47% of organisations sill rely on manual HR reporting : Survey

Nearly half of Indian organisations continue to depend on manual HR reporting even as investments in HR technology rise, revealing a widening gap between digital adoption and operational impact, according to a new survey by enterprise HCM SaaS firm PeopleStrong.

The findings are part of HR Tech Ledger 2025, released at the People Matters Tech HR Pulse event. The report highlights that 47% of organisations still use spreadsheets and offline methods to generate workforce insights, limiting leadership visibility and slowing decision-making at a time when boards are demanding greater accountability from HR functions.

A key concern flagged by the survey is the growing difficulty HR leaders face in demonstrating returns on technology investments. Six out of ten HR leaders said they struggle to justify HR tech ROI at the board level, signalling a shift in expectations. According to the report, leadership teams are no longer satisfied with adoption metrics alone and are instead focusing on efficiency gains, cost control and measurable business outcomes.

Employee experience remains another major pressure point. Nearly 70% of employee frustration is linked to basic HR processes such as payroll, leave management, attendance tracking and onboarding. These issues persist despite the deployment of multiple HR platforms, suggesting that technology adoption has not translated into consistent execution at the ground level.

The report also points to structural integration gaps. About 45% of organisations cited poor integration across HR systems as their biggest execution challenge. Fragmented workflows, frequent switching between automated and manual steps, and duplicated effort have resulted in data inconsistencies and limited end-to-end visibility across the employee lifecycle.

While interest in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence is rising, the survey cautions against premature adoption. Without clean data and integrated workflows, AI initiatives risk amplifying inefficiencies rather than resolving them. The report notes that AI cannot compensate for broken processes and disconnected systems.

Commenting on the findings, Sandeep Chaudhary, CEO of PeopleStrong, said “India’s HR tech story is fast evolving; it is increasingly becoming focused on outcomes and impact. Our research shows that despite significant investment, many organisations are still operating with manual reporting, fragmented systems, and unclear ROI. The next phase of HR transformation will be defined by integration, execution discipline, and the ability to translate technology into measurable business impact.”

HR Tech Ledger 2025 draws insights from 350–400 HR leaders across industries and organisation sizes. It assesses HR technology maturity across reporting, system integration, workflow execution, employee experience and AI readiness.

The report concludes that organisations prioritising integration, end-to-end workflow ownership and outcome-driven metrics are more likely to strengthen boardroom credibility and operational resilience. Those that continue to add tools without addressing execution gaps risk higher costs with limited impact.