Robotic Process Automation HR Services

Municipality of The Hague

Rule-based algorithms are used to support HR Services in performing administrative tasks. Within HR Services, robitisation is used for two processes. In-, through- and outflow: requesting a VOG for new employees and sending digital letters to employees. For Leave, absence and WAZO: process absence and recovery notifications to employees UWV portal.

Last change on 26th of September 2025, at 8:29 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Other algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Organisation and business operations

Begin date

2024-10

Contact information

[e-mail]

Responsible use

Goal and impact

The aim is to automate repetitive and time-consuming processes, reduce administrative burdens and make them faster and error-free. The impact is to cope with the growing workload and that employees have more time left for substantive(s).

The algorithm's function is to support colleagues. The employee of the Municipality of The Hague is supported in administrative and repetitive tasks. As a result, the employee has more time for substantive tasks, the employee experiences less work pressure and the employee experiences more job satisfaction. An employee of the municipality of The Hague will always only indirectly interact with the algorithm. Employee data will be processed in fully encrypted form, guaranteeing data security

Considerations

Providing timely feedback to citizens/businesses requires employee support. RPA technology is ideal for this, and the level of privacy, security and information management remains the same. An alternative to relieving staff using these algorithms would be to hire external staff. However, this is very expensive.

Human intervention

The actions performed by the algorithm have an informing role in the process. When information is incomplete or not as expected, the algorithm is taken out of production a put back to the employees.

Risk management

There are no additional risks compared to manual processing. Data is processed encrypted by the software and not stored.

Other risks are mitigated by keeping logs and dashboards of the robots' performance. In addition, a continuity plan is in place that takes effect in case of robot failure.

Logbooks and dashboards are kept of the Robots' performance.

If a robot fails, a continuity plan has been drawn up for each process to be put into effect.

Legal basis

The entire HR Service Department within the Municipality of The Hague finds its basis in the Judicial and Criminal Records Act (Wjsg), General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) and CAO Gemeenten

Elaboration on impact assessments

During the tender process, a DPIA was carried out on the deployment of RPA, for which a number of additional measures were realised/determined. In addition, a pre-DPIA is always carried out on the process to be robotised before robotisation, so that the process owner understands the need for a DPIA.

Impact assessment

Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

Operations

Data

Two algorithms are used. The first collects the data from the correspondence with citizen/business, encrypts it and creates a workbox for algorithm two. The second algorithm takes reports from the workbox and processes them. In the systems of the Municipality of The Hague (e.g. Oracle), it checks what the status is, then creates a record in the system that the status has been requested and provides feedback to an employee on the status of the notification.

So the algorithms take care of, among other things: logging in, downloading, collecting and providing feedback. These are always (and only) the rules and steps determined together with the process experts. The algorithm has no self-learning element and the (approved) script changes only on request of the process owner.

The algorithm uses e.g. data from Oracle associated with (e.g.) the sent reminder or reminder. In it, only the data needed to provide feedback on the status is used. All data is used encrypted.

During robot testing, test data is used in the test environments of the various applications.

Data per process:

In- through- and outflow (IDU):

- Application for VOG of a new employee

- Name of new employee

- Function of new employee

- Job profile new employee

Sending digital letters to employees

- Name employee

- Employee number

- Type of decision

- Mandate

- Characteristic from TOPdesk

Leave, absence and WAZO (VVW):

- Process absence and recovery notifications for employees in the UWV portal

- Employee number

- Employee name

- Position (up to first point)

- BSN

- Corrected date in service (convert to dd-mm-yyyy)

- First date employed (convert to dd-mm-yyyy)

- Starting date of illness

- Type of absence

- Reported on

- Telephone number

Technical design

RPA uses User Interface Automation, Orchestration and Workflow Engine, Rule-based Decision Making and API integrations. The algorithm is not self-learning.

External provider

NewDawn