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The HR teams attend to an influx of cases daily, with more than half working beyond normal capacity. From simple issues like holiday entitlement to relatively more significant and complex problems such as addressing a grievance, maternity leave or managing a long-term illness, HR identifies and addresses interpersonal concerns to provide exemplary employee service.

With so much on their plate, HR managers can find it overwhelming to work without a proper case management system.

In this article, we explore the meaning of HR case management, its types, benefits, and challenges, and discuss the best practices.

What is HR Case Management? 

HR case management is the process of managing and resolving employee requests, inquiries and issues. It involves submitting requests and tracking their progress through a defined workflow. This technology allows HR teams to manage requests better while offering transparency to employees.

Types of HR Case Management

Here are some of the activities related to HR case management:

1. Onboarding

Onboarding is an activity that may last a few weeks to a year. Naturally, new employees come with a lot of curiosity, which the HR department addresses all year round.

Some of the everyday onboarding activities include:

• Salary negotiation
• New hire paperwork
• Job training
• Employee handbook training 
• Benefits paperwork
• Facility tours
• Team introductions

Effective HR case management can help address employee queries and provide a positive experience as they embark on their journey.

2. Benefits

Organizations provide employee benefits through programs, policies, or services. Some examples include health insurance, paid time off, and life insurance.

Some HR duties related to managing benefits include:

• Developing pay structure and scale
• Overseeing pay distribution to employees
• Ensuring that payroll complies with state laws and federal regulations
• Developing and monitoring a department budget
• Developing employee promotion and retention strategies.

HR case management software makes managing these functions easier. It can standardize and answer common questions, while HR can focus on resolving more complex issues.

3. Leave

Management of leaves is a crucial part of HR case management, and it includes the following activities:

• Leave accounting
• Handle employee queries
• Reporting
• Monthly payroll
• Year-end activities.

With an HR case management system in place, the HR team members can address every issue promptly and in compliance with statutory requirements.

4. Employee grievances

Employee grievances can come in various forms, including interpersonal conflicts and violations of employment contracts. They are broadly categorized into two types types:

• Informal grievances arise from day-to-day interactions in the workplace involving minor disputes, misunderstandings or interpersonal disputes
• Formal grievances are more severe, such as sexual harassment or unwanted conduct. It follows a structured approach outlined in the employer’s grievance procedure.

During times like this, when HR intervention is needed to resolve disputes between employees, HR case management acts as a critical tool for managing grievances in a professional manner.

5. Policies and procedures

Policies and procedures are formal rules and guidelines businesses define to manage employees. They cover a range of areas like:

• Recruitment
• Dress code
• Overtime compensation
• Vacation
• Sick days and personal leave
• Performance evaluation
• Termination

HR case management software can help provide answers to crucial questions and FAQs about the above-mentioned points stored within the system.

6. Performance

Employees are always curious about how their performance is being evaluated and whether any compensatory benefits, such as merit increases and bonuses, are associated with it. 

Performance reviews can positively impact productivity, engagement, retention and employee morale and can be quickly addressed through HR case management.

7. Payroll  & taxes

Payroll and taxes are related to an employee’s taxable compensation and include the following:

• Income tax
• Social Security and medicare taxes
• Federal unemployment tax, paid exclusively by employers
• State unemployment tax paid by employers

HR case management systems can streamline and improve the efficiency of payroll and tax management by centralizing information, automating workflows, reducing errors and providing robust reporting capabilities.

 What are the Benefits of HR Case Management? 

HR case management enhances employee experience by providing efficient, accurate, and accessible HR services. Have a quick look at the top benefits :

1. Quicker resolution of issues

Not all cases have the same level of urgency or seriousness. Some actions may require approval from higher-ups or managers. HR case management provides a single, centralized source of truth for case details and employee information. It can also ensure that action items or requests that require immediate attention are addressed quickly.

2. Practical investigation of HR cases

For a favorable resolution of any HR case, the manager should be fully aware of its context and details. HR case management makes it easy for HR managers to gather all case data in one place. This can help them quickly analyze data and find crucial insights to resolve the case.

3. Improved self-services

Employees approach HR when they deal with some very pressing issues. It stresses them up when they are sent off without declaring the status of the case. HR case management systems enable employees with a self-service option to follow up and check in on all current cases. It also involves a knowledge base and other educational resources so employees can find the answers to common questions.

4. Better workflow efficiency

HR case management solutions reduce repetitive questions by supporting FAQs and HR knowledge base. Your employees can access this information independently, limiting time-consuming and manual tasks. This leaves  HR professionals free time to accomplish more and focus on other essential tasks.

