Human resource management is the process of managing the organization’s human power or personnel to ensure their efficiency. It is the organizational function that deals with recruitment, selection, training, and performance management and other employee-related functions. Nonetheless, this function has not always been this distinct and direct. It came into limelight during the industrial revolution. During these times, it was all about the employee welfare and ensuring that the productivity is increased; this involved solving disagreements between the employees and the employers and planning for their training. After the industrial revolution, companies adopted this system fully and evolved it from personnel management to strategic management. From the early 1980s to 1990s, management was only used by the guards to ensure the harmonious relationship between the staff and the managers. Later, firms such as IBM introduced a new approach to the industry by using human management to gain a competitive advantage in the market; this is a step that completely revolutionized the entire human management system (Torres-Coronas, and Arias-Oliva, 2005). The human resource information system continues to change the human resource department functions with the introduction of every new technology as it brings a new approach to management in the market.
The business organizations are faced with different problems regarding labor organization, cost, performance appraisal and even payments. The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) technology will be helpful in solving these issues. According to Torres-Coronas, andArias-Oliva, (2005), information systems can be so efficient such that it reduces the administrative costs by 50%. Nonetheless, there are significant issues to consider when adopting the technology. Such issues as the cost of the technology and its efficiency should be addressed before deciding on purchasing it. Also, employee’s morale has been reported to be significantly affected by the introduction of a new. Another important consideration is the roll-out and training time required to get the staff conversant with the technology. Some technologies are too complicated to understand; therefore long training durations are required which might jeopardize the position of the company in the market. The immediate and the long-term expenses of the technology and how it affects the position of the company is essential for the future development of the company.
At Fortune 500 Co, the human resource department should slowly integrate the technology in their human resource department. This is to say that they should consider the training time required to get the staff fully accustomed to the technology. It should not be entirely adopted until the staff members are ready to use it and the analog or the previously used technology should continue to be used until then. New and qualified information technology system staff that is conversant with the recent developments and trends in information systems should be employed. This step is to ensure that the training period is not extensive and does not affect negatively affect the company. The experienced and qualified employees should be retained to ensure that the workforce remains motivated. For each of the organizational functions at Fortune 500, a new HRIS technology is needed.
Recruitment is an essential activity for every business institution. With E-Recruiting, the organizations have an easy job as the applicants do not need to come to their offices but apply for the jobs online from the comfort of their homes. Also, there is less paperwork to handle. The firms can accept or filter the resumes that do not satisfy their requirements leaving them with a few potential candidates who are notified electronically. With each passing day, E-Recruitment is becoming the easiest and most efficient way of conducting recruitment and hiring. With various software developed for this purpose, managers’ job and functions have been enhanced as they merely have to buy and install these technologies in their systems and everything flows(Torres-Coronas, and Arias-Oliva, 2005). At Fortune 500 Co, the human resource information system would be helpful in collecting, analyzing and storing the relevant data into one database. After, the data is then distributed to the appropriate parties and stakeholders to work on. An example of a technology that can be adopted in recruitment is the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
Applicant Training System is a technology used to handle the recruitment needs. It is software that is adopted by the human resource department concerned with recruitment, and it is feed with crucial filter words or characteristics. These characteristics can be their experience, qualification, former employers, schools attended or specific skills. Only the applicants that possess such requirements in their resumes are considered for selection. ForFortune 500 Co, recruiting the right personnel is essential as it ensures that little time is wasted on the selection of the applicants(Bal, Bozkurt, and Ertemsir, 2012). In most cases, the filtering characteristics are set depending on the interests and position of the company since various organizations have different needs and requirements. After the recruitment stage, the applicants that pass are taken through the selection process.
The selection process is the stage of recruitment, and it is focused on ensuring that the picked applicants possess the necessary skill sets required for a particular position. For most companies, this is the interview stage; it is the stage in which the applicants are given different tests or questions to measure their intelligence and skills. Their ability to apply the skills learned and acquired during their career development stages are also determined at this step. Psychological testing is also done at this stage. According to Arjomandy (2013), “deciding about the decoupling point between e-recruitment and e-selection. The process is usually difficult, but e-selection would start when the analysis of data or candidate would start somehow to feed decision-making process” (Arjomandy, 2013). This quotation means that there is a close relationship between e-recruitment and e-selection, but the latter happens when the selection process is founded by the applicant’s data. Selecting the right personnel is vital for any firm with dreams of success and Fortune 500 Co. should pay close attention to the employees that they absorb for training.
