Challenges of RPA in aolving HR & Payroll issues

There is a way to relieve your employees of this burden, and that is with RPA (Robotic Process Automation). RPA’s focus has been to free-up employees working on tedious, rule based tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value and complex assignments, therefore improving work quality. RPA bots automate these repetitive processes, ensuring tasks are completed accurately and in compliance, while also reducing costs for the organisation. As you continue to optimize, identifying new automation opportunities can further enhance efficiency and address evolving business needs.

“It’s about automating tasks, NOT Roles!”

The aim has never been to relieve employees of their jobs, which seldom has been misinterpreted or misunderstood. For the automated processes, there has been an increase in employee and processor satisfaction due to reduced manual errors and faster service capability.

What are the most common HR & payroll challenges that robotic process automation can help resolve?

We don't need to remind you of all the HR & payroll challenges your team face, but something quite visible is how automation can resolve:

1. Issues with missing, incorrect or illegible data
2. Issues with late expense submissions, missing receipts, unclear expense justifications, etc.
3. Issues with Manual Data Maintenance (current and past employees, applicants, contractors, and new hires)
4. Issues with manual data feed
5. Issues with data entries from different file formats
6. Issues with assignment/management of service tickets
7. Issues with screening and sourcing candidates
8. Issues with Compliance and Reporting
9. Issues with Payroll Accounting and Reconciliations
10. Issues with testing data and Test Data creations

You can increase your data quality and scope for data collection to derive better business insights using intelligent process automation techniques. You can reduce churn and minimise human intervention towards sensitive data: maintaining a clear audit trail.

What are the key HR & payroll processes that should be automated, and why?

You can automate your payroll to ensure its error-free and Payroll processing involves large amounts of data entry regularly, plus constantly changing tax laws and multiple systems can make payroll a tedious process. RPA simplifies the process by collecting and connecting data between multiple systems and verifying the employee's hours and make corrections. You'll be able to see if there is a high number of registered hours, overtime or missing hours to further simplify your payroll processing.

You can streamline employee on-boarding to ensure a structured and self-serviceable system.

On-boarding requires the coordinated efforts of multiple people as the data from several systems needs to be synced to create a new user account, access rights for applications, IT equipment, etc. RPA can streamline the entire onboarding procedure by automatically validating new hire data and entering the same data into different systems: as well as accurately updating personal and account information across multiple systems to ensure quick processing.

You can bridge legacy systems and ERP. Automation acts as a single centralising connector for multiple systems and processes for efficient working.

RPA can perform data cleansing tasks to ensure data compatibility across your multiple databases, resulting in employees gaining data much more efficiently and quickly. For example, RPA can automatically generate the documents that employees need, instead of an HR transferring all the employee data to a suitable template.

You can improve learning opportunities as automation understands data and structures it better for more profound and meaningful business insights.

RPA uses pre-coded technology, thereby drastically reducing errors and ensuring optimal structuring. The technology contributes directly to the overall strategic goals and productivity of the company as the data reveals clear and accurate insights, which otherwise might have been missed by humans.

You can enhance employee experience through more timely answers to all employee queries, leading to a better Net promoter score and retention of clients due to better service satisfaction levels.

With RPA, HR departments can expect tasks to be completed without any hassle; since bots work 24×7 with consistent performance, employees can expect a swift and reliable answer to any enquiries.

It's incorrect and irresponsible if businesses think that Man and Robots can work independently. Robots and humans can work side-by-side, especially when robots start to relieve manual efforts from less rewarding and non-valuable tasks. Therefore, it is appropriate to provide employees with the additional capacity to become digital assistants, making them efficient and robust in their skills.

The successful implementation of RPA will help HR professionals be more productive, more successful and more fulfilled in their roles: it can also help them catalyse adoption across the entire organisation.

Building a new culture in any organisation is no overnight task. Still, it's important that leaders in HR/Payroll take an employee-centric approach to the changes and help employees feel that they have learned to control the upcoming adjustments.

What does the future of RPA within the HR industry look like?

COVID-19 has taught businesses new ways to evolve and has unearthed what organisations need to stay relevant: an automation journey. Around 80% of finance leaders have implemented or are planning to implement RPA (Gartner).

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are opening avenues for new opportunities. RPA and AI systems can be combined to create a truly end-to-end automated process by allowing the BOTS to take on the parts of the job we don't want to deal with: freeing us up to concentrate on those value-adding tasks that benefit most from human creativity, intuition and ingenuity.

"We must try, learn, adapt and transform in a careful and phased manner." – Balakrishnan, Executive Vice President APAC.

Traditional RPA has matured and leapt into a new breed known as Hyper Automation, or Intelligent Process Automation (AI/ML). It is a flexible, infinitely adaptable tool that end-business-users can utilise to automate current and future tasks using simple drag-and-drop interfaces: it also reduces costs and improves productivity.