5. Heightened awareness of workplace issues

Effective HR case management leaves no case out of the loop. It ensures individual cases are managed correctly and promptly. Every stakeholder involved is informed of every action taken within the case, improving visibility and understanding of the situation.

What are the Challenges Faced in HR Case Management?

HR case management is not free of challenges. Here are some:

1. Complexity and Variety of Cases

HR departments are likely to make errors, making accurate documentation extremely difficult. With a large amount of data at their disposal, sometimes contributors can accidentally switch details and end up with inconsistent or unusable data. To tackle this problem efficiently, a robust system to ensure transparent processes and appropriate management of each case is urgently required.

2. Data Security and Privacy Concerns

Protecting data and other valuable assets is crucial to an organization’s sanctity. Case managers deal with sensitive data every day, and a security breach of any kind can quickly put the whole operation at risk while destroying trustworthiness. Maintaining confidentiality throughout the case life cycle and complying with regulatory bodies such as GDPR or HIPAA can pose critical challenges.

3. Timeliness and Responsiveness

HR cases are extremely time-sensitive and often require prompt resolution while ensuring accuracy and fairness. HR teams must be able to delegate tasks effectively while balancing time with investigating and documentation. Duplication of work, inadequate action, and inefficient data collection are some significant challenges of manual HR case management. 

What are Some Best Practices in HR Case Management? 

Consider these best practices to ensure efficiency and transparency in HR case management:

1. Select a suitable HR case management software

Your choice depends on several factors, including your needs and requirements. However, there are some general features and capabilities that you should consider :

• User experience and interface
• System functionality and features
• Integration capabilities
• Data security and compliance
• Vendor reputation and reliability

Rezolve.ai’s user-friendly and MS Teams-native interface is designed for maximum user satisfaction. With GenAI-powered virtual agents, instant HR support is available at all times.

2. Onboard employees with complete information

When onboarding new employees, you must train your workforce to use the HR case management system. Without proper training, the workforce may feel uncomfortable, confused and discouraged, impacting productivity and retention.

Correct onboarding enables your employees to understand the system of self-service that is essential for raising questions/cases while empowering HR to provide quality service.

3. Set up different levels of access

Allowing more people to access information may increase the likelihood of it being shared with external sources. Your information may contain sensitive financial data and technical specifications that can be exposed to third parties if the level of access is not controlled.

That is why HR professionals should have different levels of access to HR case management to ensure confidentiality and data protection. This automatically escalates the most complex cases to the most experienced HR professionals. 

4. Draft accurate and comprehensive documentation

Maintaining a consistent and organized documentation system is essential for compliance and transparency purposes. It ensures that processes are aligned with statutory requirements like HIPAA and GDPR and that responses are standardized, not resulting in disparate treatment.

Types of HR documentation include:

• Onboarding paperwork
• Performance documents
• Medical information
• Termination records

5. Identify frequently occurring problems

With all the HR cases in one place, you can quickly review the types and frequency of cases and employee interactions. This can help you identify potential trends, enabling data-driven decisions.

For example, if employees constantly leave your workplace within a few months, you would want to investigate the causes behind it to find a root cause.

Ensure Consistency and Employee Satisfaction with Rezolve.ai 

Your employees are the driving force of your organization. You are responsible for listening to them and providing solutions whenever they face a problem. HR case management software can enable you to manage all employee cases effectively to ensure fast and fair decision-making.

Rezolve.ai’s modern case management system can revolutionize your work with the help of GenAI. It supports:

• Automated support to streamline onboarding for new hires and help them quickly settle in
• Modern HR case management with easy ticket creation, intelligent routing and an intelligent dashboard
• Extensive automation and integration to deliver instant support
• Live chat to instantly connect with HR experts
• Advanced analytics to make data-driven decisions

Get started now!

FAQs

How can HR case management software streamline employee grievance handling and resolution?

HR case management software can automate and organize the management of employee requests and inquiries. This streamlines the entire process while minimizing the possibility of errors or misrouting, ensuring that cases are handled efficiently from submission to resolution.

What considerations should HR leaders consider when selecting HR case management software?

Some of the considerations to keep in mind when selecting HR case management software :

• Ease of use
• Scalability
• Security
• Integration capabilities

How can HR case management software support HR leaders in ensuring fair and consistent handling of employee disciplinary actions?

HR case management facilitates the documentation and resolution of each case, ensuring all parties are treated fairly. Employees can even track the status of their cases to ensure transparency and involvement.