Engineering better HR at EFLA

When your business is built on precision engineering, messy processes stand out quickly. At EFLA, HR tasks like contracts and onboarding were still relying on Word documents and scattered email threads. With 50skills, the team built a strong framework for managing HR workflows.

See for yourself

We’ve come incredibly far. What used to be constant back and forth is now structured and automated. I would estimate we save one to two hours per hire just on photo coordination alone, and that adds up quickly when you’re hiring around 100 people a year.

Yrsa Guðrún Þorvaldsdóttir

Human Resources Specialist

INTRODUCING EFLA

The client

EFLA Consulting Engineers is a global engineering and consulting company headquartered in Iceland. With around 500 specialists working across seven countries, the company delivers multidisciplinary engineering projects from design and planning through to implementation and project management.

For more than 50 years, EFLA has worked across sectors including energy infrastructure, transport, buildings, industry and urban development. Its teams support projects such as power transmission systems, roads and bridges, public buildings, industrial facilities and coastal infrastructure across Europe and beyond.

BUSINESS GAPS

The challenge

Before introducing automation, many of EFLA’s HR processes relied on manual steps and email coordination. Employment contracts were created in Word, sent back and forth between managers and HR, and reviewed again before being sent for signature.

This created a lot of administrative “ping pong”. HR often had to check documents manually to make sure nothing had been changed.

Onboarding was also difficult to manage consistently. In some cases, new employees arrived on their first day before systems, equipment or internal notifications were fully prepared. With multiple stakeholders involved, it was easy for tasks or reminders to be missed.

Processes such as coordinating employee photos, sending birthday gifts and managing probation check ins also required manual follow ups, making it harder for HR to keep everything running smoothly.

50SKILLS

Our solution

EFLA introduced 50skills to design structured workflows for key HR processes, starting with preboarding and onboarding.

The preboarding process now covers everything that happens after a candidate accepts an offer and before they are fully set up in the HR system. Managers and new hires submit information through forms, contracts are generated and signed digitally, and employee records are created automatically. The workflow also identifies whether the person is a new hire or a returning employee, removing several manual checks previously handled by HR.

Once the employee is confirmed, the onboarding process ensures the right people are notified and tasks are completed before the employee’s first day. Automated reminders are sent to managers and team leads, while buddies receive their own onboarding checklists to help new hires settle into their role.

EFLA has also introduced smaller automated workflows for tasks such as employee photo coordination, birthday greetings and three month probation check ins. These processes previously relied on emails and manual reminders but are now handled through structured workflows that the HR team can easily update and manage themselves.

BUSINESS IMPACT

The results

100 hours saved with automated onboarding
EFLA estimates that automation with 50skills saves at least one hour for every onboarded employee. With around 100 hires each year, this significantly reduces the time HR previously spent coordinating tasks, chasing updates and managing manual follow ups. Automated reminders and checklists now ensure managers and team members know when someone is starting and what they need to prepare, helping make sure desks, equipment and system access are ready before the employee’s first day.

1–2 hours saved per hire on employee photo coordination
Automating repetitive steps has significantly reduced administrative work for the HR team. Coordinating employee photos alone now saves an estimated one to two hours per hire, removing the need for multiple emails, manual file handling and follow ups with photographers.

Fewer missed tasks and follow ups
Processes that once relied on emails and memory, such as birthday greetings, probation check ins and internal notifications, are now handled automatically. This reduces the risk of tasks being overlooked and keeps HR processes running consistently.

A scalable foundation for future HR workflows
By structuring key workflows in 50skills, EFLA has created a foundation for automating additional processes across the employee lifecycle as new opportunities arise.

BUSINESS BENEFITS

Stronger foundations for HR workflows

By introducing automated workflows with 50skills, EFLA has brought greater structure and consistency to its HR processes. Tasks that once relied on manual coordination and follow ups are now handled through clearly defined workflows, helping the HR team stay ahead of important milestones and responsibilities.

Automation has also improved the experience for new employees. Managers and team members receive timely reminders, onboarding steps are completed in advance, and new hires arrive to a more organised first day.

With these foundations in place, EFLA can continue expanding automation into other HR processes, building on the systems already created and adapting them as the organisation grows.