• Uphold organisational standards
• Meet legislative requirements
• Keep the workforce happy
• Increase confidence in their department
Unfortunately, the best processes rarely survive contact with reality. Tight deadlines, increasingly complex and nuanced cases, uneven workloads and changing legislation make it incredibly difficult for frontline staff members to keep up with their caseload, which is probably why a staggering 52% of HR professionals say they’ve experienced burnout in the past five years.
To help you mitigate some of this pressure - and improve departmental efficiency - we’ve pulled together an in-depth guide to helping your team(s) manage their caseload.
There are two aspects to this: Pressure and complexity. According to outlets like HR Magazine and Personnel Today, a marked increase in absence and tribunal cases, coupled with a sharp decline in both workplace culture and employee satisfaction mean that most HR departments are struggling to manage an increasingly heavy workload.
Nipping this problem in the bud is tough. If you’re anything like our average HR client, you’ve already got your hands full; dealing with your department’s most complex grievance or long-term illness cases, conducting performance reviews, tracking a mountain of paperwork and
• Add managing workloads to the mix and you’ve got yourself a real juggling act, and we know that it’s all too easy to park the managerial stuff. Yes, individual staff workloads, satisfaction at work and mental health matter, but making sure that you’re delivering legally-compliant resolutions and demonstrating real value to the c-suite will always take precedence.
That’s why we’ve tried to ensure that the steps recommended here are easy to action, and synergistic. You’ll never be able to ‘set and forget’ your processes, but we’ve done everything we can to provide realistic advice that will genuinely improve departmental efficiency without demanding too much of your (very limited) time.
Let’s dive in.
You’ll already have a case management process in place, but double-checking that it’s fit for purpose should always be your first move. Processes are foundational, and must be robust to support success.
So where do we start? First of all, let’s make sure that we have consistent workflows for every type of case, from grievance to performance review. These workflows are the rails that’ll guide frontline team members through to the delivery of a fair and equitable outcome, they must be easy to follow – and have a specific set of steps attached to ensure that nothing is missed.
Let’s use grievance cases as an example. Here, there’s a legal requirement to acknowledge that a case has been raised in a timely fashion, conduct a thorough investigation, set up a grievance meeting and ensure that the employee involved knows that they can bring someone to support them, take actions or decisions as quickly as possible and ensure that the employee involved knows that they are allowed an appeal.
To ensure that frontline staff can move a grievance case through the system as quickly as possible, your workflow needs to ensure that each of these steps is followed properly, and that HR team members are properly equipped to carry them out with minimal difficulty. This means documenting the process, providing template letters, and ensuring that your team can access and forward links to the necessary documentation.
It also means ensuring that they have an easy way to collect and collate evidence, record their actions and document the process and we will say, from experience, that it’s here that most processes fail.
If efficiency is the aim, every step of the case management process has to be simple and straightforward. Proper documentation also ensures that you don’t waste time scrambling to assemble evidence packets if things do go wrong, or your process is challenged by a tribunal or employment lawyer.
Having put the right processes in place, you’ll next want to ensure that you are dividing work up amongst your team members in an equitable manner. If you’re an HR manager, you’ll already know that this is much more challenging than it looks.
When you’re under pressure and need to hit specific targets, the temptation is to pile work on your star players, and overlook poor performers. Unfortunately, this approach generally results in star performers getting swamped so a more measured approach is essential.
Generally speaking, the advice is to ensure that individual team members are allocated a caseload sized to push them without pushing them too far. The precise size of this caseload will depend on each individual’s capabilities and is, ultimately, only something you are equipped to estimate but tracking, frequent performance reviews and support are essential.
Experts like the team at Thought Leaders LLC also suggest keeping an eye on star performers who are motivated to showcase their ability. These individuals will often take on, and may even ask for, more work than they can actually cope with and it is your responsibility as a manager to ensure that they don’t end up overloaded.
We will also add that this is definitely a trial and error situation. Nobody gets the allocation of work right immediately. It may even take several months of concerted effort to find the right rhythm. But if you are conscious of the differing capabilities within your team, and try to keep things fair without overlooking the realities of the situation, you should be able to find an allocation that works for your department, and keeps cases moving through at a good rate.
You could also title this section ‘stepping in where necessary’. Ultimately, setting up good processes and allocating work correctly should be enough to avoid major bottle necks but the reality is that your team may still buckle under their workload unless you are proactive about managing them.
