The basic tasks of human resources departments are similar in most organizations. Staff have to be recruited, evaluated and paid. Their welfare needs must be met and records need to be kept of both their performance and their development, as well as, for example, their sick absence. Track must be kept of personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. All of this data needs to be analysed and turned into meaningful information if the organization is going to plan effectively for its workforce needs in the future.
These tasks require some pretty intensive administrative work – records need to be maintained and regularly updated and they have to be accurate. This has made HR a prime target for information technology and the development of human resource management systems
A Human Capital Management Solution, Human Resources Management System (HRMS) or Human Resources Information System (HRIS), integrates HR systems with information technology. What started out as relatively simple payroll systems have developed into sophisticated data management systems capable of vastly reducing the time and expense of HR administration. They have improved the quality of the HR contribution for employers, and for their employees, as well as freeing HR professionals to concentrate on the strategic interests of the organization.
The development of enablers like employee self-service tools from CIPHR allow employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the system for themselves. This gives them a sense of ownership of the system and improves the quality and accuracy of data. Its appeal to workers can also help reduce the risk of losing corporate knowledge.
In the current global work environment, organisations need to have reliable and up-to-date information about the performance of their employees. They wish to reduce employee turnover and so retain scarce talent and the valuable knowledge held by their workforce. Recruiting new staff has a high cost and most new comers require at least a running in period before they become as effective as the person they replace. An effective HR information system supports the effective management and deployment of the workforce.
Wendy Smith is a personal coach and writer at Wisewolf Coaching. She is a qualified coach and a member of the Association for Coaching as well as being a member of the Institute of Consulting and a graduate of the Common Purpose leadership programme. She is the author of “The WiseWolf Job Search Pocket Book: How to Win Jobs and Influence Recruiters” as well as two novels and a number of articles on management and well-being. Her latest publication is a little eBook; “How to Get on With the Boss.” You can contact Wendy at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com
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