HR 4.0 #2 – Automation of HR Processes with Power Automate and OneDrive

Introduction

Managing leave and performance via email or Excel sheets only leads to chaos and wasted time. With Power Automate and OneDrive, it is possible to digitize HR processes by creating simple, transparent, and secure flows.

The Initial Problem

• Employees send leave requests via email → no traceability.
• Managers must manually check availability and overlaps.
• Annual evaluations are scattered across unversioned documents and without centralized approvals.

Consequences: frequent errors, employee dissatisfaction, wasted time for HR.

The Solution: Microsoft 365 as an HR Platform

Leave Workflow with Power Automate

1. Employee fills out a form (Microsoft Forms or SharePoint List).
2. Power Automate flow sends request to the manager on Teams/Outlook.
3. Manager approves/rejects → automatic status update in SharePoint.
4. HR receives notification and complete log.

Performance Evaluations with OneDrive and SharePoint

• Evaluation templates stored in OneDrive.
• Automatic versioning → no document conflicts.
• Controlled access and recorded approvals.
• Consolidated results in SharePoint for reporting.

Technical Example: JSON Power Automate

Example of steps for managing leave:

{
  "trigger": "On new item in SharePoint list",
  "actions": [
    { "sendApproval": "ManagerEmail" },
    { "updateItem": { "Status": "Approved/Rejected" } },
    { "sendNotification": "HRTeam" }
  ]
}

This simplified schema shows the basic logic of a flow that connects employees, managers, and HR.

Concrete Benefits

• For HR: less manual work, more control.
• For employees: greater transparency and immediate feedback.
• For managers: quick decisions and complete traceability.

Privacy and Security

• All data managed in Microsoft 365 → compliance with company policies and GDPR.
• Controlled access with granular permissions.
• Audit trail available for every approval.

Conclusion

With Power Automate and OneDrive, the HR department becomes more agile and efficient. Leave management and performance evaluations transition from a manual and chaotic process to a digitized, traceable, and secure flow.

In the next article, we will see how to extend HR digitization to data protection and regulatory compliance (DORA/NIS2).

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