The 77^th HR Kurakani was held on 27^th of March, 2019 at the office of Real Solutions, in Minbhawan, New Baneshwor. HR Kurakani is a platform organized by Real Solutions to discuss specific topics within the Human Resource domain, with the aim of improving Human Resource Management in Nepal. It is held periodically once every month, specifically the last Wednesday of the month, in the English calendar.

For the 77^th Edition of HR Kurakani, the primary topic in focus was, “Importance of Automation in HR”. The kurakani began with a formal introduction of all the participating members, and a short welcoming and introductory address by the presiding moderator, Miss Nibha Shakya – HR head of Real Solutions. The participants at the discourse consisted of HR executives from a very diverse range of industries such as IT, construction, finance, hospitality and more.  

HR automation

HR automation is the method of enhancing the efficiency of human resources departments through automation of the manual human resource processes. This is an era of massive technological advancements with organizations evolving to new models of people management focused on employee empowerment & better decision-making. In last few years, technology has evolved rapidly inspiring a whole new genre of technological innovation. HR automation is the best way to ensure that HR leaders are exercising their talents that you hired them for.

However, adopting HR process automation does not mean completely replacing your HR personnel, but instead, means evolving them into a more focused strategic department for handling talent. HR functions that can significantly benefit from automation are:

• Employee Record Management
• Employee Onboarding & Recruitment
• Expense Management
• Payroll Management
• Performance Evaluations
• Leave and Attendance Management
• Policies and Procedure Administration

In addition to this, HR Professional conceded that automation can be a great way to manage key processes and cases of human error are also dramatically reduced through automation. Almost every repetitive clerical job the HR team carries out can be automated.

Further learning from the experiences of various HR professional, it was noted that different companies are using different international and national HR automation system to serve their employees, managers and vendors. Firms use it for information sharing, payments, training and various other tasks.

Are businesses really ready for this transaction?

Some companies in Nepal have already started this automation method with great results. Not everyone though is ready to move straight into a full-processed automation of HR issues. Artificial intelligence is here and can help many sides of the business, but it is often expensive and can be scary sometime. On the other hand, many companies are looking for an intermediate step, something that could help them achieve results in the short-term but also set them ready to face the future with the right attitude.

What are the features HR automation tools should have?

Different enterprises look for a tool that suits their business process. Here professionals agreed that HR automation tools should include as many features as possible which can increase its usability. The system should also be visually appealing and highly functional for it to ensure great digital experience platform for the users. The top features and functions to look for in HR automation tools are:

• Payroll and Expense Management
• Document and Record Management
• Real-time Mobile Application
• Recruitment Management
• Attendance and Leave Management
• User Access Control
• Policy and Grievance Management
• Dynamic Reports and Push Notifications

The participants at the kurakani took to discussing each of the features and how it can reap indispensable benefits to the organization.

In the discussion, it was agreed upon that a well-designed and integrated HR Automation System will create a robust agile and adaptive HR Team. Adding a speck of automation can smoothen the workflow and create a lean work force that works autonomously. Automation's biggest impact on HR is not the technology we use to ‘do HR’, but the way technology is transforming our organizations and people management. "HR Process Automation will make you stronger, faster, better and what ambitious business wouldn't want that?" they added.