HR inefficiencies: Why over half of HR professionals are working extra hours

We surveyed 300 HR professionals, from entry-level staff all the way up to leadership levels, and the findings were troubling to put it lightly.

Three in five (62%) HR professionals have seriously considered leaving their role in the past 12 months due to unsustainable workloads, inefficient systems and lack of senior support. 

Additionally, 59% of respondents stated they are either often or always working beyond contracted hours to keep up with workload, with 45% experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed.

The message is clear: something needs to change.

In this blog, we’ve examined the five biggest drivers of HR inefficiencies and showcased how modern HR software can help you reclaim your profession, putting the focus back on people, not admin.

Employment Rights Act: Keeping up with HR compliance is a full-time job

HR is no stranger to legislation.

Everything we do is governed by strict laws that demand strict compliance.

So, when it comes to compliance, ‘good enough’ simply won’t do.

However, the pressure on HR professionals to stay up to date with all the legislative changes impacting their workplace can often feel unbearable, and understandably so.

Often, keeping up with legislation can feel like a full-time job.

Many of us are especially feeling the pinch this year, with the first wave of changes from the Employment Rights Act 2025 now in play.

The rate of change is showing no signs of slowing down, with the next set of scheduled changes coming later this year and in 2027, such as unfair dismissal going from two years to six months.

Compliance is a target that keeps moving, and with the Employment Rights Act, this phased approach is precisely where inefficiencies bite HR professionals.

Policies, contracts and guidance all need to be revised repeatedly.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or behind, you’re not alone.

Our recent poll found that 75% of respondents aren’t yet fully prepared.

To make matters more complicated, the new Fair Work Agency (FWA) consolidates enforcement and can bring claims on workers’ behalf.

Keeping up with HR compliance

While all the changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 may feel overwhelming, many of them simply formalise what employers should already be doing.

Lizzy Barry, HR Director, emphasised this point during our recent webinar: “These changes, which are simply the right thing to do as an employer, are things organisations should already be doing, even if they weren’t necessarily legally compelled to do so.”

To help make managing the Employment Rights Act more sustainable, start by auditing your current policies and processes against the current and incoming changes.

For many businesses, quick wins like updating policies and configuring payroll systems can be done immediately, while the more strategic work around culture, training and management capability will take longer to embed.

While these steps can help make tackling HR compliance more manageable, you’ll be facing an uphill battle if you’re dealing with HR inefficiencies in your other key processes, which we’ll cover in detail below.

The cost of disconnected systems

HR data is often disjointed and siloed, and huge HR inefficiencies creep in when this data has to reach other business areas, such as payroll.

Our research found that HR professionals lose an average of half a working day (3.4 hours) each week to poorly integrated systems, and only 28% have a fully or largely integrated HR platform in place.

Most are navigating a patchwork of systems and spreadsheets (34%) or manual processes only (24%).

Now, when data transfer is handled manually, a couple of problems follow.

Firstly, re-entering the same information across systems is exactly the repetitive, low-value work that leaves HR teams stretched instead of focusing on people.

The second problem is human error, as manually keying data is a common cause of mistakes.

For example, disconnected systems create a huge payroll risk.

According to a survey of 4,248 UK PAYE employees, 25% of respondents have received an incorrect pay cheque, and of those, 78% were underpaid.

HR software integration

By integrating your HR software with other crucial systems, like payroll, recruitment and finance, you can create a seamless and secure data flow.

Software integration uses an Application Programming Interface (API) to connect your various systems.

Think of an API as a digital bridge that enables systems to exchange information, creating a single source of truth across your tech stack. 

For example, APIs enable a payroll system to access employee attendance data from an HR platform, eliminating the need for manual input and removing the risk of human error.  

Manual HR processes are taking focus away from your people

Every repetitive admin task is dulling your potential.

Most HR professionals know exactly where their value lies, and know they’re being kept from it.

In fact, our research found that 72% of HR professionals agree that inefficient HR systems prevent them from focusing on strategic or people-focused work.

Eliminating the burden with HR automation

Modern HR software automates the work holding you back.

The CIPD’s Good Work Index 2025 found that where tasks have been automated, 85% of those affected say it improved their performance, and they report higher job satisfaction and better wellbeing.

However, adoption remains shallow.

Note that HR automation isn’t about cutting headcount; instead, with technology, you can redirect human effort toward culture, development and relationships.

A few notable areas HR automation can support include: 

1. Recruitment: automation can help with job ad posting, tracking responses, CV screenings, pre-employment assessments, candidate sorting and sending email responses.  
2. Employee onboarding: automating the onboarding process ensures a smooth and hassle-free start for new hires, automatically handling a lot of these essential but repetitive tasks like generating contracts and sending documentation. 
3. Offboarding: automated offboarding safeguards your business by ensuring all steps are taken, such as electronic document uploads, scheduling exit interviews, updating personal information, final paycheck preparations and more. 
4. Annual leave: automation can minimise the burden of managing annual leave, automatically sending employee holiday requests to managers for sign-off. 
5. Employee performance: automation can automatically send requests and collect feedback in one place, as well as send reminders to complete these performance reviews. 