Sometimes, a simple conversation is enough to help them eliminate behaviour that’s causing inefficiencies. Other times, you’ll find yourself working with them to implement more detailed strategies that enable them to approach problem tasks in a more productive way, or manage their time more effectively.
Working with people on a personal level can also help you to identify common problems that are affecting multiple members of your team. When it comes to workload management, we have an inherent bias: Assuming that the fault lies with the individual, which can make us blind to more systemic problems that are making it hard for our team(s) to operate.
One final note on technology too: In an ideal world, you’d also be using a highly-automated case management system to support your team on a daily basis. These systems allow you to set up workflows that automatically send employees alerts when deadlines are looming or specific tasks need to be actioned which does help to keep everyone on-track and executing efficiently.
There are other benefits to using a dedicated HR case management system, but we don’t want to turn this into a sales pitch. We’ve actually talked about the benefits of a system like Workpro in detail in detail before, and will simply say that having the right tool(s) will take a lot of the hard work out of caseload management.
For example, Workpro (and similar software) lets you build workflows that automates routine jobs that are typically handled manually. Let’s say you’re dealing with a performance issue, and the employee has a meeting scheduled in two weeks. With the right system in place, you can set a reminder to check in before the meeting. No need to constantly juggle calendars or set mental reminders.
And the icing on the cake – the software will provide real-time reporting. That way, you’ll know how long cases are taking, where there are bottlenecks, and where you can step in to help people manage their workload more efficiently.
Drawing on more holistic advice published in guides like this Forbes article on managing inconsistent workloads, this section contains tips on managing heavy caseloads that will be relevant to both HR managers and frontline staff members who feel swamped by their responsibilities.
Remember that not everything is urgent. Some issues need your attention immediately, while others can wait without the world falling apart. Knowing where to start can save you hours of wasted effort. The Eisenhower Matrix can help you sort things out. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. This method is a simple way of splitting tasks into four categories:
• Urgent and important - do these things first
• Important but not urgent - schedule these into your diary
• Urgent but not important - delegate when possible
• Not urgent or important - leave these out until you have free time
Some issues keep showing up like annoying weeds in your garden. No matter how many times you cut them back, they always seem to grow back. That’s because you’re only addressing the symptoms instead of pulling out the root. To truly solve a recurring issue, you need to dig deeper and figure out what’s causing it in the first place.
This approach, also known as RCA or Root Cause Analysis, works for all kinds of problems. From ongoing conflicts to repeated mistakes, getting to the heart of the matter saves you time and frustration in the long run.
A well-set deadline helps your team stay focused and ensures that tasks don’t pile up.
Companies that enforce strict timeframes tend to handle cases faster than those that leave things open-ended. Why? Because when people know exactly when something needs to be finished, they’re more likely to stick to the plan. It also helps build trust. Employees appreciate knowing their concerns will be addressed promptly.
Set clear, realistic timelines. Don’t let tasks stretch into eternity. Deadlines aren’t about rushing—they’re about maintaining momentum.
Imagine driving a car with no speedometer, no fuel gauge, and no GPS. You wouldn’t know if you’re running out of petrol, speeding toward a fine, or heading in the wrong direction. That’s what managing work feels like without proper tracking tools.
Reports also help you spot patterns. For instance, if a certain kind of issue keeps bogging down your team, it might be time to rethink your approach. Are the steps too complicated? Does your team need more training? The numbers don’t lie—they show you where changes are needed.
Even the best systems and tools won’t do much good if your team isn’t prepared. Training is one of the most important aspects of getting your team and process working smoothly. A well-trained group of people can handle problems quickly and effectively, without unnecessary back-and-forth.
Areas you should most focus on include:
• Rules and regulations - Make sure everyone understands the current laws and policies they need to follow.
• Conflict resolution - Teach your team how to navigate tricky situations without escalating them unnecessarily.
• Technology literacy - Make sure everyone knows how to use the tools and software to make their jobs easier.
Confidence is just as important as knowledge. When your team feels prepared, they’re more likely to approach problems with a clear head and a steady hand.
Helping HR teams to manage a growing and increasingly-complex caseload isn’t easy, but the right processes and management techniques will help. As will equipping yourself with the right tools.
Ultimately, the right way to manage your team will have more to do with the individual makeup of its members and you may well find that you only use a small handful of the tips offered here. That said, most of the techniques and thought processes we’ve profiled are drawn from industry-leading best practice guides, so it’s worth experimenting with them all if you have the time.
In the round, any time you can spend intentionally improving the structures and processes that support your team will pay dividends in terms of improving output, and mitigating the risk of burnout.