Struggling with HR Information Gaps? Solve Data Silos with Enterprise Search Solutions

Is Your HR Department a Knowledge Black Hole?

Modern HR teams navigate a complex landscape of policy documents, onboarding guides, manuals, and FAQs scattered across SharePoint, Google Drive, intranet pages, ticketing tools, and chats. When a new employee can’t find the latest parental leave policy—or a manager waits days for a template—the costs show up immediately in lost time, frustration, and compliance risk. Traditional search fails because the information isn’t centralized; it's dispersed across systems that don’t communicate with each other.

Why enterprise search should be central for HR

The value isn't in “search” as we used to know it; it's in obtaining trusted answers sourced from every system you use, with security and permissions maintained. That’s the promise of Glean, an AI-powered enterprise search platform designed to index knowledge across your apps and deliver a single, definitive answer while respecting your existing access controls. Glean offers a dedicated HR perspective, illustrating how this model accelerates onboarding and policy access while reducing repetitive “where is X?” questions—exactly the issues most frequently noted by HR leaders.

Security is crucial in HR. Glean documents enterprise controls and certifications—including ISO 27001 and TX-RAMP Level 2—along with guidance on SOC 2 and role-based access, which is essential when consolidating sensitive data from payroll, benefits, and employee relations systems.

Connectivity is just as important. Glean provides connectors for the systems HR and employees use daily—Microsoft 365 and Teams, Google Workspace, Slack, ServiceNow, Zendesk, and others—so people can simply ask once and get the right policy, handbook section, or knowledge article without a lengthy search.

There’s also a new feature to highlight: Microsoft Agent 365. In November 2025, Microsoft launched Agent 365 as a control platform for managing AI agents throughout the enterprise; on the same day, Glean announced a native integration that incorporates Glean’s context and actions into Microsoft 365 apps via the Model Context Protocol. For HR, this means employees can ask questions in Word, Outlook, or Teams and receive secure, policy-aware answers backed by your source systems—without creating yet another silo.

What changes for HR in practice

Onboarding becomes more efficient as new hires can independently access everything from benefits summaries to IT checklists, utilizing information pulled from the systems you already rely on. Day-to-day support becomes less burdensome: instead of your team fielding repeated questions, employees locate the latest policy in seconds, with version control and permissions handled automatically. Over time, this builds confidence in self-service; as accuracy and speed improve, employees default to looking things up first rather than reaching out for help. The HR function then focuses its energy on strategic programs—like capability building, culture, analytics—rather than operating as a reactive helpdesk.

Your compliance posture improves as well. A single, managed search layer reduces the risk of staff relying on outdated PDFs or unapproved guidance. Because Glean respects source-system permissions and documents its security posture, you can account for how sensitive content is protected from start to end and monitored as systems evolve.

Enterprise HR search consolidates knowledge across tools and provides a single, permission-aware answer—accelerating onboarding and policy access while decreasing repeated questions to HR. Platforms like Glean connect to Microsoft 365, Slack, ServiceNow, and more, carry ISO-level security, and now integrate with Microsoft Agent 365 so staff can get trusted answers within everyday applications.

FAQs

How is this different from SharePoint or intranet search?
Traditional search only accesses one repository. Enterprise search indexes all locations where HR content resides—Docs, intranet, ticketing, chat—and delivers a single, permission-aware answer, reducing redundant searching.

Is it secure enough for HR and ER content?
Yes—Glean documents ISO 27001 and TX-RAMP Level 2, and provides enterprise controls aligned with SOC 2 standards and role-based access. Answers inherit source permissions.

Does it work in the tools employees already use?
Glean integrates with Microsoft 365/Teams, Google Workspace, Slack, ServiceNow, and other platforms—and now integrates with Microsoft Agent 365 to allow users to query securely within Microsoft apps.

What HR outcomes should we expect?
Faster onboarding, fewer repeat questions, increased confidence in self-service, and more time for strategic initiatives—supported by HR-specific best-practice guides from Glean.