IT departments are the unequivocal leaders in automation with their ability to filter employee requests through the organization’s automated systems, leading to efficiently resolved issues. So, why are human resources (HR) departments traditionally different when it comes to fulfilling these requests?

If an employee emails the HR department requesting a change to his or her 401k, it could be days before the employee hears back from the HR team. That employee might even find his or herself following up about the request. The same goes for a number of other HR responsibilities, such as time off requests, family status changes, and changes to medical plans. But this will start to change in 2017. As workplace automation continues to boom, businesses will start to automate departments across the board, especially HR.

In this digital age, customers are used to their B2C experience, where they submit an email to a support email address, a ticket is automatically opened on their behalf and a support team member reaches out to them within hours, if not minutes. This new view on support makes it critical for businesses to treat internal employees like customers, whether it’s B2B or B2C.

On a daily basis, employees rely on approvals and services from outside departments, and with today’s expectations for an on-demand and instantaneous landscape, it’s important for HR departments to keep up. By automating HR processes, organizations have a better chance of retaining employees and ensuring employee needs are met, quickly and efficiently.

Processes to Automate

Service requests are constantly evolving within an organization. Whether it's a request to IT for a new computer or an update required by HR for a change to a medical plan, organization leaders are facing a growing list of requests that need to addressed and serviced in a timely matter. And, outside of IT, who bears many of these requests that filter throughout company? HR. This makes workplace automation key to keeping employees satisfied and maintaining the efficiency that these “customers” have come to expect.

For example, onboarding a new employee requires a bulk of formalities. HR representatives facilitate the entire onboarding process, which ranges from setting the new hire up with payroll through accounting, to ensuring they get the right tools from IT and everything in between. By creating an automated onboarding process, companies can ensure nothing slips through the cracks and each step of the process is completed, approved and metaphorically checked off the list.

Moving from Manual to Automation

Handling requests manually through spreadsheets and emails is inefficient and outdated. To create seamless employee onboarding and request servicing, as well as better collaboration between departments, the HR department should take the lead outside of IT and encourage integrated solutions that promote automation.

Here are three steps organizations can take to move toward an automated HR department in 2017:

1. Begin to fully integrate with the cloud. SaaS, DaaS, and IaaS models picked up speed in enterprises throughout the last several years, but many organizations haven’t moved sizable and significant projects into the cloud.

2. Infuse business processes cross-departmentally, like new employee onboarding, through a one-size-fits-all solution. Through workflows that include approval notifications and steps required for each process, employees can request flights and travel, order a new ID card, and submit vacation requests. With the proper tools and an increase in mobile service platforms, employees can create their own direct service requests, eliminating the middleman and the paper chase.

3. Prioritize company visibility. Before departments can successfully collaborate, each team needs to understand the needs of other departments so they can all work together and create a solution that fits seamlessly into each part of the business.

Once each department understands how requests are serviced throughout the organization, leaders can create a uniformed process for how services are managed.

Automation is the next step for the HR team, following suit of modern IT departments. By offering employees a consistent method for submitting service requests, businesses will create a positive culture and retain top talent. In order to hold on to talent, decision-makers must treat their employees like their best customers, investing in technology and solutions to improve internal operations.