Your HR department has incredible talent: make the most of it with processes!

The human resources function has become increasingly decisive in recent years, and the tasks it has to perform have become more complex and strategic.

That's why it's important not to drown in this flood of responsibilities, and to proceed ME-THO-DI-QUE-MENT. Your ultimate goal? To run your business to the best of your ability, while pampering your employees. All while aligning yourself with the company's objectives, of course.

To achieve this, there's only one solution: formalize and structure all your HR processes.

So how do you turn these processes into value drivers for your organization? Focus on the definition, the method to follow and an example of an HR process diagram.

See all software HR Management System (HRMS)

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 :

• support the company's ambition and development,
• enhance its human capital by listening to its employees.

☝️ In this sense, HR processes echo the different stages of the employee journey, each requiring its own modus operandi:

• recruitment,
• onboarding
• development,
• retention,
• offboarding.

What are the different HR processes?

There are different types of HR processes, all linked to specific missions. Of course, there are all the major themes related to the employee journey mentioned above (recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, etc.).

But given the complexity of the tasks associated with human resources, a certain level of detail is required to respond perfectly to each challenge.

For example, in the development phase, we could mention processes such as :

• vacation requests,
• expense claim management,
• telecommuting requests,
• employee file management,
• business travel requests,
• time reporting, etc.

☝️ Of course, each company has its own specific requirements. While some processes are common to all (e.g. recruitment), others depend on the organization in place. Typically, a company operating a flex office system will need to set up rules to ensure that staff are able to move around the premises, and that each employee has a desk, etc.

Focus on critical processes

Some HR processes are considered more critical than others, given the challenges they present. Human resources must therefore be particularly attentive to their proper functioning:

💡 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 in-house know-how. This comes in handy when recruitment is tight!
  
  
• Recruitment: here we come to recruitment. As you know, today's business world is faced with a shortage of talent in various sectors. Working on your recruitment process is the best way to ensure you don't end up last in the race.
  
  
• Payroll management: managing payroll involves dealing with numerous constraints: legal compliance, data security and so on. At the same time, it can be critical in 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.

Indeed, over time, organizations have come to understand the decisive role played by human resources. At a time when we realize the extent to which talent shortages or declining employee motivation are undermining overall performance and productivity, HR is working to :

• attract the best people, in particular by creating an optimal, 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:

• it must take account of employees' wishes,
• while at the same time honoring the corporate culture and business objectives set by management.

Hence the importance of formalizing processes to meet all these challenges 💪.

How to set up effective HR processes

Step 1: list all your HR activities

To best organize your operations, 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 not only guarantee the relevance of your strategy, but also better adoption and appropriation of the rules by all your teams.

Why not, for example, set up focus groups, or send out questionnaires designed to gather employee feedback?

💡 Are you familiar with the Design Thinking method? It's an innovative process for deploying 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: Formalize each process

You now have a better idea of all the activities that fall within your function.

Now, organize 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

Many players are involved in HR processes, starting with the employees themselves. With the help of good organization, everyone is in a position to know their degree of responsibility for a particular action.

👉For example, in a telecommuting request process, you can decide that each employee proceeds autonomously, using dedicated software. Validation then goes through their N+1. In this case, there's no need to involve management, who clearly have other fish to fry. On the other hand, the latter will have defined the rules to be respected beforehand with the managers (how many days per week authorized, 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, with a view to identifying areas for improvement.

In short, nothing is set in stone, and you need to constantly evolve your processes to adapt to the realities on the ground, as well as to the vagaries of the business.

What about HR process mapping?

As soon as we talk about processes, whatever their nature, the question of mapping quickly comes up.

Mapping processes means formalizing them using clear, visual diagrams in order to :

• centralize all information in a single document ;
• improve communication around these processes;
• clearly highlight the stages and interactions between them;
• make them easier to understand, especially for new recruits joining the company;
• identify blocking points at a glance.

💡 To help you with this task, we suggest using mind mapping tools.

Example of an HR process

To best illustrate our points, here's an example of a mapped HR process, more specifically a process designed to fill a vacancy:

👉 Thanks to this example, you'll understand the benefits of diagramming your processes, to make them clearer and more readable.

After all, you're always faced with different options on a daily basis. Here, a recruitment manager submits a job offer to fill a gap in his department. You can either approve or reject it. And if you approve it, you can either take charge of the recruitment yourself, or decide to use the services of an external player.

Process automation: the solution?

Process automation, and the digitalization 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 staff find 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 you can concentrate more on your core business and higher value-added missions.

🛠️ Here are just a few examples:

• Foederis is a complete HRIS and TMS (Talent Management System) software package. Thanks to its flexibility and rich functionality, it is suitable for all types of companies and sectors. More concretely, you can choose from 12 modules to standardize your various 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 an optimal experience throughout their career.
  
  
• HRMAPS is a feature-rich, 100% scalable HRIS that supports your administrative and talent management processes. It covers the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to departure. Thanks to 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 digitize HR processes, from time and labor management to administrative tasks. UKG integrates HR Service Delivery and Workforce Management tools into the HR information system to streamline exchanges between HR teams, operational managers and employees. 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.

See all software HR Management System (HRMS)

What's important?

HR processes guarantee the efficiency of the human resources department and contribute to increasing 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 simplify their understanding by teams, 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 your company's greatest asset: its human capital.