HRMS- Leveraging Information Technology To Strengthen Human Capital

An organization wide information system is designed to link & interlink the various functional areas of an organization, while at the same time providing businesses with an important management tool. A Human Resource Management system broadly refers to the systems & processes at the intersection of Human Resources & Information Technology, that deal with information and data related to employees at all levels in the organization. It, in turn, enables the organization to develop and strengthen their strategic human capital to leverage competitive advantage for growth.

 Human Resources Management System, or HRMS is an integrated HR system designed to simplify the task of analyzing vast amounts of data and information used in HR decision-making. It is of invaluable help in human resource management, right from payroll processing to record management and retrieval, onto business intelligence reporting.

The role of a HR professional can be broadly classified into 3 categories

HR professionals typically land up allocating bulk of their time and effort towards administrative tasks, which are also by nature time consuming. However the HR function, can add the greatest value at the strategic level through well thought out and executed intervention programs. This is where HRMS can add significant value. By enhancing efficiency on administrative tasks, HRMS can free up bandwidth of HR professionals to focus on strategic HR initiatives. A well-designed and implemented Human Resource Management system can add significant value to the HR function in 2 ways:

As technology continues to advance, there is going to be an increasing dependence on Human Resource Management systems for the efficient delivery and support of HR activities as well as HR management. An efficient HRMS can, not only enhance an organization’s productivity and profitability, it also plays a key role in re-engineering and transformation of the HR function itself. Human Resource Management systems are being adopted to provide some key advantages to businesses:

HRMS systems act as technology tools to make employees more self reliant in terms of HR services by ensuring all information is available to them anytime and anywhere. The internet era is making all of us data consumers in a big way, and employees typically want the same amount of access and control over data in their work life. An efficient Human Resource Management System, helps to link together geographically and functionally spread employees and provides a sense of transparency and fairness in dealing with organizational matters.

HRM systems are being used to transform the HR function itself. Since HRMS makes it possible to collate and analyze disparate data points, there is a greater focus on data and metrics reporting to calculate the ROI on any HR activity or intervention. This is leading to greater focus on tasks and activities that add value.

One of the key challenges for HR professionals is how to convert HR data into a format which is easy to understand and interpret for senior management.  An effective HRMS will enable the use of advanced BI reports and applications for analyzing large amount of data. HR dashboards, strategic, real-time and graphically formatted data, has already become an integral part of the employee-related decision making by the management.

Over the last decade or so, Human resource management systems have been instrumental in bringing about a significant change in the way the HR function itself is managed and operated in an organization. They have increased the efficiency of the HR function, have helped employees to be better informed and have helped build a more positive perception towards the HR function, as a whole. A well-implemented Human Resource Management System, leveraging technology for effective implementation of HR processes, will ensure that organizations continue to reap competitive advantages from its HR function. Read more on OfficeNet