Automate HR Processes: 5 Key Processes You Should be Automating in 2025

Businesses are facing growing pressure to operate faster, smarter and leaner in 2025 than ever before. Between hybrid workforces, increased competition for talent and AI flooding platforms, your HR team is expected to do more with less.

And automating HR processes is no longer a far-off future goal, it’s a strategic necessity. We’re diving into exactly why your HR team needs to automate its processes and exactly which key ones you should be automating to make the most impact.

Why automate HR processes in 2025?

More than half of SMEs are spending up to one whole day on administrative tasks related to employment/HR/payroll according to our latest ‘Work That Works’ report, where we spoke to over 2000+ business leaders and employers to give scope. Meaning 20% of time during the week is lost to these tasks, leaving just four days for strategy, deep work and business growth.

Taking up that much valuable time that could be used for more strategic planning, culture building and employee development, is a huge time drain on your HR team. And with the rapid rise of AI-powered HR solutions there is now a huge shift towards technology to help reduce admin friction and support better business outcomes. Our report also shows that when employees use AI tools regularly, the impact is overwhelmingly positive, with 40% feeling less overwhelmed and 38% report better quality output.

Automating your team’s administrative processes is a great first step to take in adopting AI and reducing time spent on these processes. But avoiding automation could be bad for business according to our latest research, which shows when employees feel their company handles automation poorly, their reported productivity can be up to 50% lower compared to those who feel their company is doing it well.

Investing in automation now, will not only help boost your team’s productivity but it can also impact your business’s bottom line. Leaving more time for you to focus on your people.

What is HR process automation?

HR process automation is the use of technology to streamline and manage HR tasks with minimal input. Involving setting up digital workflows to automatically carry out repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Tasks such as sending offer letters, tracking leave requests or triggering performance review reminders.

HR automations vs traditional digitisation

Traditional digitisation involves uploading files to a shared drive in the cloud, so they can be accessed by any device at any time. However, HR automation takes this a step further. When automated HR workflows are triggered, based on pre-set actions and rules, a number of things can happen. For example:

• When a new hire enters the system, an onboarding checklist is automatically assigned.
• When sick leave is requested, a manager is notified and approval is tracked.
• When an employee reaches the end of their probationary period an automated email prompts a performance review.

This proactive, automated and rule-based approach is what sets automation apart from standard HR technology.

Benefits beyond time-saving

With time-saving being a top priority and a major benefit for many UK businesses, automating HR processes delivers far more than just efficiency.

• Improved compliance: Helps reduce the risk of missing legal deadlines or losing key documents.
• Stronger employee experience: Give new starters a seamless onboarding and reduce frustrations with self-service tools.
• Data accuracy: Minimise manual data entry errors and centralise HR insights.
• Scalability: Support rapid growth without adding headcount.
• Employee empowerment: Enable your team to manage leave, documents and requests independently.

5 HR processes you should automate in 2025

Now we’ve gone through what HR automation is and why your business stands to benefit from it, let’s dive into the key 5 HR processes you should automate in 2025.

1. Employee onboarding

First impressions matter and that is said for both your impression of a new employee and their impression of your business. Automating your onboarding process ensures that each new hire has a consistent, engaging and compliant experience. From auto-sending contracts and welcome emails to scheduling key introductions and induction tasks. Onboarding software can make this automation easy and allows you to deliver a smooth, scalable experience without the manual paperwork.

2. Leave and absence management

Having to go through and manually approve leave requests and tracking holiday balances on a spreadsheet, not only leaves too much room for error, but is also highly time-consuming. Automating this HR process with leave management software can help your team stay organised, allowing for real-time balance views, instant notifications of requests and maintains accurate records to support your payroll and compliance requirements.

3. Payroll and compensation workflows

Payroll can be one of the most time-consuming processes but on the other hand, one of the easiest to automate. Automating your payroll can ensure accurate salary calculations are made, automatic syncing of timesheets, leave and deductions as well as bolstering your data security and compliance. Automating this process also helps reduce the risk of late payments or miscalculations that would impact employee trust and morale if gone awry. 

4. Performance review scheduling and reminders

Performance reviews can take a lot of time to plan, schedule and conduct. That’s precious time that could be spent elsewhere. Traditional performance reviews can also be inconsistent across teams or delayed due to other business priorities. Automating this process helps scheduling across calendars at the most appropriate time to meet key milestones, as well as send reminders to managers and employees and track completion rates and feedback all in one place.

5. Employee offboarding and exit interviews

Structured offboarding will help protect your business whilst gathering valuable feedback and automating this process will reduce the chance of missing key steps. By automating your offboarding process you’ll be able to:

• Schedule exit interviews automatically.
• Revoke system access securely.
• Collect equipment and final documentation.
• Close out payroll and benefits correctly.
• Capture feedback via automated surveys.

By doing so, you’re ensuring that you leave a positive final impression whilst protecting your business.

How to start automating your HR processes

Automating your HR processes doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Lots of HR leaders start by automating just one or two processes to begin with and then scale from there. It’s important to remember that choosing the right tools to help you will either give your business the liftoff it needs or become its engine failure.

Choosing the right tools for your HR team

When it comes to choosing the right HR software, not all tools are created equal. When looking for the right fit for your business, remember to look for:

• User-friendly design.
• Customisable workflows.
• Integration with your existing systems.
• Strong compliance and security credentials.
• Scalable features for future growth.

A platform that has all these features but also offers an automated HR system with built-in support, templates and reporting tools just like Employment Hero, would help you to automate your HR processes much faster and smoother. 

Overcoming adoption resistance

Whilst automation is a great tool to help businesses reduce unnecessary time-wasting, some of your team may feel unsure about changing their processes or trusting automation. Here’s a few ways you can help them overcome their hesitation:

• Start with low-risk, high-reward areas like onboarding or leave.
• Communicate benefits clearly, especially time saved.
• Offer training and support.
• Share success metrics as your automation programme rolls out.

Getting early wins will help build trust and momentum across teams and impact how effective your adoption of automation will be.

Embrace automation with Employment Hero

The way we work is evolving fast and HR teams are leading the charge when it comes to automation. By automating your HR processes, you’re not just saving time, you’re reducing risk, improving employee experiences and preparing your business for the future.

Whether you’re ready to build a fully AI-powered HR solution or want to start small, Employment Hero is your partner in building a smarter, more efficient future for your business and your people.

We make it easy to streamline your HR operations and claim back your time. From onboarding and leave management to performance and payroll, our all-in-one platform helps you automate the admin and put the focus back on your people.

Why not see it for yourself? Book a demo of our Employment Operating System to see how a smarter more efficient HR software can enhance your HR teams.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is current as at July 2025, and has been prepared by Employment Hero UK Ltd and its related bodies corporate (Employment Hero). The views expressed in this article are general information only, are provided in good faith to assist employers and their employees, and should not be relied on as professional advice. Some information is based on data supplied by third parties. While such data is believed to be accurate, it has not been independently verified and no warranties are given that it is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for the purpose for which it is required. Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracy in such data and is not liable for any loss or damages arising directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on, use of or inability to use any information provided in this article. You should undertake your own research and seek professional advice before making any decisions or relying on the information in this article.