For something as critical as onboarding employees, most HR teams are still stuck with tools and processes that feel ancient. They’re manually filling out endless forms, chasing signatures, and double-checking compliance.
That’s a not very welcome challenge.
It’s not just the productivity of HR teams that is at stake. Rather, it’s a sluggish, inconsistent onboarding procedure that can also leave a bad impression on the new hires. When that happens, these people are twice as likely to hunt for a new job.
So, how do you make this entire onboarding process less overwhelming and more fruitful?
It’s simple: By automating it.
Read on to learn about how HR automation can create a consistent and engaging onboarding experience.
6 Benefits of HR Automation in the Employee Onboarding Process
Automating HR tasks might seem like a drop in a bucket, but as the Tanzanian proverb states, “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” It’s pretty much like that.
You can start by automating simple tasks like sending out onboarding documents to new hires or assigning training modules. Before you know it, you’ve got a game-changing onboarding procedure that’s quick, smart, and if you use the right platform, like Cerkl Broadcast, personalized as well.
Now let’s take a look at six ways your employee onboarding process can benefit from HR automation.
1. Streamlining Administrative Tasks
It’s no secret that HR teams spend a crazy amount of time on the simplest of tasks like collecting documents. This can easily eat into valuable hours that could have been spent on strategic priorities.
Take employee profiles, for example. In a traditional setup, HR folks would have to manually input details such as employee name, address, job title, etc. across multiple systems like payroll and legal. Now, thanks to automation, a single entry in the onboarding software can automatically populate every necessary database. When a new hire fills out a basic information form, their details can be automatically added to HR databases, IT systems, payroll systems, and so on. This eliminates manual data entry for each database, reduces errors, and speeds up the onboarding process.
Another instance where automation cuts HR teams some slack is document collection. (Yes, you read that right.) There is absolutely no need to manually remind new hires to upload their IDs, tax forms, or any other important documents. An automated onboarding system does all of that for you. That means sending pre-scheduled email reminders, tracking their responses, and even flagging incomplete or incorrect submissions are processes that are instantly enabled.
What’s more, some onboarding tools even integrate with corporate gifting platforms, like Swag.com or Sendoso. These integrations, often facilitated through third-party apps or APIs, allow HR teams to automate the delivery of personalized welcome kits, such as embroidered beanies or logoed notebooks, once certain onboarding steps are completed. It’s a great way to save time and make new hires feel valued, all without lifting a finger.
2. Enhancing Consistency and Compliance
Consistency is a tough nut to crack in a traditional onboarding setup.
First of all, inconsistent or unclear task descriptions mean that team members might interpret the same task differently. Second, there’s a high chance that the onboarding experience varies widely across locations within the same company. Finally, there are inevitable manual errors that, even though minor, can cost you a bomb.
However, with automated onboarding software in place, you can create a standardized process where everyone receives the same set of instructions and onboarding materials. These systems enable you to create detailed, step-by-step task descriptions and checklists so that there’s little left to interpretation.
Avoid confusing this with “personalized” onboarding. Here, we are talking specifically about tasks and materials that must remain uniform across the board.
Automated onboarding also allows you to manage new hires in remote teams by providing necessary documents, training materials, and task lists, no matter where they’re located.
Most importantly, HR automation makes sure that every step—like signing NDAs or completing tax forms—is tracked and verified for compliance purposes. In fact, you can also address nuance compliance issues, like incorporating different labor laws for employees residing in different states or even countries.
3. Improving New Hire Experience
Imagine Emily, a new hire at your company, on her first day at work.
In many traditional setups, her experience starts with confusion. She walks into the office (or logs in remotely) to find no clear instructions on what to do next. After some awkward waiting, when she finally meets someone from HR, she’s handed a stack of forms to fill out — half of which ask for information she’s already provided.
Now, picture Emily’s first day in an environment with an automated onboarding system:
- Before her start date, she has received a personalized welcome email with her schedule, training modules, and login credentials.
- Instead of filling out forms by hand, Emily has completed them online at her convenience. What’s important is that the system automatically pre-fills information she’s already provided, making the process much faster and less repetitive.
- As Emily logs in on day one, the system has already coordinated everything behind the scenes. IT has set up her laptop, email account, and access to all the project management tools she’ll be using.
