With human resource being the most important, yet also one of the scarcest resources, for companies, these companies should find ways of better managing their employees not only to facilitate employee recruitment but also to ensure employee retention. In this regard, companies should take advantage of technology in order to further this initiative.
In particular, companies should consider the implementation of a Human Resource Information System (HRIS). According to Sharma (2009), the implementation of an HRIS can reduce HR costs through the automation of information and through the decreased need for a large number of HR employees. It also enables employees to manage their own personal information and it enables managers to easily access the human resource information that they need in conducting analyses and making decisions.
When planning for the implementation of an HRIS, it is important to consider who the intended users of the system would be and what types of data need to be stored in the system (Bedell, Canniff & Wyrick, 2008). This information would be the bases for the required capacity and architecture that will be selected for the HRIS implementation.
In addition, the technology that would ensure the security of the system must be considered. More specifically, it should be ensured that payroll and benefits information is not exposed to the employees and that sensitive personal data that is external to the company (e.g. Social Security Number) is protected. Moreover, it should be ensured that the system will not allow the unauthorized updates of important information, such as stock options and salary amounts. As computer hackers are now becoming more sophisticated in their methods, a security system that anticipates all future attacks must be considered.
Similarly, the system should comply with government regulations, such as the HIPPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and the Sarbanes Oxley Act. In this regard, the company should establish the necessary administrative and technical controls that will ensure compliance to these regulations.
As well, a technology that allows for scalability must be implemented to allow for the growth of the system. Moreover, since we are moving towards the direction of wireless technology, the company should also consider using the cloud technology and enabling mobile access to the system.
Three disadvantages to using interviews and focus groups in the collection and analysis of data for the planning of an HRIS implementation include the following: 1.) They can promote group think; 2.) They can contain some bias; and 3.) They can be subjective.
In particular, interviews and focus groups may encourage group think, especially if there are dominant personalities in the group (Connaway & Powell, 2010). The system analyst might not obtain various perspectives on the HR processes in the company as some may choose to just suppress their opinions, especially if their opinions are different from those of the others in the group. To overcome this disadvantage, the analyst can distribute questionnaires or feedback forms that would supplement the interview or focus group discussion. This would enable the participants to voice out any opinions they may have failed to share during the interview or focus group discussion. Alternatively, the analyst can encourage the participants to send him or her an email for further questions or feedback.
Similarly, interviews and focus group discussions may be tinged with bias, especially if the moderator asks closed or suggestive questions. To overcome this, the moderator should ensure that the questions he or she asks are open-ended. Finally, the results of interviews and focus group discussions are subjective in that they are subject to the analyst’s interpretation. There’s also no way of verifying the validity of the data gathered. However, to overcome this disadvantage, the analyst can share his or her findings with the participants to ensure that the information gathered was accurate and to give the participants a chance to correct any wrong information or to add missing information.
The three sources of data for an HRIS implementation are interviews with the HR personnel; the HR documents; and interviews either the company or HR executives. It is important to interview the company and HR executives in order to get a clear understanding of what the goals are for the HRIS implementation and how it will support the achievement of the company’s objectives. However, the disadvantage of using this source is that these executives can provide only a high-level picture of what they expect from the HRIS but they cannot provide detailed input for how the HRIS will function.
On the other hand, the HR personnel should also be interviewed in order to obtain information on the HR processes and the challenges or difficulties that the HR personnel are experiencing, which may be resolved by the HRIS. The disadvantage of this source is that the HR employees may have varying views on how things should be done and their views may also be contradictory to those of the other organizational members.
Finally, it is important to use the HR documents as a source of data as the analyst will use this in designing the HRIS to ensure that all of the pertinent information that the company uses is captured by the system and that redundant information is discarded. However, its disadvantage is that some of the important HR documents may no longer be available or may contain invalid data.
Although the company where I work in already has an HRIS implemented, I think that its evaluation process can be improved through the implementation of an automated 360-degree evaluation. Currently, only the employee and his or her direct superior can access the employee’s performance appraisal record. Feedback from other colleagues is manually sought and entered into the system. However, with a 360-degree evaluation being incorporated into the system, this manual process can be automated, which in turn can lead to a more holistic and less subjective performance appraisal process.
References
Bedell, M. D., Canniff, M. & Wyrick, C. (2008). Chapter 3: Systems considerations in the design
of an HRIS. In M. J. Kavanagh & M. Thite, Human resource information systems:
Basics, applications, and future directions (pp. 45-75). Sage Publications, Inc.
Connaway, L. S. & Powell, R. R. (2010). Basic research methods for librarians (5th ed.). ABC-
CLIO.
Sharma, S. K. (2009). Human resource management: A strategic approach to employment.
Global India Publications.
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