How to Simplify and Make HR Processes More Efficient

Tired of battling the dreaded, never-ending to-do list of outdated HR tasks? You're not alone. It's easy for HR to get bogged down in the details—shuffling through papers, updating endless spreadsheets, and repeating the same information over and over. But what if you could break free from those slow processes? Imagine freeing up your time to truly focus on what matters most: your people.

Before you start looking at external solutions, let's dive into some practical, actionable ways you can simplify and streamline your internal HR processes. We'll explore some of the most common pain points that slow HR teams down, from clunky onboarding to confusing benefits enrollment and payroll headaches. More importantly, we'll show you how to use smart tools and strategies to make these areas more efficient and, dare we say, enjoyable.

In this article, we’ll dive into the insights and resources you need to empower your HR team to work smarter, not harder, so you can get back to fostering a thriving company culture.

Slow processes that keep HR mired in inefficiencies

Streamlining HR processes and breaking out of trudging processes is a win-win. The company saves money, employees have better experiences, and HR professionals can focus their efforts on more strategic areas.

Some of the most common slow HR areas that need to be reworked are:

Onboarding and new employee orientation

Onboarding isn't a one-and-done checklist item. It’s a critical part of ensuring employee success. The goal should be to make your onboarding process more intentional and efficient.

Though onboarding can be streamlined, it shouldn’t necessarily be fast. Most HR pros say that onboarding takes at least three months. However, ideally, training and support should continue throughout an employee’s first year.

For example, here are some ways a company could simplify onboarding:

• Include self-service and self-paced onboarding modules.
• Ensure physical manuals and reference maternials are also accessible online.
• “Pre-board” as much as possible. You can send login information, org charts, checklists, and other company resources ahead of time. This helps employees prepare to hit the ground running on their first day.

Benefits enrollment

HR departments spend a ton of time putting together benefits packages—yet 67% of benefits-eligible employees spend just 30 minutes or less reviewing their options during open enrollment.

One of the reasons employees aren’t investing time into understanding their benefits may be because the way benefits are presented is confusing or complicated. The sheer amount of information can be overwhelming. Simplifying enrollment can be helpful for employees and the HR team.

For example, companies can offer self-service portals. Employees can ask questions, find resources, and compare options. Offer clear and updated benefits comparison charts and benefit guides.

Companies can further streamline the benefits enrollment process by using AI. AI can create automated alerts to notify new hires, employees with qualifying life events, or those approaching open enrollment deadlines. This ensures no one misses their window and reduces the HR team’s need for manual follow-ups.

Payroll management

Payroll management needs a major overhaul at many companies. Changes in technology and work modes like remote and hybrid work environments, increased numbers of contract workers, and the need for mobile payroll accessibility means .

Payroll is a tough, ever-changing task already. HR teams need to keep up with changing tax rates, wage laws, and reporting requirements. On top of that, employees are constantly joining and leaving companies.

When HR teams are managing multiple systems manually—for example, a separate system for recruiting, one for benefits, and another for payroll—updates can easily fall through the cracks. Delays in processing promotions, new-hire paperwork, terminations, or benefit elections can lead to payroll data being incomplete or incorrect by the time a payroll cycle runs.

If changes aren't automatically synced between Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) and payroll platforms, HR teams have to rely on manual updates, which increases the risk of errors or omissions.

To help manage all the work, companies can streamline HR processes by automating payroll tasks, such as timesheet calculations, tax filings, worker’s compensation, and withholdings.

Tools that can boost your HR team’s efficiency

If you’re struggling with slow processes and repetitive tasks, there are tools that can help make your HR workflows more efficient. Here are some options you could consider:

HRIS

An HRIS is a platform that centralizes all important employee-related data in one place.

Instead of manually updating payroll, benefits, performance reviews, and time-off records across multiple systems, an HRIS allows HR teams to manage everything in one place. This reduces duplication of work, minimizes errors, and speeds up tasks like onboarding new employees, processing promotions, or tracking compliance.

AI tools

About 76% of HR leaders believe they’ll fall behind their peers if they don’t implement AI solutions in the next year or two, according to Deloitte. And they’re not wrong: AI and automation are changing the face of HR.

HR teams can set up automated workflows that trigger the right forms, tasks, or approvals at the right time based on an employee’s status or milestone. Some of the best ways to use AI in HR include drafting offer letters, refining prompts for specific tasks, and helping with HR data and analytics (like benchmarking).

Employee surveys

If you aren’t sure where to start, try collecting employee feedback. Conducting surveys can help your HR team better understand the employee experience, measure engagement and satisfaction, and identify areas for improvement.

Other options to speed up your HR operations

If you’ve already streamlined your internal HR processes and you’re still struggling to keep up with the workload, there are still options that can help.

Using a PEO

Companies can use a professional employer organization, or PEO. A PEO is a company that provides comprehensive HR services to help you outsource your HR tasks.

When a company partners with a PEO, it enters into a co-employment relationship. This means the PEO becomes the official employer of record for tax purposes, workers' compensation, and certain compliance responsibilities, while the company still controls day-to-day operations and employee management.

A PEO streamlines many processes and takes on the work of many routine tasks, such as managing payroll, benefits administration, workers' compensation, compliance, reporting, and risk management. This frees up the in-house HR team to focus on employee engagement, talent development, and strategic planning.

Outsourcing HR

If a company has done all the possible internal HR optimizing and they still need support, one option is to outsource HR.

Outsourcing HR means contracting with an external firm or consultant to handle specific HR functions—like recruiting, payroll processing, benefits administration, or compliance—without forming a co-employment relationship. The company remains the sole employer of record and retains full legal responsibility for its employees.

Outsourced HR can be more flexible and tailored, letting businesses pick and choose which services they want. However, it doesn’t typically come with the benefits aggregation or shared liability that a PEO offers.

How BambooHR makes HR easy

Before using a PEO or outsourcing HR tasks, try BambooHR.

BambooHR helps make HR processes more efficient. Our software simplifies time tracking, payroll, benefits, and more. By automating many routine tasks, BambooHR keeps your organization running smoothly so your HR department can focus on big-picture strategy.

Want to learn more about how our platform can streamline your HR processes? Sign up for a free trial today.