Organisations are increasingly moving towards unified, enterprise-wide automation strategies with Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning tools; this frees them up for tasks that require strategic thinking, emotional intelligence or creativity – things that robots don't do nearly as well.

In fact, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc., RPA software revenue is projected to reach $1.89 billion in 2021, an increase of 19.5% from 2020. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the RPA market is still expected to grow at double-digit rates through 2024.

RPA in Zalaris

Zalaris formally started its automation journey four years ago, in 2017. Since then, we have witnessed trend shifts and maturity in RPA.

In Zalaris, the aim has been to build a culture of automation and innovation from within (instilling the AI/ML/RPA culture in the organisation's DNA). An effort has been ongoing to free our employees from mundane tasks so that they can work on more strategic, more creative and valuable assignments. This creates a culture of adopting next-gen technology, tools, techniques, and processes. It also helps employees contribute towards the company's growth through the opportunities that lie with automation.

Practical HR functions should demonstrate what best-practice looks like within an organisation and drive new processes and systems forwards. Naturally, our in-house tasks and processes are the best place to test out emerging technology implementation. We use our own experience of solving internal HR and Payroll tasks with RPA to help new and existing clients digitise their repetitive tasks.

"It's of utmost urgency to help bust the myth that that automation results in job losses. Doing so and educating our employees to realise that automation is here to help, not hinder, will empower employees to help clients and themselves for the better." – Balakrishnan, Executive Vice President APAC.

RPA security considerations in HR & Payroll

As organisations across industries accelerate their digital transformation initiatives, robotic process automation in HR and payroll operations is ushering in one of the most significant shifts in workforce management in decades. For many HR leaders, this is not just a technology upgrade. It marks a turning point in how businesses approach efficiency, accuracy and operational excellence, while delivering substantial cost savings that can reshape entire departments.

While RPA systems and software robots focus on automating repetitive tasks and complex processes, their reach extends far beyond simple task replacement. They are redefining how organisations think about data protection, system integration and the very foundations of secure business operations. The protection of sensitive employee and payroll data becomes not just a technical requirement—it's the cornerstone of maintaining trust and ensuring compliance in an increasingly automated workplace.

Crucially, one of the most persistent challenges in RPA implementation lies in achieving seamless integration with existing legacy systems and backend systems. Organisations that have operated for decades on established platforms now face the complex task of bridging technological generations without creating security vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive data or disrupt critical business processes. Middleware solutions can provide the necessary connectivity between RPA tools and older platforms, but the burden of proof is on organisations to demonstrate that robust security protocols remain intact, especially when combining RPA with artificial intelligence and machine learning to tackle increasingly sophisticated automation goals.

According to industry analysis, security concerns in robotic process automation RPA present a multifaceted challenge that extends beyond traditional IT security frameworks. The risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and compliance violations demands a comprehensive approach that treats automation not as an isolated technical implementation, but as a fundamental shift in how sensitive information flows through business processes. Organisations must implement robust security protocols such as encryption, role-based access controls, and detailed audit trails. Meanwhile, continuous monitoring of bot performance and automated processes becomes essential to detect evolving threats and ensure that RPA systems adapt securely as business needs change. Regular software updates and proactive security audits help address hidden costs and performance bottlenecks that inevitably arise from poor planning or outdated automation tools.

For decades, change management has been a challenge organisations have navigated with varying degrees of success. But now, with RPA transforming HR and payroll operations, employee resistance to automation can create operational disruptions that extend far beyond simple workflow interruptions. The most successful implementations will be those that treat change management not as an administrative afterthought, but as a strategic opportunity to build organisational resilience. By investing in comprehensive training and transparent communication, organisations can help their teams understand not just the benefits of RPA, but the critical importance of following security protocols and how to work alongside software robots to achieve sustainable automation goals.

To ensure a secure and compliant RPA implementation process in HR and payroll, forward-thinking organisations are already adopting these essential practices:

• Implement comprehensive role-based access controls to restrict who can access sensitive data and automated processes, ensuring accountability at every level
• Conduct regular security audits and risk assessments to proactively identify and address potential vulnerabilities in RPA systems before they become critical issues
• Deploy advanced encryption and secure data storage solutions to protect sensitive employee and payroll information throughout the entire automation lifecycle
• Establish clear policies and procedures for RPA system maintenance, software updates, and incident response that align with broader organisational governance frameworks
• Provide ongoing training and support to employees to ensure they understand RPA security protocols and can actively participate in maintaining best practices

As the automation landscape continues to evolve, organisations that prioritize RPA security and compliance position themselves to confidently pursue automation initiatives that streamline operations, eliminate manual errors, and deliver significant cost savings - while safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring business continuity. Those who act early gain more than operational efficiency: They signal technological leadership, strengthen organisational resilience, and align with the broader digital transformation expectations now shaping the future of work.