The Evolution and Technological Advancements of HRIS - Term Paper Example

Harris Kamran Business Management Exploratory Paper 26 May The evolution and technological advancements of HRIS The Human Resource Information System, also known as the Human Resource Management System, is a system of software designed to integrate the information about employees and clientele into the working and database of a company in order to provide a holistic view of the workforce and the human resource to the management so that the workforce can be fully utilized and managed (ERP, n.d.). Before, Human Resource management was merely a record of the skill set that the company had; now it has evolved into a complex system of operations that range from the recruitment of the employees, to their productivity enhancer, payroll manager, training provider, and the source of many other such functions (ERP, n.d.). The next step in line would be the integration of HRIS with outsourcing and outsourced human resource (ERP, n.d.). Fortune 500 Co. is a multinational organization that has spanned over international boundaries. As already mentioned, the need of the day is to expand the HRIS outside the home office and into the international market so that a global integration of human resource information could occur. As the HR Director, I would suggest the incorporation of the following technology into the HR systems for the following operations or functions of the HR. The first step in the human resource management is recruitment, and the latest trend is shifting toward e-recruitment, or the use of electronic media to accomplish this task (Ballenstedt, 2010). Whereas Fortune 500 Co. already spends a substantial amount of its budget on advertising for vacancies, in accordance with the trend of advertising online, it should expand from its own dedicated website to the much used social media platforms for attracting potential employees. Companies in the U.S. spend about nineteen percent of their HR budget on advertisement, and many companies are now shifting toward the use of social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, as recruitment tools (Ballenstedt, 2010). An added attraction that our company could provide could be a 3-D virtual tour of the company to the candidiates so that they can better understand the working of the company and orient themselves more intimately (Ballenstedt, 2010). The advantages for using such platforms are many. These platforms have millions of users from across the globe, and a multinational company like ours needs to reach internationally for global recruitment (Ballenstedt, 2010). Also, this is an effective method of attracting the younger applicant pool as most of the users of these social media platforms are from the younger generation (Ballenstedt, 2010). These, this would strengthen the image of the company as an evolving and modern company to work with (Ballenstedt, 2010). The next step in the human resource management process is the selection of the suitable candidates from the applicant pool. This can and should also be done through electronic means for a greater integrity and reach. Certain application forms could be provided online that need to be filled by the applicants, the answers of which would form the basis for the criteria for selection (Timmermans, 2011). An important aspect of this measure is the requirement of a psychologist for the analysis of those forms (Timmermans, 2011). Therefore, a software could be developed that would enable a company psychologist to analyze the collected information according to some set standards and criteria (Timmermans, 2011). In fact, the software should be developed using the assistance of the expert. It should have the ability to compute similar responses and gather them together so that the selection committee gets an overview of the application instead of individual answers (Timmermans, 2011). Many companies are aiming towards similar goals of e-selection, and Fortune 500 Co. could certainly make use of it (Timmermans, 2011). The biggest advantage would be the speed of information collection and the speed and accuracy of the selection process, which together would result in a time-efficient method of human resource management, and would enable the company to reach across borders and nationalities (Timmermans, 2011). The management of the human resource, which once was the job of solely the managers and HR staff of a company, has increasingly become the role of the employees themselves, so that they add and edit personal data that is required by the company themselves, and keep track of their progress and evaluation (Angione, 2003). This has freed the time for the managers to focus on other and more important aspects of human resource management than mere data entering (Angione, 2003). This has also reduced the errors of the process. Fortune 500 Co. which does use this form of electronic portal system, should expand it into an outsourcing portal where employees from around the globe should be able to access personal data and change it as needed (Angione, 2003). The requirement is that there should be some security level that needs to be established so that only selected information could be accessed (Angione, 2003). Also, the employees would be able to view their productivity levels, evaluation scores, payments, off days, and other such statistics (Angione, 2003). The managers would have the overruling option to reset the data, and would also be notified when an employee makes changes or accesses their account (Angione, 2003). A great way to go about this would be to create online accounts for each employee, that would be password protected, and accessible from across the globe instead of just in-house accessibility (Angione, 2003). One of the most important functions of human resource management is the training of new employees, and the refresher courses for experienced employees, in order to boost their productivity and keep them in-tune with the company’s requirements and methods of operations. For this reason, many companies have designed their training modules in-house according to their own needs (Noe, 2007). And a majority of the companies have developed e-training or online training courses (Noe, 2007). This enables more flexibility in the time, area, requirement, and speed of training, which varies from employee to employee (Noe, 2007). Whereas the use of DVDs and diskettes makes the process easier, Fortune 500 Co. should focus on developing expert systems and training programs and softwares that should be available online and accessible from across the globe (Noe, 2007). This would enable the process of distant learning as well (Noe, 2007). Since it will be a self-taught process, it would also minimize the need for and the expenditure of actual in-house trainers who personally train employees in using training systems (Noe, 2007). Since Fortune 500 Co. is a multinational company, it needs to reach out to its oversees employees as well, and having trainers in every office is unaffordable (Noe, 2007). Therefore, the development of special training software is essential. Performance management is vital for the company’s ongoing productivity in that it measures the efficiency and productivity of the individual employees to pin-point the weaknesses in the system and the methods to correct those weaknesses (Appraisals, 2007). Often the result of the evaluation is the need for a training course and some encouragement (Appraisals, 2007), the technological basis for which have already been discussed. Although traditionally this evaluation or performance management has been conducted by trainers and managers on a personal basis, many companies are now turning towards a more efficient and speedy method involving the use of customized software and integrated online systems (Appraisals, 2007). This reduces the chance of error, reaches more employees in less time, and enables the employees to answer freely without any pressure or nervousness (Appraisals, 2007). The collected data is then computed against set standards and criteria, and the results calculated by the computer (Appraisals, 2007). This enables the managers to view a holistic aspect of the process (Appraisals, 2007). Fortune 500 Co. could also make use of such software, and by integrating it with its training software, it could actually develop a system in which the employee is automatically directed to the required level of training and re-evaluated after the course (Appraisals, 2007). This would not only improve the situation and train the employee, but would also save a lot of time and expenditure of the managers who would otherwise have to conduct the process themselves (Appraisals, 2007). The discussion so far has made it evident that the future of management rests in the integration of information technology in every aspect of company management, and especially in the human resource department. The human resource information system is one such example, which in itself is a complex system of various processes, some of which have been discussed in the paper. In the future, and especially for the Fortune 500 Co., the need would be to integrate information systems that have a global reach, so that stress could be made on outsourcing, and the process could be made easier. Since Fortune 500 Co. is a multinational company, this is essential for its working. However, there would be some problems encountered in such integration, the foreseeable ones including language barriers, the training and the use of the software and other systems developed by the company, the provision of technology to areas which do not enjoy such measures, and the cultural practice of using traditional methods instead of the online solutions. Refereces Angione, J. (2003). Cedar survey on HR self-service. HRO Today, 2(1). Appraisal. (2007). Use of IT in performance appraisal. Retrieved from http://appraisals.naukrihub.com/use-of-it.html Ballenstedt, B. (2010, December 9). Embracing e-recruiting. Retrieved from http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/wired-workplace/2010/12/embracing-e-recruiting/54099/ ERP. (n.d.) Human resources software history and evolution. Retrieved from http://www.erp.asia/hr-evolution.asp# Noe, R. A. (2007). Employee training and development. U.S.: McGraw-Hill. Timmermans, P. (2011). Determining the requirements for e-selection in a small recruitment company-using the regulative cycle. Retrieved from http://essay.utwente.nl/61231/ Read More