HR is responsible for EVERY task

When employees can’t serve themselves, the work doesn’t disappear.

Instead, it lands on HR.

Every small task, from changing addresses and bank details to requesting annual leave, has to be handled by HR.

It’s slow, repetitive and entirely avoidable.

This kind of low-value admin leaves teams stretched too thin, so it’s no surprise our research found that 45% of HR professionals are experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed by workload.

A quick fix: put the power to self-serve in the hands of your people.

Freeing up time with HR self-service

HR self-service, also known as employee self-service (ESS), is a digital platform within HR software that enables employees to handle their HR-related tasks, such as:

• Updating personal details
• Accessing payroll and benefits information
• Logging work hours
• Requesting time off
• Enrolling in training programmes
• Viewing company policies

Lizzy Barry explains: “A real value-add for HR teams of all sizes is giving employees the opportunity to self-serve when there’s something we need them to do or information they need to give us.

“Being able to give them a place to do that themselves not only means that it’s definitely accurate because they’re the ones entering the information directly, but it also reduces the dreaded manual entry.

“Additionally, one of the things that’s really helpful with self-service is that you can automate tasks for employees to do on a regular basis.

“Each year at IRIS, for example, we have an automated email that goes to our employees, asking them to double-check their details, such as address and bank information.

“Rather than having to individually reach out to each employee and collate all that information, the self-service system, combined with automated workflows, can do it for us.

“In HR, we can often get bogged down with manual work, but the system enables us to do it in a really straightforward way.”

Data remains hidden and hard to access  

Is sickness absence increasing? What is the fiscal impact of bonuses this year? Which department has the most churn?

HR houses some of the most valuable data in the business.

The CIPD recommends that businesses proactively look for opportunities where people analytics can help solve critical problems and co-develop solutions with stakeholders to ensure they’re fit for purpose.

However, if there’s one thing every HR professional can attest to, it’s that pulling employee data together can be a complex and time-consuming challenge.  

HR.com’s State of People Analytics 2025–26 found that integrating data from multiple HR and non-HR systems is the single most difficult process.

Turning data from a burden to a superpower

HR software is your best friend when looking to capitalise on your employee data.

Firstly, to get good data, you need the correct interface for collecting important information.  

Within your HR software, for example, having a dedicated leavers screen collects key information and can feature questionnaires.  

This type of functionality can apply to a range of scenarios, from capturing data when onboarding new starters to comprehensive quarterly review processes.  

However, capturing information is only one part of the puzzle.  

To minimise the burden of HR reporting, you also need to easily find, display and share the relevant information.

Well, HR software provides a centralised location for all your people data, meaning you no longer have to store vital information in spreadsheets or across different locations.  

Now, where it gets exciting is that good HR software enables you to create handy dashboards in the system, offering a real-time view of all the common data areas which you’ll need throughout your day-to-day.  

These dashboards can be customised to contain any data points you need, such as:

• Cost of sickness
• Days lost
• Headcount status

As well as the dashboards, good HR software also features a range of prebuilt reports, which can also be scheduled, including:

• Employee balances 
• Employee absences 
• Employee holidays 
• Employee documents 
• Rolling year sickness 
• Employee benefits 
• Salary progression 
• Employee training and qualifications 
• Headcount by gender 
• Gender pay gap 
• Benefits 

For business-specific analysis, providers such as IRIS also offer bespoke reporting options that you can tailor to your unique needs. 

Pressure is rising

HR teams are being asked to do more than ever, from managing wellbeing and supporting hybrid working to staying on top of compliance. 

But many are doing it with systems that create more work rather than less.

When you’re losing half a day every week just to HR inefficiencies, something has to give. 

What’s striking is that this isn’t about unrealistic expectations.

HR professionals aren’t asking for the impossible; they’re asking for technology that works properly, integrates smoothly and gives them back the time to do the people-focused parts of their job well. 

That’s a reasonable ask, and it’s one organisations need to take seriously.

Flipping the script

These five HR inefficiencies aren’t isolated issues.

They each share a common thread: manual, outdated processes which need bringing into the modern, digital age.

In our research, we found that among those who have considered leaving the profession, 85% say better HR technology would make them more likely to stay, pointing to a retention issue that better technology could help solve. 

For those looking to tackle their HR inefficiencies, check out our HR solutions here.

Alternatively, for those HR professionals looking for additional support with tackling burnout and the immense pressure they’re facing, we’ve got a handy guide.

Our HR burnout guide not only covers long-term software strategies you can implement, but also offers some general best practices you can apply to your day-to-day to support with stress.