How to streamline account management by automating onboarding and exiting procedures

Why joining and leaving the company can be complicated

Company entry and exit procedures involve multiple departments, including human resources, IT, general affairs, and accounting, and require both deadlines and accuracy. The fundamental issue is that the procedures are not a single task, but a "chain of multiple systems and personnel."
The structure in which employee information registered by HR is repeatedly transferred to attendance, payroll, expenses, groupware, etc. is a breeding ground for errors and man-hours. Variations in the notation of department names and employment classifications, as well as differences in numbering rules, are likely to lead to linking errors and increase the amount of confirmation work required.

The situation is even more serious when an employee leaves the company. Delays in disabling accounts or revoking privileges increase the risk of information leaks and unauthorized use. Employee joining and leaving procedures are not simply administrative procedures, but are important processes that support business continuity and security.

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Tasks that can be automated in entry and exit procedures

Automation is most effective in routine tasks such as registration, posting, notification, and approval. Starting with areas that require minimal judgment will make it easier to achieve stable results.

On the other hand, individual negotiations of employment conditions and exception judgments are not targets for automation. The key to success is to separate roles: "leave routine parts to machines and decision-making parts to people." Clearly designing triggers and completion conditions for joining and leaving will increase operational stability.

Tasks you want to automate in the hiring process

The basis for automating onboarding procedures is to start by registering personnel information and then reflect it in each system. Using the personnel database as the original, employee information is linked to attendance, payroll, expenses, groupware, chat, etc., eliminating double entry.

The next most effective way is to issue email addresses and various IDs, and apply templates for granting permissions. By preparing permission sets for each department, position, and employment category, you can reduce the need for individual decisions while also preventing the granting of excessive permissions.
Automating tasks like collecting and checking joining documents, making requests to each department and sending deadline reminders, and sending handouts and account information emails are also possible. The key is to separate triggers into things like job offer acceptance, joining confirmation, and joining date, and to define completion conditions down to "confirmation that the employee has started using the service." Designing the system to this extent increases the chances of employees being able to start work on their first day.

Tasks you want to automate in retirement procedures

The top priority for termination procedures is to thoroughly deactivate accounts, collect licenses, and revoke privileges, starting from the date of termination. Cloud services, in particular, are directly linked to contractual license fees, so automating collection also leads to cost optimization.

Next, we created a workflow for transferring shared data and requesting the collection of devices and equipment. Problems such as not being able to find necessary data after an employee leaves, or devices not being returned, can easily lead to business interruptions, so a design that simultaneously visualizes the tasks of the employee, their superior, general affairs, and IT department is effective.
In terms of operations, branching is done based on the type of resignation (voluntary, dismissal, contract expiration, etc.), separating cases that require immediate shutdown from those that require planned shutdown. By automating even the process of informing resigning employees (contacting them about return items, certificates, and procedures), oversights and mental burden on the person in charge can be greatly reduced.

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What RPA can and cannot do

RPA excels at reproducing "routine operations performed by humans on a PC," but design and operation costs increase for tasks that require a lot of judgment or that frequently involve exceptions.

RPA excels at operations with fixed procedures, such as logging in to a screen, referencing a list, entering items, pressing buttons, and downloading/uploading CSV files. For joining and leaving the company, it is suited to tasks such as "registering the same information in multiple systems" and "checking the status and notifying."
On the other hand, RPA alone is not good at understanding the meaning of data and making judgments. For example, if the input data shows an exceptional employment status, the department name has changed, or the authorization criteria have been updated, the robot will stop or perform incorrect processing. The more exceptional processing there is, the more branches and monitoring there will be, and the maintenance load will skyrocket.

A common mistake in the workplace is trying to forcefully automate the "business itself" with RPA. RPA is effective in the short term as a substitute for existing procedures, but in the medium to long term, it is more stable to replace it with API integration or a workflow platform. Deciding from the beginning whether to use RPA as a stopgap or to develop it with the assumption that it will be put into operation will help you make a solid investment decision.

