People ops go beyond traditional HR because they focus on helping employees be their best\u2014not just facilitating their work, administering benefits, and ensuring compliance with the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the midst of this shift, best-of-breed HR apps<\/a> like Workday<\/a> and Namely<\/a> have become invaluable. They help you manage information, keep accurate records, and gain insight into your organization\u2019s structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Gartner, cloud-based HR software accounts for more than 50% of total HR tech spending. Each app has its own special strengths, so it\u2019s common for HR teams to use multiple apps for different purposes. One app might store all timesheet information while another is used to submit PTO requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While these specialized tools are helpful, they can also lead to information silos. When important information is stored in disconnected apps, it makes it harder for the HR team to do its job because they can\u2019t easily access that information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They have to switch apps\u2014which kills productivity\u2014or wait for another person or department to grant them access (which can create bottlenecks in important processes). In fact, a Brandon Hall Group study indicates that 45% of HR professionals want to alleviate the burden of manual tasks from HR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intelligent automation can solve these problems by connecting your apps in integrated workflows. By automating manual processes and constructing integrated HR workflows, your HR team can focus on what\u2019s really important: recruiting, developing, and retaining talent\u2014not administrative work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Workato<\/a> is an intelligent automation platform (backed by Workday Ventures, the leading HR app) that lets you construct workflows across departments and apps. At Workato, we call our integrations recipes, because they\u2019re plain English instructions for doing work between your apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We even offer a repository of 100,000+ community recipes that you can copy, tweak, and reuse\u2014instead of writing your own from scratch. We’ll cover some of our favorite everyday HR workflows throughout this page, but before we do, let’s define an HR Workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related: What is recruiting automation and why is it important?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n An HR workflow is a process of moving data between your HR systems and other applications in order to fulfill a specific HR objective, like onboarding an employee or provisioning them with access to your applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use an enterprise automation platform like Workato to automate a human resources workflow end-to-end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most important tasks any HR team tackles is keeping on top of the ever-changing list of employees and their roles. Employees often switch teams or earn promotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And of course, with a new role or title comes new tools and app permissions that the employee may need access to. It\u2019s crucial that HR provide those tools as soon as possible so the employee can settle into their new role as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But provisioning is often handled with different apps, such as an identity and access management (IAM) program like Okta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The HR team may not have access to that app, so they must wait for the IT or Security Ops team to make changes. This wait time means that there\u2019s often a bottleneck in the provisioning process\u2014and that hurts productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n Intelligent, automated HR workflows can help simplify the process. Whenever an employee\u2019s role is changed in your HR app (like Workday or Namely), a Workato recipe can kick in and sync the changes with your IAM app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the employee\u2019s new role is synced between both apps, the IAM app will automatically provision them correctly, according to their updated title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also use similar HR workflows to de-provision employees who are retiring. When their status is marked as \u201cretired\u201d in your HR app, a Workato recipe can automatically sync that information with your IAM program, which will then de-provision them across your apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Streamline provisioning with Workato\u2019s Okta connector ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n More and more employees are spending the bulk of their workday in chat apps like Slack, and HR staff members are no different. While Slack is a great communication tool, constantly switching from the chat app to your other apps can seriously affect your productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots are a powerful solution to this problem. Using Workbot<\/a>, a bot Workato created to allow users to do work in other cloud apps directly from Slack<\/a>, you can execute this provisioning workflow without leaving the chat platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Powered by the Workato Integration and Automation platform, Workbot is highly customizable because it runs on Workato recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n When an employee\u2019s status or role changes in your HR app\u2014say, Namely<\/a> for example\u2014Workato can send a Slack message to the correct person (like an HR staff member or the employee\u2019s new manager). The Slack message will inform them of the employee\u2019s new role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The message will also ask whether they would like to provision the employee using an app like Okta or JIRA<\/a>. Using buttons and drop-down menus, the staff member can indicate how they would like to provision the employee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are using Okta, you can automatically provision the employee. And Workbot is the only bot to feature Verified User Access, a patented technology that requires you to authenticate your credentials before approving a request\u2014so your requests are always secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need to ask IT or another department, companies often use apps like JIRA or ServiceNow to track these requests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can send the requests from Slack to either app, and Workato then makes a note of any activity in JIRA or ServiceNow on the employee\u2019s Namely profile, so both systems are up to date automatically, and you can easily see what the employee has been provisioned in both apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related: The 4 most important types of HR automation<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For employees, one of HR\u2019s most important roles is handling vacation or PTO requests. After all, when you\u2019re working hard, it\u2019s important to feel that you can reward yourself with time off! <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the back end, however, managing requests can be overwhelming, especially when HR staff must manually check and approve each one.<\/p>\n\n\n Whenever an employee asks for vacation time, you can receive an automatic Slack message via Workbot, letting you know about the request. