While technology will never be able to replace the human factor in human resources, it will likely take over certain functions on talent acquisition and management teams, according to a survey released today by CareerBuilder. The survey found 72% of employers expect that some roles within talent acquisition and human capital management will become completely automated within the next 10 years.

The rate at which companies with 250-plus employees are adopting automation varied considerably. Although more are turning to technology to address time-consuming, labor-intensive talent acquisition and management tasks — that are susceptible to human error — the study found a significant proportion continue to rely on manual processes. One-third of employers, 34%, don’t use technology automation for recruiting candidates, 44% percent don’t automate onboarding and 60% don’t automate human capital management activities for employees.

The study shows that most of the automation is centered around messaging, benefits and compensation, but there is room to increase efficiencies across a variety of basic functions. Among employers who automate at least one part of talent acquisition and management, here are the percentages who do so for the following areas:

• Employee messaging automation: 57%
• Set up employee benefits: 53%
• Background screening/drug testing: 47%
• Archiving candidates: 37%
• Centralize candidate profiles: 31%
• Interview scheduling: 30%
• Search third-party resume databases: 29%
• Performance reviews: 29%
• Employee learning and development: 28%
• Request candidate feedback from hiring managers: 27%
• First-day orientation: 26%
• Continuous candidate engagement: 21%
• Tailored career site experience: 20%
• Employee referral process: 20%

“When companies expand and add more and more employees, there’s a certain tipping point where things can no longer be managed efficiently and accurately by hand,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder. “Automation needs to be incorporated, so the HR team is free to focus on strategies versus tasks, and focus on building relationships with employees and candidates. As certain functions on teams become more automated, we’ll see those workers’ roles evolve and concentrate on the strategic, social and motivational components of HR that technology cannot address.”

The online survey was conducted within the US from Nov. 16 to Dec. 1 among 1,010 talent acquisition and management HR professionals at companies across industries in the private sector. It included a sample of 719 HR managers and recruiters at companies with more than 250 employees.