations in operations.
- Reliability & Flexibility– RPA, unlike humans, work round the clock and has no downtime. It can follow stringent rules and programmed actions in any environment at any time.
RPA and CA- A Need for Survival for Organizations Today
Earlier, automation was considered more of a burden and unnecessary luxury. But, today, the need for automation is real and necessary for survival, and no longer a competitive advantage for companies. With decreasing costs and increased adoption rates of R&CA, organizations can easily think about the application of these technologies everywhere, irrespective of industry, function, or even company size.
And as ironic as it sounds, RPA & CA technologies are helping put back the human in the human resources domain of organizations. By adopting and implementing RPA like technologies, organizations can streamline their HR processes and in turn reshape the entire HR function.
