How this AI agent is making the onboarding process simple for small businesses

• Key Insight: Learn how AI onboarding agents deliver enterprise-level HR workflows for small businesses.
• What's at Stake: Small firms face compliance, payroll and hiring errors without automated onboarding solutions.
• Supporting Data: Two in five HR managers spend three+ hours onboarding each new employee.
• Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Small businesses are struggling to keep up with onboarding demands, but one company is using AI to give them enterprise-level support without needing a big team. 

Two in five HR managers at small businesses spend three hours or more onboarding each new employee, according to a report from workplace insights platform CareerBuilder, the majority of which is spent manually collecting and processing onboarding information. In an effort to ease some of that administrative burden, HR services company DianaHR developed an AI agent created specifically to hire and integrate new employees. 

"Unlike traditional software, our onboarding AI agent functions as an autonomous worker," says Upeka Bee, founder and CEO of DianaHR. "It's built to move a new hire from a signed offer letter into the payroll system correctly and securely."

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The onboarding agent, available to employers through their partnership with DianaHR, reviews incoming emails to initiate onboarding, identifies new employee requests, and sends messages for the return of important documents, such as a signed offer letter, if one is overdue. The agent checks for required signatures from both the new hire and the company, drafting follow-ups if anything is missing. It also ensures all necessary employee information is complete, helping to close any gaps before entering verified details into the payroll system.

Onboarding a single employee can take several months — even for the most robust and skilled HR team — to ensure everything is accurate and compliant. For smaller organizations, many of which have small HR teams or are functioning without a dedicated department at all, the process can take even longer and carries a higher risk of error. DianaHR's AI solution aims to remove the administrative obstacles and make the process quicker, more efficient and more rewarding for the leaders involved. 

"HR work is like a 'hierarchy of needs,' where foundational tasks like payroll and compliance often trap small teams and managers — [especially during the hiring process,]" Bee says. "By automating routine and technical tasks, AI can help people focus on more meaningful work."

Keeping humans at the forefront

Despite being an AI-driven company, DianaHR places a strong emphasis on human support. While many functions are fully automated through the platform's AI services, each client is also paired with a dedicated DianaHR specialist who coordinates service and provides expertise as needed. DianaHR's onboarding agent is designed to help organizations strike that same balance between automation and human connection, enabling HR and benefits leaders to be more present in their roles and focus on building meaningful relationships with their workforce.

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"Small business founders and employees shouldn't be buried in HR admin," Bee says. "AI can take over many of these foundational tasks, freeing human energy for strategic activities like building culture, performance and employee support."  

As AI continues to disrupt the HR and benefit space, and businesses of all sizes navigate what it means for their teams, Bee says the onboarding process will continue to need a strategic partnership between employees and technology.  

"A human-in-the-loop model ensures sensitive issues are handled with empathy, it catches edge cases where AI might misinterpret context and keeps HR aligned with organizational values, not just efficiency metrics," Bee says. "The goal isn't to replace humans — it's to elevate them."