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Option to automate integration using iPaaS

When working across multiple SaaS and mission-critical system, core system, it is effective to use iPaaS, which allows API-based integration. For example, with HULFT Square, data can be automatically linked from the HR system to various cloud services and on-premise environments.
By using the HR master as the original source and designing it so that hiring and retirement events are triggered to reflect data in each system, duplicate entries and transcription errors can be structurally eliminated.Furthermore, error notifications and log management can be integrated, preventing dependency on individual personnel and improving audit response capabilities.

While RPA is about "reproducing screen operations," iPaaS is about "building a foundation for data integration." If you are aiming for stable operation in the medium to long term, a configuration with iPaaS at its core is effective.

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Steps to advance automation

The key to success is not to aim for full automation right away, but to organize the operations and data and then gradually expand from "highly effective areas." Since exceptions and implicit rules are bound to be discovered later in the entry and exit process, the more you aim for perfection from the start, the more likely you are to fail. It's important to start by visualizing and standardizing the process, and then safely increase the scope of work that can be left to machines.

Furthermore, automation doesn't end with the introduction of tools; it only works when operational design is also included. If permissions, approvals, audit logs, and procedures for exceptions are not organized, people on the front lines will feel uneasy and end up reverting to manual work. By gradually creating successful experiences and expanding the system while checking the effects with KPIs, you can achieve both satisfaction and continuity.

Inventory of operations and identification of issues

The first thing you should do is visualize the current flow. Identify the relevant departments, systems used, input items, approval points, and exception patterns, and organize the information flow and decision points.
Bottlenecks often lie in the "waiting" and "confirmation" stages rather than the workload itself, so identifying items that are frequently returned and areas where approvals are delayed will help clarify priorities for improvement.

At the same time, we also clarify risks such as excessive authority and delays in processing resignations. By clarifying the purpose of strengthening controls, it becomes easier to communicate the significance of automation within the company.

Selecting target operations and starting small

The tasks to be undertaken should be selected from those that are frequent, easy to standardize, and whose effectiveness can be measured. For example, issuing accounts and sending information when employees join the company, and deactivating accounts when employees leave the company are typical examples.

When starting small, the target scope is narrowed and operation is carried out under conditions with few exceptions. The aim is not to achieve a perfect design, but to quickly identify points at which operations may stall. By visualizing the effects using KPIs such as processing time and number of missed cases, it becomes easier to proceed with the next expansion.

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Tool selection and operational design (authority, approval, audit)

When selecting a tool, rather than the number of features, it is important to check whether it meets your company's integration and operational requirements. Important points to consider include API support, provisioning functions, log granularity, authority management, workflow, and operational structure.
In operational design, we clarify the division of duties and separate application, approval, and execution to prevent concentration of authority. In addition, by designing audit log storage policies, exception handling, notifications and retries in the event of connection failure, and even periodic inventory, we can achieve uninterrupted operation.

Security and Personal Information Management

When automating entry and exit, it is essential to strictly adhere to least privilege and protect personal information. Since execution accounts and data are consolidated, a design that incorporates controls is required.

The system is designed based on the secure management of credentials, the storage of audit logs, and immediate invalidation upon termination of employment, and also includes the collection and blocking of devices and cloud data. Separating execution authority from approval authority and achieving both speed and internal control is a prerequisite for continued operation.

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summary

Automating entry and exit procedures is an initiative that simultaneously improves operational efficiency and strengthens security. In addition to utilizing RPA and SaaS, utilizing a collaboration platform such as HULFT Square, an iPaaS, enables stable data-driven operations.
Starting with an inventory of your work and accumulating successful experiences with a small start is the shortcut to a continuous joining and leaving process.

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The person who wrote the article

Affiliation: Marketing Department

Yoko Tsushima

After joining Appresso (now Saison Technology), he worked as a technical sales representative, in charge of technical sales, training, and technical events. After leaving the company to return to his hometown, he rejoined the company in April 2023 under the remote work system. After gaining experience in the product planning department, he is currently in charge of creating digital content in the marketing department.
(Affiliations are as of the time of publication)

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