Human Resource Management
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Siddharth Jaiswal IMT Hyderabad HRIS – A Business Enabler The yet uncharted HR potential
There is an old Chinese saying: “If you wish to plan for a year sow Seeds, If you wish to plan for ten years plant Trees, But if you wish to plan for a life time, develop People” “People” have turned out to be the most valuable assets for every organization in this challenging and competitive market. The companies of post-modern era are constantly in lookout to get the best talent on board and maintain them. HRIS is a tool, which helps the organization understand its employees and take decisions which best serves both the company as well as its people. When reference is made to Human Resource Information System (HRIS), it is often thought of as a vehicle that integrates people processes with user interface by leveraging technology. HRIS can play an important part in an organization’s HR function. Over the past century HR has evolved from a “Caretaker” to a “Business Strategy Contributor”, during this transformation the need for an information system increased drastically. CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ROLE OF A HR: Table-1 “Historical Eras of HR” (Kavanagh et al. 1990:7) It is evident from the table that the role and challenges of HR has expanded over time, so has the need for effective recording, storing and analyzing HR data. Today in a global knowledge economy, information is power. A contemporary use of Information System (IS) at various levels aids the organization in making accurate strategic decisions as well as operational level decisions and working. The quantum of information and type of information required in an organization differ, hence making HRIS a a system that acquires, stores, manipulates, analyze, interpret and disseminate relevant information to the right person at the right time.
Era Emphasis in HR Pre-World War-Reactive, caretaker activities, not part of II mainstream business, record keeping. Post War 1945- Importance of employee morale, personnel 1960 is part of operating cost, yet not part of mainstream business, R&D on selection of employees, Payroll automation, Early application of mainframe computers for personnel in defense industry Social Issue Social issue legislation changes HR, Era 1963-1980 Increased paper work and reporting requirements, Advent of MIS in computing world, Introduction of IBM/360, HR considered more into mainstream business. Cost Effective HR expected to cost justify its activities, Era 1980-1995 Increased government regulations, High paperwork and reporting requirements, Advent of microcomputers and explosion of HR software, Increased focus of R&D in HR domain. Optimization HR considered as a mainstream business, Era 21st Shift from Manufacturing to Service lead to Century Peopleas an asset, HR becomes part of business strategy, Analysis requirements increased, Sophisticated HR software.
Table 1
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