Introduction
Microsoft 365 and Power Automate come together to provide a powerful combination for automating HR processes. With Power Automate, you can set up automated workflows from SharePoint to your Outlook, so emails are sent to the right people when a new employee is added.
What is a typical new hire process for an organisation?
A typical HR new hire process for a company begins even before the candidate is hired. To begin, the organisation must have a clear job description and salary expectations that are consistent with market rates. Following this, they will advertise the position to attract qualified candidates and then screen them through interviews and assessments.
Once a suitable candidate has been identified, they can then make an offer of employment. The next step in the process is onboarding the new employee. This may include providing them with relevant documents such as their contract of employment, health and safety information, and any other relevant paperwork that must be completed prior to commencement of work.
During this period, it is also important to ensure that all necessary systems are set up for the new employee such as access to emails, payroll accounts, etc., so that they will be ready on their first day at work.
Finally, ongoing support should be provided throughout the employee’s time in their position including ongoing training opportunities that help develop their skillset further. Regular one-on-one meetings or performance reviews should also be held in order to ensure that employees are happy with their role within an organisation and have room for growth or improvement in their role if needed.
Microsoft 365 and Power Automate can help streamline these processes by automating communication between HR staff and new hires, managing onboarding tasks efficiently or collecting and processing new hire information quickly without manual intervention.
Common mistakes made during the new hire process
Common mistakes made during the HR new hire process include not having a clear job description or salary expectations that are consistent with market rates. This can lead to confusion for candidates about the role and make it difficult for employers to attract qualified talent.
Other common mistakes include not providing enough employee orientation or onboarding information and failing to establish systems and processes.
Microsoft 365 and Power Automate provide incredible tools for automating processes, but if organisations don’t make use of them, they are missing out on the numerous benefits that automation can bring to their human resources operations.
How to automate the new hire process
Automating the HR new hire process is not only more efficient, but it also ensures that all necessary documentation and employee onboarding lifecycle is taken care of in a timely manner. Microsoft 365 and Power Automate provide an effective combination for streamlining this process.
1. New hire forms
Microsoft Forms can be used to collect the new hire’s personal information onboarding, while Power Automate can be used to automatically set up workflows from SharePoint to Outlook for sending emails when a new employee is added.
2. Managing employee onboarding
SharePoint can be especially useful as it is a one-stop shop for capturing where the onboarding for an employee is, storing important documents such as job descriptions, salary expectations, contracts of employment etc.
By having everything in one location it ensures that all necessary information is accessible by those involved in the onboarding process quickly.
Microsoft Forms and Power Automate are great tools for automating these processes further and ensuring that communication between departments (HR, Finance and IT) and the new hire flow smoothly.
3. Cross-functional communication
When setting up automated workflows with Power Automate, you can specify tasks that should be conducted by whom at what stage of the onboarding process.
For example, you can set up workflows so that when a new employee is added, an email will be sent out directly from Microsoft Outlook alerting department heads or relevant staff members of their arrival.
This helps ensure that all departments are kept informed throughout the onboarding process so everyone knows what their roles are and how they fit within the employee onboarding process.
In addition to Microsoft Forms and Power Automate, Microsoft Teams could also be used as a platform for providing orientation sessions which will help orient new employees on workplace policies and procedures as well as introducing them to their colleagues and helping them become familiar with the company’s culture.
Furthermore, ongoing training opportunities could also be provided using Microsoft Teams which would help develop knowledge further for existing employees as well as aiding with long-term retention rates within your organisation.
Conclusion
Overall using Microsoft 365’s suite of products along with Power Automate streamlines the HR new hire process significantly by automating communication between HR staff and new hires managing various tasks efficiently without manual intervention.
Are you looking for a way to automate your HR processes for improved efficiency and accuracy? Contact us and see how Fliweel can help.