- Her orientation schedule includes a welcome message from her manager, a team introduction video, and links to resources specific to her role.
- Depending on the platform, Emily might also have access to an onboarding chatbot that quickly helps her out with common questions like “How do I enroll in benefits?” At the same time, there might be a feature that uses AI voice with emotion to deliver instructions in a human and less robotic way.
Clearly, with an automated onboarding system in place, Emily’s first day is less about paperwork and more about making connections. No wonder she feels confident, engaged, and excited to contribute to the company.
4. Accelerating Time-to-Productivity
It is widely recognized that a good onboarding system is one that taps into the newfound enthusiasm of new hires so that they can quickly and effectively contribute to their roles.
On the other hand, traditional onboarding procedures often negate the energy and enthusiasm of new hires. They either bury new employees under endless paperwork or create such confusion that the newbies spend hours figuring out whom to contact for help.
An automated onboarding system flips this narrative. It ensures that the recruits have everything they need to hit the ground running, even in a remote setup!
For example, as soon as a new hire signs their offer letter, many automated onboarding systems can notify the IT team to prepare a new hire’s equipment, such as their laptop. Depending on the system’s capabilities, it may also pre-install commonly used tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack for communication and project management platforms like Trello or Asana. These tools are often configured with the employee’s credentials and, in some cases, integrated into a unified remote collaboration solution, though the exact features and integrations can vary across different systems.
With everything in place from the start, new hires can begin working on real projects immediately, accelerating their time-to-productivity and ensuring they make a strong impact from day one.
5. Reducing Costs and Resource Allocation
Traditional onboarding procedures generally add up not only in time but also in costs. For example, a missed signature or incorrect tax form can trigger compliance fines. Hiring trainers for new recruits is another cost-heavy component.
Thankfully, with HR automation, you can build a digital employee onboarding system that proactively checks for compliance at every level so that there are no incorrect payroll entries or missing documents.
You can also create reusable, automated training modules and put them on an interactive learning management system (LMS). As and when you hire new people, the onboarding system will automatically fetch the right training modules for different employees!
For instance, in a data science consulting company, new hires in the engineering team might receive training on building and maintaining data pipelines, while recruits in the marketing department learn how to use the company’s marketing tool for campaign strategies.
Do you know what the best part is? While all these benefits might not seem like a big deal if you’re running a small business, they will definitely save you a bomb when you scale up.
6. Leveraging Data and Analytics
The biggest disadvantage of a traditional onboarding system is that it leaves you in the dark. For example, how do you find out if new hires are completing their tasks on time? Or if employees who complete certain training modules perform better in their roles? Manual checking is laborious.
For this reason, HR automation has become increasingly essential for modern organizations. It equips you with a real-time dashboard where you can see how many employees have completed their onboarding tasks or if someone is stuck on a specific step.
It’s not just data that automation provides you with, but an in-depth analysis of the onboarding process that allows you to make necessary changes. For example, you can see if remote hires face more challenges compared to in-office ones and adjust your onboarding process.
Therefore, automated employee onboarding systems not only tell you what’s happening, but they also show you where you can make meaningful changes.
How Does Cerkl Simplify Employee Onboarding?
Cerkl Broadcast revolutionizes onboarding by automating critical touchpoints and delivering a personalized experience for every new hire. With features like News Digest, internal communicators and HR teams can send tailored welcome messages as soon as a new employee is added to the “new employees” segment.
Additionally, tools like pulse surveys and feedback analytics provide HR teams with actionable insights, helping them refine their onboarding communication.
So, What’s Next?
Whether you’re a small business or a multinational company, there’s a solution tailored to your needs. All you need to do is start mapping out your ideal onboarding process. Ask yourself what it would look like if everything went perfectly. This also includes understanding where you currently stand and in what ways your current system holds you back.
Once you’re clear on this, you can explore different automated onboarding platforms and pilot your preferred solution with your next batch of hires.
Author Bio
Joy D’Cruz is a content marketing specialist currently working with SaSHunt. Joy has a keen interest in researching topics related to B2B and SaaS. He has created copy for a wide range of marketing and business topics including social media, email marketing, and career development.
