Top 15 HR Automation Case Studies in Different Sectors [2023]

Automating repetitive, rule-based HR tasks is key to enabling HR teams to focus on more strategic initiatives that drive business impact. However, many HR leaders still struggle to build an automation business case, often due to a lack of compelling examples and use cases.¹

In my 10+ years as a data analytics and automation expert, I‘ve seen how real-world examples of successful implementations can catalyze an HR department‘s automation journey.

In this post, we‘ll explore 15 impactful HR automation case studies from global companies across industries. With detailed analyses and data, I aim to provide insights you can apply when determining use cases and selecting solutions for your organization. Let‘s dive in.

What are some examples of HR automation case studies?

Here are 15 real-world examples of organizations using intelligent automation to transform HR workflows:

These examples showcase the power of automation to enhance recruitment, onboarding, payroll, compliance, employee services, and more.

Based on my experience, the transformational benefits typically include:

• Major time savings – HR workflows get streamlined by an order of magnitude.

• Improved efficiency – Automation boosts HR productivity by 50-90%.

• Higher quality – Bots perform repetitive tasks with greater accuracy.

• Strategic focus – HR staff spend less time on transactions and more on high-value work.

Next, let‘s explore key factors to weigh when selecting an automation solution.

Getting started with HR automation

Most HR technology stacks comprise multiple systems for recruitment, payroll, learning, and so on. When exploring automation, core considerations include:

• Integration – The solution should connect and share data across your HR systems. Complex integrations can add costs and time to implementation.

• Scalability – It should flexibly scale across use cases as your needs evolve. Prioritize cloud-based options.

• Intelligence – Opt for a platform with built-in optical character recognition, natural language processing, and other cognitive capabilities.

• Change management – Careful planning and training will maximize user adoption across the HR team.

• Total cost of ownership – Factor both licensing and implementation costs over a 3-5 year horizon.

For detailed guidance, see my complete guide on selecting an HR automation solution. You can also reference our overview of top intelligent automation platforms to compare vendor capabilities.

Real-world examples: 5 case studies

Let‘s drill down into 5 compelling examples spanning different industries, use cases, and impacts:

1. Global manufacturer transforms access management

A large electronics manufacturer struggled with a tedious access management process. Granting employees proper system access required manual back-end work across multiple teams.

By implementing robotic process automation (RPA) from NICE, they automated the process end-to-end. The results were dramatic:

• 5,000+ hours saved already from existing automations
• 124 additional hours saved per year by fully automating one recurring workflow

The project delivered nearly complete automation for a traditionally manual process. This massively boosted speed and efficiency.

2. Aerospace leader scales payroll processing

BAE Systems applied RPA from Automation Anywhere to streamline payroll operations. The company has over 80,000 employees worldwide, making payroll a massive undertaking.

By automating 50 different processes, they reduced the workload by thousands of hours per year. The payroll data upload speed increased 7x.

This example showcases the scalability of automation. By deploying bots across critical HR workflows, major productivity gains can be achieved.

3. Global bank improves employee experience

Spain‘s Santander Bank sought to enhance their employee onboarding process. With 50-100 new hires per month, inefficient onboarding had become a pressing issue.

Implementing RPA cut the average onboarding time from 6 weeks to just 2 days – an 85% reduction. Employees can now get up and running to full productivity much faster.

This use case highlights the power of automation to directly improve the employee experience. Streamlined onboarding helps new hires feel engaged and productive early on.

4. IT leader liberates thousands of hours

As a top global technology company, IBM has over 350,000 employees worldwide. When promotions occur, HR must collect and process data on 15,000-17,000 people.

By using intelligent automation, IBM reduced the promotions processing time from 10 weeks to just 5 weeks. They also saved 12,000 hours in a single quarter.

For large companies like IBM, automation enables HR to handle huge workloads efficiently. With blended human-digital workforces, productivity can surge.

5. Public sector agency transforms recruitment

A UK public services provider relied on manual recruitment processing that slowed hiring and drained HR resources.

Within just 3 weeks, RPA bots automated 6 critical talent acquisition workflows. Automation eliminated bottlenecks, allowing recruiters to receive the data they need each morning.

This example demonstrates the rapid impact automation can deliver. In weeks, processes that bogged down HR for years can become digitized to enable strategic focus.

Key recommendations for getting started

Based on these case studies and my decade working in HR departments, I recommend a few best practices:

• Start small, think big – Automate a contained process first to demonstrate value, then scale across larger workflows.

• Focus on pain points – Prioritize automating painful, repetitive processes to drive immediate ROI.

• Involve stakeholders – Get buy-in from HR, IT and other teams involved in automation.

• Assess impacts – Carefully evaluate how automation may impact employees and culture, and plan mitigation steps.

• Leverage AI – Seek a platform with baked-in optical character recognition, natural language processing and other intelligence.

• Monitor ROI – Track time savings, improved compliance, worker capacity gained and other metrics to showcase value.

The future of HR automation

Looking ahead, I expect AI and automation will transform HR‘s operating model over the next 5 years. Key trends include:

• End-to-end automation of transactional workflows like onboarding and payroll

• AI-powered chatbots handling common employee inquiries

• Intelligent analytics revealing insights from HR data

• Increased focus on the employee experience and human capabilities

• A blended workforce of humans and robots working collaboratively

These shifts will enable HR to drive even greater strategic business impact. Now is the time to start your automation journey.

Key Takeaways

• Real-world examples bring the benefits of HR automation to life – this post explored 15 compelling case studies.

• Detailed analyses reveal how organizations saved thousands of hours and improved productivity across workflows.

• When selecting an automation solution, weigh key factors like integration, scalability, and intelligence.

• Follow best practices like starting small, engaging stakeholders, and monitoring ROI for a successful implementation.

• AI and automation will continue elevating HR‘s strategic capabilities and value to the business.