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And with Workbot features like buttons and drop-down menus, you don\u2019t have to leave Slack to approve the request\u2014you can just point and click, and Workato will automatically record the approval in BambooHR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more about building approval workflows in Slack ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Managing training and development can be an arduous task for HR. Employee needs vary, and there\u2019s such a wide range of training tools available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From optional online webinars and special courses to mandatory, all-hands instruction, the options for development are endless! Even for a people-focused HR team, it can be difficult to assess what individual employees need\u2014and to follow up to make sure they\u2019ve received the right instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n It\u2019s simple to automate training approval and tracking in Workday or another HR app. Using a Workato approval workflow similar to the one mentioned above, managers can be notified via email (or in a chat app like Slack) whenever an employee signs up for an online training course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The manager can then approve the training via Slack or email, and after the employee completes the course, it will be recorded in Workday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related: The benefits of HR integration<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n HR is also responsible for ensuring employee satisfaction in the workplace. It\u2019s a crucial task because happy employees are more likely to be productive, go the extra mile, and stay with the organization for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee feedback is crucial to creating a happy, productive workplace; it gives the HR team on-the-ground insight into the employee experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collecting feedback, however, can feel daunting and labor-intensive. You have to create a means for submitting it (like an online survey or a physical drop box) and then encourage the right people to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n For example, you can easily gather feedback on the onboarding process from recently hired employees. A Workato recipe can automatically send a SurveyMonkey survey to each new hire whenever that user is created in Namely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You could even send the survey two weeks after the employee\u2019s start date, so they have time to experience the full onboarding process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related: How you can use automation to help new hires feel appreciated<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s just one example; you can automatically deploy surveys based on any trigger. Whether you want to collect feedback on catered lunches or find out how satisfied employees are with development opportunities, you can easily get the information you need!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deploy internal surveys with no manual work ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another key aspect of HR is nurturing and developing talent, which often requires periodic assessments or performance evaluations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re using an HR app like Workday or BambooHR, these evaluations are stored within the app. However, many companies prefer to keep a backup version for accurate record-keeping and governance.<\/p>\n\n\n You can automatically upload performance evaluations from your HR app to another app such as a secure Box<\/a> folder for safekeeping and accurate records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more about how Box can streamline your content management ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, different branches of an organization use completely distinct HR systems, especially after acquisitions or management changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, one branch of the company might use Oracle EBS, while the other uses Workday. But HR staff frequently need access to information in both systems. Keeping both systems in sync with each other can require arduous amounts of manual data entry, which is costly and wastes time.<\/p>\n\n\n Intelligent automation can keep both systems in sync without any hands-on effort. When a new employee is created in Workday, a Workato recipe can check Oracle and see if there\u2019s already an entry for that worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If there isn\u2019t, the recipe will create one. It will then update the Workday profile with the EBS employee ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep Oracle and Workday in sync with this recipe ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not uncommon for HR staff to need access to timesheet information. This information can help determine the actual PTO that an employee has accrued, for example. When it\u2019s not up-to-date, you can\u2019t get a truly 360\u00b0 view of your employees.<\/p>\n\n\n A Workato recipe can easily move this information from an app like Replicon<\/a> into your HR app with no manual work. The recipe can run in real-time, every time an employee clocks in or out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or you can run this HR workflow on a schedule so it updates employee hours at your desired interval, such as every Friday at 5:00 PM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to learn more about how intelligent automation can revolutionize your HR process? Check out <\/i>Part One<\/i><\/a> and <\/i>Part Two\u00a0<\/i><\/a>of the series ><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The way we do business is changing rapidly. Companies are committed to digital transformation\u2014using new technology to overhaul traditional processes and business operations. But the transformation isn\u2019t just about adopting new tech; it\u2019s about rethinking the way organi zations operate, from the ground up. Sparked by a dissatisfaction with the old way of doing things, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automation-integration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is an HR Workflow?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
HR Workflows for Streamlining Promotion, Role Change, and Retirement Processes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Promotion and retirement provisioning<\/strong><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Okta](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-53.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n2. Provisioning employees directly from Slack with Workbot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Namely,](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-54.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHR Workflows for Approving Employee Requests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Approving vacation requests with Workbot for Slack<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Workday](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/workbot-approval.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
To make the process simpler, you can execute these approval-based HR workflows in Slack using Workbot. For example, imagine that you want to approve time off requests made in an HR app like BambooHR<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Managing employee development and training from Slack or email<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Using](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-55.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHR Workflows for Measuring Employee Performance and Satisfaction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Checking satisfaction and gathering employee feedback via Slack<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"you](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-56.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n2. Uploading performance evaluations to Box for secure storage<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Box](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-57.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHR Workflows for Connecting a Complex Enterprise App Ecosystem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Keeping Two Enterprise HR Applications in Sync<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-58.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n2. Syncing your HR app and time management program<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.workato.com\/the-connector\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-59.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n