Progression of Human Resource Information System

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :

Human Resource Information System has become one of the core software for each and every company. The companies policies are now monitored by the HRIS system.  Bank Dhofar strives to provide efficient service to its employees. They are in disadvantage in meeting these objective because they are having an out dated and inflexible human resource system.  In response to these challenges the company has  come to a conclusion that a proper human resource information system will be a major improvement for them by providing an efficient human resource system. Various potential alternatives for replacing the current human resource system has been analysed in the document. The recommendations and the strategy for going with the replacement of the HR system has been studied. The existing human resource application lack the needed functionality and flexibility which can allow the Bank Dhofar to deliver the HR services as effectively as possible.

Human resources information systems have functioning right from the 1980s. In the initial days it was a simple computer application. It went on expanding from a simple application to a complex one where the whole organization details are being entered within the system. HRIS also is the name of the human resources discipline for HRIS specialists and other human resources professionals involved in the technology for employment and personnel matters. (Alan Price, 2004)

INTRODUCTION

In this modern world, the technology is changing day by day. Without the use of proper and latest technologies, the business cannot survive long. In order to make the human resource department more efficient there are many new technologies which are been introduced in the market. HRIS ( Human Resource Information System ) is one of these technologies which has been introduced. It is an integrated system which is designed to help the human resource management in decision making. It clubs the human resource management with information technology to reduce the time for decision making process, but also helps in complex consultations that come under the human resource work.   The main purpose of any HRIS system is to computerize employee records and to maintain upto date account of the decisions that need to be made or that has been made as part of the human resource management preparation.

There are some defined principal areas of human resource that are affected by the Human resource information system. It includes Payroll, Employee benefits, Time and employee management and HR management.  Once these four areas of regularly updated, the system allows the user to see online the history of the employee details right from being appointed till the payroll and perks received by him. All the personal data of the employees can be viewed in flash (Bratton John and Gold Jeffrey (2003).

The role of human resource is changing day by day with the introduction of rapid technologies, with the result of globalization and with the changes in the stake holders. The current issue of the human resource now a days is to manage the global human resources. The workers are migrating from one place to another, the expatriate employees issue are some of the common. The another issue is the increase presence of the female employees. The female employees are now competing in the job race which were mostly the male dominated one. The another issue is the employee behavior. The employer cannot terminate or dismiss an under performing employees as easily as they used to do earlier.(Heuring, Linda 2003).

The existing human resource application lack the flexibility to allow the company to deliver the human resource services as effectively as possible. There were issues and challenges that directly impacted the company.  The challenges were as follows.

1. The inability for job applicants to apply online
2. The risk of shadowing the sensitive employee information
3. Difficulty in obtaining the timely information for the management.
4. Lack of flexibility of the current system to meet the changing business. (Cornelius N.E., Human).

BANK DHOFAR

Bank Dhofar was first started in the year 1990 in the name of Bank Dhofar Al Omani. It started its operations with two branches, one in Muscat and the other branch in Salalah. For the corporate growth of the bank Bank dhofar has assured  Effective Human Resource planning and management. In 2008 Bank dhofar had included a new organisational structure for the bank. A strategic five plan was launched. The introduction of new products, services and the investments made in upgrading the bank’s technological platform makes it clear that Bank Dhofar is scaling up its business to meet increased customer demands.

The bank is committed to its ‘Customer First’ philosophy to build a strong relationship with customers. Technology plays a vital role in how a bank conducts business. Bank Dhofar is making significant investments in technology, giving customers convenient banking access, better service and greater value for money. Bank Dhofar is committed to continuously upgrading systems to enhance our customers’ experience. For employing the  people it has implemented the HRIS system within their database. This is helping them a lot for maintenance of employee records. The problem bank Dhofar faced with the old way of HR management was that they were keeping all their  employee records manual. The HR manager left for a new job and a other employee who joined has to figure out that system. The other weakness was that the manual workforce administration system was creating inefficiency and it was resulting in strain relation between the employees and the manager.

Many companies have seen a need to transform the way Human Resource operations are performed in order to keep up with new technology and increasing numbers of employees. In the past recording keeping was done on paper and with spreadsheets. Mangers at Bank Dhofar realized that there was a need to change to a more computerized system and looked into different HRIS vendors. By making the move to a HRIS system, Bank Dhofar is able to keep more accurate records as well as better prepare for future growth. To meet the challenge of handling 800 new employees, Bank Dhofar acquired Web-based technology programs from an international company, like electronic pay stub, electronic timesheet software, time-off system, and human resource information system. By adapting these new programs, Bank Dhofar was able to reduce waste and cost.

