Allison King
VP, People Operations
Sound Physicians
Episode 389
Beyond Busywork: HR Automation Redefines Employee Experience and Strategy
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleNovember 12, 2024 · 17:08
Thesis
“By strategically embracing HR technology and automation, organizations can optimize processes, free up HR teams for more strategic, human-centric work, and ultimately enhance the employee experience from onboarding through the entire lifecycle.”
Show notes
Scaling HR Operations: Insights from Allison King's Career Journey In this episode of the Built by People podcast, Allison King, VP of People Operations at Sound Physicians, shares her unique career journey from applied mathematics to HR leadership. She discusses her passion for improving HR practices, particularly in scaling HR operations from small startups to large organizations. Topics include the importance of technology and automation in HR processes, change management, and balancing efficiency with a human touch. Allison provides practical advice on evaluating and implementing HR tools, as well as personal lessons learned in her career. 00:00 Introduction to the Built by People Podcast 00:19 Sponsor Message: Previ's Financial Wellness Benefit 00:44 Guest Introduction: Allison King's Career Journey 05:08 Scaling HR Processes: From Startups to Large Enterprises 07:24 Implementing Technology in HR: Tools and Strategies 08:38 Balancing Automation with Human Touch in HR 10:24 Evaluating and Optimizing HR Tools 12:09 Success Stories: Optimizing Onboarding Processes 15:24 Lessons Learned in Change Management 16:20 Parting Advice and Closing Remarks
What you'll take away
- 1Introduce technology and automation early in HR, even for small teams, to create time for more impactful strategic initiatives.
- 2Maximize the capabilities of existing HR systems and leverage current contracts for automation before investing in new platforms.
- 3Prioritize transparency and open communication in change management to secure buy-in from both executives and frontline employees.
- 4Utilize automation to handle manual, repetitive tasks, thereby enabling HR professionals to focus more on direct human interaction and connection.
- 5When evaluating new HR tools, begin with a clear problem statement and involve all key stakeholders (e.g., payroll, IT) to ensure comprehensive impact and prioritization.
What most organizations get wrong
- •I don't think that you are too small of a team in order to start implementing different technologies or different workflows that have automation behind them.
- •I do believe that some roles, yes, you could probably automate them out of the role, but I also think that that is something that not necessarily is going to happen, but you should kind of try to do to, to get those processes better so you can actually, as HR, connect with the people and, and go outside of the system.
In Allison's words
“operations was something that really wasn't, you know, a topic of conversation or considered a function, you know, 10 years ago. And so I really felt like I, I helped that company with understanding what people operations is, which is, you know, in my eyes, the glue of all of the different roles in HR.”
This highlights the evolving and crucial role of people operations as an integrating force within the broader HR function.
“I don't think that you are too small of a team in order to start implementing different technologies or different workflows that have automation behind them.”
This challenges the common misconception that only large organizations can benefit from HR automation.
“Systems and automation are great, but they don't provide that human touch that you still do need to have those conversations.”
This emphasizes the critical balance between technological efficiency and the irreplaceable value of human interaction in HR.
“Change management... if you start to skip or go too quickly through, you know, optimizing a process, you don't get that buy-in. You're going to get people who reject whatever, you know, process or project that is, and it's not going to be successful.”
This provides a crucial lesson on the necessity of empathy and thorough communication in successful change management initiatives.
“Don't be scared of it [AI and automation] and educate yourselves on it. I think that that's really going to get you further in your career because it's not going away, right?”
This offers forward-looking advice for HR professionals to embrace continuous learning and adaptation to new technologies.
The problems this episode addresses
- •HR teams waste significant time on manual data entry across multiple systems.
- •Outdated, non-technology based benefit enrollment processes create inefficiency and poor employee experience.
- •Lack of time for strategic HR initiatives due to overwhelming manual administrative tasks.
- •Stressful and inefficient onboarding processes that hinder rapid new hire productivity and engagement.
- •Complexity of managing global onboarding with diverse regulations, background checks, policies, and training requirements.
- •Resistance from employees and stakeholders to adopt new processes due to ingrained habits ('that's not how we've always done it').
- •Difficulty in evaluating and prioritizing HR technology, leading to suboptimal or unnecessary purchases.
- •Lack of cross-functional buy-in from departments like payroll and IT for HR system implementations.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Allison King is VP of People Operations at Sound Physicians
Allison King on Built By People
You've gone from startup to much larger companies analyzing HR processes
Determining how to scale HR Processes
Change management involves getting buy-in from executives and frontline workers
How to Balance Technology and Human Touch in HR
How do you evaluate tools and platforms to implement? I'm curious
When to Choose the Right HR Technology?
Elsa, could you share an example of a specific HR process that you successfully optimized
Immigration & Onboarding Process Optimization
Alison says being transparent with colleagues before a project is important
In the End: Change Management
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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