Information Systems for Human Resource Management
Introduction
Human resource management entails various functions that are used by an organization to deal with the employees formally and informally and ensure that they achieve the goals of the organization in the most efficient manner possible. There are various activities that take place in human resource management. These include the recruitment of the employees, selection of the employees that have the required qualifications and best potential to perform in the organization; employee relations in the workplace; compensation and appraisal(Deadrick and Stone, 2014, p. 194). Information technology has been a major factor contributing to the increased efficiency of the majority of organizations and has made the activities carried out by the organization on a daily basis become easier and automated. Information systems have had the same effect in human resource management where Human Resource Information Systems have made the activities of this department much more efficient(Maguire and Redman, 2007, p. 256). Some of the roles that are played by Human Resource information systems include: collection and monitoring of applications; administration of benefits; performance management; training of employees; record keeping; and payroll.
Collection and Monitoring of Applications
This is an electronic recruitment process that has been adopted by many of the modern firms. This system allows the candidates that are interested to apply online as opposed to approaching a firm physically. This is a very efficient approach, as it saves on manpower and time. The system is heavily dependent on computer systems and networks, as both the applicants and the organization have to get online for the system to be effective(Jianwu and Xiangqian, 2013, p. 3563). The management and Human resource professionals need not go through all the applications made to decide who is the best candidate for the position. . Rather, there are filters in the system, which categorize applicants according to their qualifications and skills. This helps in determining the candidate that is best suited for the position that is available in the organization, and it drives the selection process for shortlisting the candidates that will be interviewed for the job(Wang and Guo, 2012, p. 910). The time taken in making this decision by the organization is just a fraction of the one that would be used if the applications were inspected manually by the Human Resource department.
In addition to the simplification of the recruitment and selection processes, Human resource information system also monitors the labor trends in the country in question. This is done by the system in the way of generating reports regarding the statistics in the job market, the prevailing interview techniques and scores of the employees in the same. The system also keeps a record of the profiles of all the employees in the organization and their score in the previous performance assessments(Strohmeier and Kabst, 2012, p. 328). This internal record of the employees and their details ensures that the employees can be reached easily and also helps in monitoring their professional growth in an accurate manner. The use of human resource information systems has gained traction in the developed countries, and this has also been the trend among the Kuwait businesses and organizations that deal with employees.
Benefits administration. This information system automates the administration of employee benefits. The benefits include the pension plans that they are subscribed to, life insurance policies offered by the organization, distribution of the shares of the company among the employees and the sharing of profits(Hussain, Wallace and Cornelius, 2007, p.78). This system keeps a database of the benefits that are due to their employees and monitors them continuously. Whenever a deficiency occurs in the provision of benefits, the system detects it immediately, resulting in a corrective measure that is taken promptly by the management of the organization.
The administration of the benefits requires the active participation of the employees. The employees access the system online, using the profiles that they have been assigned toby the organization. They are then at liberty to make their preferences regarding the benefits that they desire and make them known to the administrators. The employees also can monitor the benefits that they have received from the organization over time, with this made possible by the capability of this module of the system to create reports(Ankrah and Sokro, 2016, p. 241). The employees can also help the system further in the detection of inconsistencies. This function has had an impact on the Kuwait economy due to employees determining their benefits and has taken care of the inefficiencies caused by manual administration of employee benefits.
Performancemanagement. Performance management entails assessing performance of each employee and the company as a whole. Performance appraisal by the management or the supervisors of the employees is no longer deemed accurate, as they are not in contact with the employees all the time. The peer performance appraisal gives a better picture of how the employee is performing his or her duties and also gives insight on how the employees relate with each other. It is important for peer appraisals to be done discreetly(Kramar, 2013, p. 1075). This is to ensure that objectivity is maintained in the process. Human resource information makes this possible by having the employees maintain contact with each other using the online portal. In addition to the assessment of the employee performance, the system also assesses the performance of the company as a whole and the impact it has had on the morale of the employees. The peer appraisal process ensures that any biases that the management or supervisors might have against or for the employees are minimized, resulting in greater appreciation and satisfaction for both parties.
Conclusion.
Human resource information systems have contributed greatly to the improvement of the functions of human resource management. One of the most important advantages of such systems is the greater involvement of the employees in the issues that affect them in their place of work. Participation of the employees in choosing their benefits and in their appraisals, increase their level of satisfaction with their work. In my opinion, even though information systems have improved the operations of the human resource department, they are responsible for loss of jobs and have made the management and owners of businesses to have lessened authority with regards to the affairs of the employees.
Reference List
Ankrah, E. and Sokro, E. (2016). Intention and usage of human resource information systems among Ghanaian human resource managers. International Journal of Business and Management, 11(2), p.241.
Deadrick, D. and Stone, D. (2014). Human resource management: Past, present, and future. Human Resource Management Review, 24(3), pp.193-195.
Hussain, Z., Wallace, J. and Cornelius, N. (2007). The use and impact of human resource information systems on human resource management professionals. Information & Management, 44(1), pp.74-89.
Jianwu, C. and Xiangqian, Z. (2013). Study on the enterprise knowledge management strategy based on human resource management. Information Technology Journal, 12(16), pp.3560-3565.
Kramar, R. (2013). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human resource management the next approach? The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(8), pp.1069-1089.
Maguire, S. and Redman, T. (2007). The role of human resource management in information systems development. Management Decision, 45(2), pp.252-264.
Strohmeier, S. and Kabst, R. (2012). Evaluating major human resource information systems design characteristics – an empirical study. International Journal of Business Information Systems, 9(3), p.328.
Wang, B. and Guo, X. (2012). Online recruitment information as an indicator to appraise enterprise performance. Online Information Review, 36(6), pp.903-918.