10 of February, 2025

Tired of wasting time on inefficient processes? If you’re an HR manager, you’ve probably wondered how to optimize your processes and reduce errors. Lean management may be the solution.

Applied to human resources, it will allow you to simplify processes such as personnel selection or performance evaluations. This way, you can focus on what really matters: being a good leader for your employees. Want to know more? Keep reading!

What is lean management?

Lean management is a management philosophy focused on maximizing the value offered to the customer, minimizing “waste” and “inefficiencies” during the work process.

In this way, any activity that does not add value, such as excessive bureaucracy or inefficient processes, is identified and eliminated. This way, delivery times are reduced and quality is improved. A methodology that you can also apply in team management.

Origins of the lean method

Lean management has its roots in the production system developed by Toyota in Japan, known as the Toyota Production System (TPS). This approach has been perfected over several decades, especially after World War II, when the company faced significant economic challenges.

This philosophy has expanded beyond manufacturing and is applied in various sectors, including business, project management, and human resources, as an effective way to optimize processes and improve efficiency.

Principles for applying lean management in your HR

To apply lean management in Human Resources, you can focus on the 5 key principles of this philosophy. Of course, you will have to adapt it to your processes.

For this, remember that you can automate certain functions with HR software. This will allow your collaborators to focus on higher impact tasks.

Don’t settle for current processes. Check out how other HR areas do it and learn from them. Ask your team how to improve and listen to their ideas. Small changes can make big differences. Lean management is a journey, not a destination. Be flexible and adapt your processes to the changing needs of your organization.

1. Identify the value offered

To improve HR processes, you must identify the value that your department offers to the organization. What do employees and managers need? How can you optimize resources and simplify repetitive tasks? HR software allows you to automate processes such as payroll management and reduce paperwork.

With tools like Sesame HR, you can digitize documents, centralize employee data, conduct work climate surveys and much more. This way, your team saves time to attend to inquiries and accompany employees in their professional development.

In short, you should ask yourself what you can do to make your coworkers’ lives easier and improve their experience in the company.

2. Analyze the processes

Analyze in depth how all processes are carried out in your HR department. Review those repetitive and tedious tasks that detract from value, and look for ways to simplify or automate them.

You will also need to identify which are the most critical processes at the level and that drag more errors in your department.

3. Create work flows

How can you optimize HR processes with lean management? A key way is to create efficient work flows. You need to map each step of your processes to identify areas for improvement.

Optimize your processes by eliminating unnecessary tasks and steps. Centralizing information on a single platform so that your team can collaborate without wasting time will help you in this process.

Are your recruitment processes tedious, for example? You can shorten hiring times if you channel your job ads through the right channels. Use pre-selection tools to screen out unsuitable candidates and save interview time.

With simplified work flows, your team will be able to focus on tasks of higher added value.

4. Implement a pull system

To implement a pull system in your HR department, focus on the actual demand of your internal customers. Perhaps their main difficulty is to control the staff’s check-ins? Or maybe they find it difficult to make absenteeism reports?

Analyze what processes they ask for more often and which ones create bottlenecks. Ask other managers directly what their biggest headaches are in relation to HR and how you could help simplify them.

Once you know what they really demand, adjust your processes to respond quickly. Set deadlines and standards to meet each request in the most efficient way possible. This way, you can deliver results at the time they need them, creating a more satisfying experience for internal users.

By implementing a pull system, your department will stop investing time and effort in low-priority tasks, focusing on what really adds value to the company. Take advantage of tools like Sesame HR to streamline processes, have greater visibility, and make data-based decisions.

5. Evaluation and continuous improvement

Lean management is a philosophy focused on eliminating bottlenecks and optimizing processes. But this philosophy advocates for continuous improvement, thanks to the support of subsequent evaluations of the work process.

By implementing these principles of lean management, you will be able to improve the efficiency of your HR processes, making them more agile and competitive. This will result in higher productivity, talent retention and cost reduction in your department.

Benefits of lean management

Implementing lean management in Human Resources carries a number of significant benefits for your company:

Process debugging: this approach allows for a thorough review and optimization of existing processes, eliminating any redundant task.
Greater productivity: the simplification and improvement of processes result in a significant increase in the efficiency of the human resources team.
Cost reduction: identifying and eliminating inefficient processes leads to more economical management of resources, contributing to the reduction of operating costs.
Progressive evolution: lean management encourages a mindset of continuous improvement, driving the constant evolution of work methods and adapting them to the changing needs of your company.
Reduction of errors: thorough process reviews and task standardization decrease the likelihood of errors, improving the quality and accuracy of human resource management.
Better attention to employees: by optimizing internal procedures, more effective and agile attention to staff is facilitated, improving satisfaction and strengthening labor relations.

In conclusion, the application of lean management in Human Resources not only drives operational efficiency and productivity, but also promotes a culture of continuous improvement. This translates into tangible benefits that strengthen human resources management and improve the experience for both the internal team and external customers.

Apply lean management in HR

Applying lean management in HR means optimizing your processes. In short, doing more with less. A human resources management software like Sesame HR will help you automate repetitive tasks and free up hours for tasks of higher added value.

You can start by analyzing how you manage vacations and permits or schedules. You are sure to find opportunities for improvement by combining the lean philosophy with new technologies.

So now you know, implementing lean management in human resources can provide a great competitive advantage for your company. With tools like the Sesame HR software, you will optimize your staff management processes. Don’t waste any more time, and ask for a 14-day demonstration. We are your reference HR software!

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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cristinamartin

HR Content Specialist

What is lean management and how to leverage it for HR?