| Human
Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
A recent
survey by Saratoga discovered that employee compensation,
including benefits, accounts for 35% of operating expenses
in a typical organisation. With so many company resources
dedicated to maintaining the workforce, it is necessary to
identify ways to improve results, increase efficiency, and
lower costs. An HRIS helps organisations find such opportunities
and capitalise on them.
An HRIS is a combination of computer
hardware, software and communications systems used by HR
professionals for collecting, storing, maintaining, retrieving,
and validating employee data. It need not be complex or
even computerised, it can be as informal as the payroll
records and time cards of a small business, or as extensive
and formal as the computerised human resource databases
of academic institutions, major manufacturers, banks, and
governments.
An HRIS provides an integrated software
solution for automating and managing your organisation’s
core workforce administration and transactions, including:
- Time and Attendance
- Payroll
- Recruitment
- Employee Development, Compensation,
and Retention
- Compliance
- Employee Benefits
- Planning, Analysis, and Reporting.
The deployment of an HRIS will;
- Make the best possible decisions
regarding your workforce with accurate, timely reporting
and analysis.
- Reduce the cost of compliance and
risks associated with increasingly complex regulations,
including the avoidance of fines, penalties, and the possibility
of costly litigation.
- Improve processes for recruiting,
developing, and retaining people with the required skills
and aptitudes to meet current and future organisational
needs.
- Reduce routine administration
and paperwork, enabling you to focus more on workforce and
business strategy.
- Improve responsiveness to employees
and management with a workflow process that streamlines
HR record-keeping and maintains proper audit trails.
- Improve employee communications
through centralised intranet portals (e-HR) and employee
survey capabilities.
- Help contain and reduce the costs
of employee benefits.
Technology is the framework behind
the success of a well-functioning HR department. The advancements
that have been made with functionality delivered in a Software
as a Service model are making these types of systems more
affordable and more customised and customisable than ever
before.
One of the most beneficial developments
in technology has been the advent of Employee Self Service
(ESS). ESS solutions provide an opportunity to re-engineer
workflows in order to reduce the routine administrative
tasks in the HR department. ESS alleviates part of the burden
of administration by giving employees and managers online
access to their benefits, personnel, and payroll information.
Employees can view, create, and maintain personal information
using a Web browser over the Internet or the company intranet.
The following list of HR activities are perfectly suited
for employee self-service technology:
- Capture of Time & Attendance
data
- Recruiting
- Online Training
- Performance Reviews
- Applications for leave.
- Payslip distribution
- Employee information updates
- New employee “onboarding”.
The first part of this article has
focused on the positives that can be derived from an HRIS
implementation. However, there are some steps that the organisation
should consider before embarking on a major HRIS implementation.
The first action is to identify a resource within or from
outside your organisation that understands the business
of HR and is knowledgeable about the HRIS marketplace. This
will be important when determining the current state of
readiness across the HR department. We refer to this as
the ‘As Is’ position.
When reviewing the ‘As Is’
position we look at: (i) legacy HR information systems and
establish their usefulness or otherwise going forward, (ii)
business rules and workflow to establish whether they meet
current regulatory requirements and whether they lend themselves
to be easily computerised, (iii) the readiness of the HR
department to undertake the change that the HRIS will bring,
for example; examine whether the requisite IT skills are
in place within the HR Group, (iv) the existing IT infrastructure
to establish whether it will be compatible with any HRIS
deployment, for example; data security and single sign-on.
Finally, we establish what the current priorities for the
HR department and the organization are, and from this we
can determine the implementation path that will best suit
the organisation.
When we have crystallized the ‘As
Is’ we then move to establish the ‘To Be’
position. This process requires a project manager and business
sponsor and or steering committee to decide on the scale
and scope of the implementation based on the findings from
the ‘As Is’ process. For example; it is possible
that the organisation may undertake a project to amend HR
workflow and processes in advance of any system purchase,
it may also decide to implement any changes in IT infrastructure
required in advance of the implementation of the HRIS.
The ‘To Be’ position
should be a clear and costed project roadmap. The steering
committee should have all the information to hand to decide
whether and to what extent the project is to move forward.
When a decision is made to go to
the market with a tender it is vitally important that the
organisation identify someone with the skills required to
write a comprehensive and clear tender document. This project
will be a significant investment for the organisation. Lack
of detail and clarity could ultimately cost the organisation
money and may put the project at risk. A recommendation
would be to send (for the private sector) the tender to
at least 5 vendor companies. This list should be shortened
to three. Those short listed should be invited to participate
in a rigorous selection process - from which a ‘winner’
will be chosen.
A risk for many organisations has
been to try to do too much too quickly, it is recommended
that a plan be set out in phases, and that a single module
such as a personnel database be implemented first. This
should then be bedded down before moving to or purchasing
another HR module. This – while appearing conservative
– will help to ensure costs are contained and deadlines
are met. Optically, its important that the business sees
progress and the phased introduction of new services.
Another very significant risk can
arise during the negotiation of contracts. Organisations
should ensure Procurement, HR, IT and the legal department
are involved in the contract negotiation process. Considerable
care should be taken around the release levels of software
being purchased and whether the purchased module is on general
release or only in beta in selected customers. Best advice
is to visit reference sites and find out for yourself.
In conclusion, there is always some
degree of uncertainty when it comes to deciding to implement
a new or replacement HRIS system, but there are ways to
reduce this uncertainty. By identifying the specific needs
of the organisation, understanding the barriers to making
the best decision and taking measures to overcome these
barriers, your organisation can better understand the process
and reduce this uncertainty.
Brian
Donohoe is a Director of Symbio HR Solutions.
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