LITERATURE REVIEW

(Tannenbaum, 1990) defined Human Resource Information system as a technology which is used to collect, store the information, analyse the collected information, and distribute the information to the human resource.  It is basically a online solution which is used for data entry. It can tackle many issues within the organization. It is used to manage all the employee information, to analysis and report the employee information, and to store the applicant tracking and resume management.

HRIS is a systematic procedure for collecting, storing, retrieving and analyzing the data which is needed by the organization about its employees, their personnel activities and organization unit characteristics. HRIS is an integration between human resource management and the information technology (Kovach et al., 1999).

Human Resource Information system is not limited to the computer hardware, software application which has a technical part of the system, it includes the employees, the procedures, policies and the data which is required to manage the human resource functions (Hendrickson, 2003).

Human Resource information system merges the human resource management as a discipline and in a particular basic human resource activities and processes with the information technology (Gerardine DeSanctis, 1986).

The core business functions of the HRIS system are Employee information, Payroll management and the benefits.  The system helps in streamlining the processes which frees up the Human resource staff to do the project work and solving the issues of employees. Before the implementation of the HRIS the resumes were handed over to the companies physically. The HR management staff has to physically handle it and then forward those applications to the specified department. But with the implementation of the HRIS system, the applications applying for job can straight away email their resumes through internet.  (De Cenzo David A. and Robbins Stephen P. 1996).

The whole  employee information because of HR basic process are automated and stored in the connected database. HRIS simplifies the reporting and management decision support activities.  The system can be allowed for data sharing and integration with each department within the organization. The finance department and the supply chain department can be shared.

An HRIS is used for employment actions such as applicant tracking, performance management, attendance, compensation and benefits management, work force analyses, and scheduling.  A very popular use of HRIS is employee self-service. Many employers are utilizing their HRIS to addition the human resources department staff by enabling employees for find answers to common questions they would have asked a human resources rmanagement people.

Components of HRIS

There are three major components of an Human Resource Information System (Kovach et al., 1999).

Input  —- > Maintenance of Data —> Output.

Input :  The user enters the employees information into the system. The input can be in the form of data entry or through scanning of the related documents.

Maintenance :  The user updates the records which were entered in the input stage. The new employee records are also added in this component.

Output : This is the most visible function in an HRIS system. According to Kovach et al., (1999) output is to generate valuable information for the user, the system has to process the output then do the necessary calculations and then that output has to presented in the form in which the management can understand it.

The companies have realized the many of the cost reductions and efficiency gains very soon after implementing the human resource information system.  The pay back period or the time it takes to pay back the investment will be any where between one to three years .  HRIS contributes to cost reduction, customer satisfaction and innovation (Broderick and Boudreu, 1992).

The disadvantages of the human resource information system are the human error during feeding the data within the system. The other disadvantage of this system is it is a costly technology to update the system and malfunction or insufficient application to support the human resources need. (Fombrun C. J., Tichy, 1984)

One of the most significant challenges facing human resource managers today is the justification of the costs associated with the purchase and implementation of a Human Resource Information System. Most organizations already have a policy of cost justifying any new technology, and today’s tight economy dictates that this be done for every new investment of this nature. The cost justification of an HRIS has always been a challenge as methods for quantifying the costs of personnel systems have only recently received much attention by executives and human resource practitioners. In comparison to financial and operational information systems, cost benefit analysis for HRIS are recent and still quite rare. (Scarborough, 2001)

There is a growing realization that human resources cost money and that their inefficient use may lead to red ink on the corporate ledger. For many companies, as much as 90% of the corporate budget is spent on salaries and benefits. However, few are able to make the link between their people costs and the corporate bottom line.

