A Human Resources Management System or Human Resources Information System, refers to the
systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management and information
technology.
It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with
the information technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems
evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning software.
On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin from software that integrates information
from different applications into one universal database.
The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important
distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software
application both rigid and flexible.
The function of human resources departments is administrative and common to all organizations.
Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes.
Management of "human capital" progressed to an imperative and complex process.
The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes
personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary.
To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically
automate many of these processes by introducing specialized human resource management systems.
HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an
integrated HRMS.
Before client–server architectures evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes
were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions.
In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software,
these internally developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount
of capital.
The advent of client–server, application service provider, and software as a service
or human resource management systems enabled higher administrative control of such systems.
Currently human resource management systems encompass:
Payroll Time and attendance
Performance appraisal Benefits administration
HR management information system Recruiting/Learning management
Performance record Employee self-service
Scheduling Absence management
Analytics The payroll module automates the pay process
by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes,
and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports.
Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic
deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities.
This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing
financial management systems.
The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts.
The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution
capabilities and data analysis features.
Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions.
The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and
track employee participation in benefits programs.
These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement.
The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to
retirement.
The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development,
capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities.
Leading edge systems provide the ability to "read" applications and enter relevant data
to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position
control.
Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation
and development of the employees of an organization.
Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to:
produce pay checks and payroll reports; maintain personnel records;
pursue talent management.
Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner
potential candidates for available positions within an organization.
Talent management systems typically encompass: analyzing personnel usage within an organization;
identifying potential applicants; recruiting through company-facing listings;
recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters
and applicants.
The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting
within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure
of availabilities has given rise to the development of a dedicated applicant tracking system,
or 'ATS', module.
The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee
training and development efforts.
The system, normally called a "learning management system" if a standalone product, allows HR
to track education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what
training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which
skills.
Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training resources
being mapped and managed within the same system.
Sophisticated LMS allow managers to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside
performance management and appraisal metrics.
The employee self-service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some
HR transactions over the system.
Employees may query their attendance record from the system without asking the information
from HR personnel.
The module also lets supervisors approve O.T.
requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading the task on HR
department.
Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management
information systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring, job placement, performance
appraisals, employee benefit analysis, health, safety and security, while others integrate
an outsourced applicant tracking system that encompasses a subset of the above.
Assigning Responsibilities Communication between the Employees.
The Analytics module enables organizations to extend the value of an HRMS implementation
by extracting HR related data for use with other business intelligence platforms.
For example, organizations combine HR metrics with other business data to identify trends
and anomalies in headcount in order to better predict the impact of employee turnover on
future output.
See also Bradford Factor
Competency-based management E-HRM
Human resources for health information system International Association for Human Resource
Information Management Job analysis
Learning management system Organizational chart
Strategic human resource planning Applicant Tracking System
Literature Maier, C., Laumer, S., Eckhardt, A. & Weitzel,
T. Analyzing the impact of HRIS implementations on HR personnel’s job satisfaction and turnover
intention.
The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 22, 193–207.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsis.2012.09.001.
References