Fortune 500 Co. can apply the online testing and online interview methods for HRIS selection. These two ways give immediate feedback and can be used in parallel with the e-recruitment strategies. Here, online questions are posed for the employees who have made the cut and their intellectual thinking and problem-solving skills assessed. New technology such as teleconferencing or video calls using Skype can be used for interviews. Once the applicant’s skills and decision making abilities are determined, they are then taken to the training stage.
Self-service and HR portals is also another essential aspect of human resource management. The HR portals are used in seeking relevant information regarding the organization or a particular task or a client. Self-service is useful for the employees as it helps them in solving various HR tasks that would need human labor electronically. Also, for the selected applicants, they can find out issues such as training dates or any other information regarding the organization in their HR portals. An example of a self-service technology or software in use for the continuing employees is the payroll information. An employee requiring payroll information, for example, issues with payment, only logs in to the company’s website using their log-in details and finds the details of their payroll and how the salaries have been or will be remunerated (Salas, 2005). This software saves the organization a lot of time going through the payrolls and other payment issues because everything is updated electronically through the use of the new HRIS technology.
Learning and Training stage is where the applicants selected are taught about the norms and cultures of the organization. It is focused on bringing about new measurable changes in attitude, social behavior, knowledge, and skills of the employees. Training is vital in helping the recruits to handle their designated duties efficiently. In HRIS training, the human management tasks are presented and managed electronically by the use of the inbuilt software. These functions are about activities and operations that are aimed at improving the employee productivity (Bal, Bozkurt, and Ertemsir, 2012). For a company like Fortune 500 Co, a database can be developed with the necessary information regarding the operations of the organization. A log in address and password should be presented to the suitable applicants where they interact with the trainer electronically. These trainers offer them with the relevant information aimed at improving their skillsets. A question section is set where the trainees are required to fill to assess their level of understanding. In e-learning and E-training, the trainees do not need to visit their companies or training halls, but the training is done online in the comfort of their rooms.
Performance management is the process of handling any issues concerning employee productivity. In this function of the human resource, HRIS goes from merely collecting and analysis of data to tracking the performance of the employees in what most scholars and managers call employee performance appraisal. Here, the employees’ productivity is monitored and analyzed. This function has changed hugely with the introduction of new technological models. The initial annual evaluations are becoming less efficient, and therefore, employers are forced to look for better and efficient methods and modules which are found in the form of HRIS. Software that is used to set the goals of an individual employee and track these goals as time passes (Gueutal, and Stone, 2006). At the Fortune 500 Co, the 360-degree review can be utilized to monitor the employee performance. This software allows the managers and the employee to assess other employees and their peers. Customers can also provide reviews about specific services and productivity of the employees. At the end of a particular period, thesereports are analyzed, and the progress of the employee is established.
In conclusion, the human resource information system continues to change the human resource department functions with the introduction of every new technology as it brings a new approach to management in the market.An example of a technology that can be adopted in recruitment is the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). In selection, online testing and online interviews coupled with video teleconferences are also utilized. Self-services and HR portals are essential in enquiring about necessary information, and an example in HRIS is payroll software. In training and e-learning, the classes and tuition are done online with the help of a designated tutor. The 360-degree review is an example of a technology that can be adopted in performance management. In the future, the organization might need to diversify the human resource department to include an organizational function purposely concerned with researching new information system technologies and how they can help the organizations. However, it will be challenging as the organization might face some resistance from the employees as it can affect the morale of the workforce. Also, the culture of the team might not involve too much use of electronic information systems and therefore changing this culture becomes difficult.
- Arjomandi, D. (2013). E-selection; different methods, different issues. Article from The World Press.
- Bal, Y., Bozkurt, S., & Ertemsir, E. (2012). The importance of using human resources information systems (HRIS) and research on determining the success of HRIS.
- Gueutal, H. G., & Stone, D. L. (2006). The brave new world of EHR. John Wiley & Sons.
- Salas, E. (2005). The brave new world of EHR: Human resources in the digital age (Vol. 17). John Wiley & Sons.
- Torres-Coronas, T., & Arias-Oliva, M. (Eds.). (2005). E-human resources management: Managing knowledge people. IGI Global.