Although there was difficulty adapting to a new way of recordkeeping, Bank Dhofar was able to find a system that will help support the current and future growth of the company. Fortunately, some of the HR staff had experience working with an HRIS and were able to help their colleagues imagine new processes, as aided by a system. In order to help Bank Dhofar ease the HR burden of implementing a new HR system, the management of Bank Dhofar was convinced to look for a vendor to help implement and maintain a HRIS system. This system has helped Bank Dhofar better prepare for current and future growth. (Dessler Gary, 1999)

The Internet is an increasingly popular way to recruit applicants, research technologies and perform other essential functions in business. Delivering human resource services online (eHR) supports more efficient collection, storage, distribution, and exchange of data (Friesen, 2003). An intranet is a type of network used by companies to share information to people within the organization. An intranet connects people to people and people to information and knowledge within the organization; it serves as an “information hub” for the entire organization. Most organizations set up intranets primarily for employees, but they can extend to business partners and even customers with appropriate security clearance (Byars & Rue, 2004).

The human resource department is the group formally established by an organization to help manage the organization’s people as effectively as possible for the good of the employees, the company, and society. HR professionals include external consultants and service providers with HR expertise. At the end of the day, however, the managing of human resources gets done through a working partnership of HR professionals, line managers, and employees. At times, this partnership extends outside the organization–for example, as the firm strives to forge better working relationships with its suppliers (Schuler and MacMillian, 1984). It may also venture into local education facilities as the HR staff works with schools to prepare students for internships in the firm. And, increasingly, companies use HR consultants to help with activities such as compensation, benefits, training, recruiting and selection, and implementing large-scale organizational change.

RECOMMENDATION

The weekness which has been identified as the contemporary issues in the human resource can be solved by implementing the Human Resource Information System in the company.   The organization has to strictly implement the system so that the employee record can be maintained in the sequence order. The performance of the employee can be analysed and proper justification can be given while appraisal of the salaries. The under performing employee can be notified.  The following are the recommendation for implementing the system.

* A good human resource management team has to be set up

Every company should have a proper human resource management system. The employees are the asset to the organization. If the employees with a high caliber are selected for the company, the company can gain their experience and run in making profits.

* Selecting of the proper HRIS system after examining the need of the organization.

The management has to select a proper HRIS system for the organization.  The organization has to first set up a team to manage the selection process of the HRIS system. The next step must be the team has to set a goal for the project. Once the goals are developed, The vendor who will be supplying the system has to be selected precisely. The actual need of what the organization is looking has to be identified. Demonstration for the new product has to be checked by the team members. Once the demonstrations are finished and all the questions have been answered, the selection has to be done. After selecting the vendor, the technical environment of the company and whether the new application will be suited for the same technical environment has to be verified.  After doing the budgeting and proper research the system has to be selected and implementation has to started.

* Carefully entering the employee information within the system

The next important part of the system will be to enter the employee information from starch. All the personal data of each and every employee has to be entered properly. Because this data will be base for the system.

* All the new recruits resumes must be posted within the system

The team has to see to it that all the resumes of the new recruited employees has to be entered in the system. This will help the management to clearly understand the strength of the employee.

* Any employee appraisal / memo’s has to be entered within the system.

Any memo issued to the employee either it might be in the form of appraisal / warning letters those has to be entered in to the system.

* The automated attendance system should be linked to the system

CONCLUSION

Bank Dhofar is a good examples of facing issues similar to human resources information technology and human resources information systems. It know the importance of new technology, human resources information systems, and data security. Because of the increasing complexity of human resource management, nearly all medium to large size companies employ human resource professionals as full time employees, as vendors with long term contracts, and/or as consultants who work on short term projects. The ways organizations allocate responsibility for HR activities are many. Regardless of how HR activities are structured, however, companies that are most concerned with HR management seek professionals who effectively perform as the roles of business partner, enabler, monitor, innovator, and adapter. When this occurs, HR professionals can help organizations link their HR activities to the business. The three major groups that uses the advantages of HRIS are the human resource professionals, the managers and the employees. The human resource professionals depends on the system for fulfilling their job functions, the managers rely on the system to provide the data collection and for analyzing the data especially for the salary increments of their employees. The employees are the end users of the system.  The usage of HRIS depends upon the size of the organization and the modules which the organization adopts. The study which has been done shows that the human resource professionals agree that the use of HRIS system leads to long professional standing within the organization.  The HR professions has to improve their IT skills and has to use this system inorder to remain competitive in the market. The role of integrating human resource management and information technology has lead to competitive advantage and has attracted many human resource personnels and managers. The usages of this system has increased remarkly well among organization of different sizes mostly because of their increasing role in human resource management.