In a conversation around best practices for local government, Jonathan Feldeman, CIO of Asheville, NC, commented that, “Nothing great is ever done for customers on the backs of employees,” meaning happy employees provide exceptional service for constituents, while miserable employees will provide miserable service.
Within local governments, the Human Resources (HR) department is vital to the happiness of its employees. HR has a role to play in every step of an employee’s journey while at that government agency, from interviewing to offboarding and everything in between. They are driven to improve the lives of employees in the organization, yet are often inundated with paperwork, antiquated processes, and a lack of support from their IT department.
But as we heard in the final day of our 2020 Digital Transformation Summit, HR can be a real change agent for the entire organization. They are well equipped to lead teams into a paperless world, and with intuitive solutions for online services, it’s never been easier to effect real change for the greater good of employees.
It’s often overlooked, but HR is one of the most important parts of any organization, including governments. While the HR department does have a limited role in most government settings, typically focusing solely on administering and enforcing civil-service rules and programs, it could be so much more. With HR automation from GovOS, it can be!
Excited about innovation, inundated with paperwork
Like many other departments, HR relies on document-driven processes to get work done. New employees need to read, understand, and sign contracts before they begin working and without HR, that wouldn’t happen. In a paper-based office, processes like these require someone from HR to be present to ensure the contract is properly prepared, printed, and signed by the employee, along with being present for questions. After, they must review and properly file the documents. Although employee contracts and similar processes like this are important, time could be better spent. Employee contracts are an essential part of the onboarding process, and it’s where company values and expectations are instilled, but with HR automation this process does not have to take up hours of valuable time.What is HR automation?
HR automation involves the process of enhancing the department’s efficiency by converting simple tasks to automatic operations. This frees up employees from monotonous, tedious tasks and gives them the time to focus on more complex ones. Also know, as enterprise content management, HR automation can reduce the time it takes to complete tasks but without sacrificing the quality of work. With HR automation from GovOS, governments can:
- Import documents – both paper and digital – to a digital repository
- Organize all imported documents in the repository where only authorized employees can search for, edit, and retrieve them
- Archive records that are retained in accordance with a compliant records retention schedule and can’t be edited
- Ensure all files are in a standard format which can easily be shared across multiple devices
- Make all information easier to locate, saving time during audits and records requests
What Government HR tasks can be automated?
- Employee records management: Retain and easily keep track of employee records in accordance with government regulations in the repository.
- Employee recruitment: Applications submitted through online forms can be stored automatically and are easy for recruiters to find so you can make the best hiring decisions possible.
- Employee onboarding: Confidentially agreements, waivers, and other forms can automatically be sent out to new hires. Once completed, each can be automatically sent to the corresponding folders in the repository, ready for review.
- Benefits: Keep track of when employees become eligible for benefits enrollment.
- Tax forms: Facilitate the distribution of W2s alongside other tax documents with email reminders automatically sent to employees.
In a sense, the answer to a question like “What is HR automation?” is that it’s an increase to efficiency that makes the jobs of existing HR employees easier and gives them time to focus on more important tasks. Without having to worry about the tasks that slow down productivity, governments have more time to focus on serving their citizens’ needs and addressing their concerns. Additionally, the GovOS HR automation software will eliminate the amount of paper used, a financial benefit for governments and an environmental benefit for the planet.
The benefits don’t end there though, as our government HR automation software can:
- Improve productivity with quicker processing and data sharing
- Reduce employee turnover, as employees now have more time to interact with one another and participate in government events rather than being buried in monotonous tasks
- Reduce data entry errors and misplaced or lost documents
- Make intelligent, data-driven decisions that will benefit citizens and the community
- Reduce storage and printing expenses with less paper-based processing
