HRIS notes

MBA-H4040                                        HUMAN RESOURCE   INFORMATION SYSTEM

UNIT 1

Introduction: Data & Information needs for HR Manager; Sources of Data; Role of ITES in HRM; IT for HR Managers; Concept, Structure, & Mechanics of HRIS; Programming Dimensions & HR Manager with no technology background; Survey of software packages for Human Resource Information System including ERP Software such as SAP, Oracles Financials and Ramco’s Marshal [only data input, output & screens];

Learning Objectives:

After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand

•       The meaning and definition of HRIS

•       The importance of HRIS

•       Data and information needs for HR manager

•       Sources of data

•       Concept structure and mechanics of data

•       Survey of software   packages for HRIS

•       Basic knowledge of ERP software such as SAP, Oracles Financials and Ramco’s MArshal

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Introduction

Many well-known examples of the use of information technology for competitive advantage involve systems that link an organization to suppliers, distribution channels, or customers. In general, these systems use information or processing capabilities in one organization to improve the performance of another or to improve relationships among organizations. Declining costs of capturing and using information have joined with increasing competitive pressures to spur numerous innovations in use of information to create value. The ideas do not constitute a procedure leading inexorably to competitive advantage. However, they have been of value when combined with an appreciation of the competitive dynamics of specific industries and a grasp of the power of information.

Results from "The Gap Between IT and Strategic HR in the UK",(June 2006) a study by talent management solutions company Taleo, show a significant disconnect between HR's strategic functions, including talent acquisition and workforce planning, and IT ability to support these business initiatives.

The survey of 100 senior HR managers, all in organizations employing more than a thousand people, found that only a quarter thought that strategic functions such as workforce planning, leadership development and performance management were well supported by their IT systems. Only a third felt confident in systems support for recruitment and employee progression. Other findings included:

•        Current technology systems were out-of-date. Over half the respondents (55%) felt that more sophisticated technology systems and processes

were needed to support recruitment and development.

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•        IT focused on lower-level, administrative functions. Respondents said that payroll and employee administration (68%) and evaluation and management reporting (53%) were adequately supported by IT. However, more strategic HR initiatives such as performance management (28%), leadership development and planning (25%) and strategic workforce planning (25%) were not well supported.

•       Inadequate data and technology systems obstructed workforce management. Just 29% of respondents felt that they had sufficient systems in place to gain a clear picture of existing employee skills.

•       The HR function was striving to become more strategic. 63% of respondents cited talent management (including recruitment) as a significant priority in the year ahead.

Taleo Research Vice President, Alice Snell said:

"The gap between the support of administrative functions and strategic HR responsibilities needs to be addressed in order for HR directors to deliver results to the Board. When HR directors can assess the workforce changes needed by the business, acquire and develop the talent needed to optimise the workforce, and then measure the results, their true value can be realised."

"Findings of this study clearly show that HR is evolving to play a more strategic role in supporting fundamental business objectives, but the systems being used by HR functions are not keeping up," added Neil Hudspith, Senior Vice President, International Operations, Taleo. "It's clear that talent management and other strategic initiatives are being recognised as essential functions by ambitious companies that want to retain and recruit the best people, but organisations need to arm their HR directors with the tools and technology

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM needed to support this strategy. The right HR technology is a critical element of

any HR strategy moving forward."

Meaning and Definition of HRIS

Human Resources Information System, is a system that lets you keep track of all your employees and information about them. It is usually done in a database or, more often, in a series of inter-related databases.

These systems include the employee name and contact information and all or some of the following:

department, job title, grade, salary,

salary history, position history, supervisor, training completed,

special qualifications, ethnicity,

date of birth, disabilities, veterans status, visa status, benefits selected, and more.

Any  HRIS  include  reporting  capabilities.  Some  systems  track  applicants

before   they   become   employees   and   some   are   interfaced   to   payroll   or   other

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM financial systems. An HRIS is a management system designed specifically to

provide managers with information to make HR decisions

•        You notice that this is not an HR system...it is a management system and is used specifically to support management decision making .

•       The need for this kind of information has increased in the last few years, especially in large and/or diverse companies, where decision making has been moved to lower levels

•       And large companies generally have the advantage when it comes to HRIS’s...the cost to develop an HRIS for 200 people is usually close to that for 2000 people...so it is a better investment for large companies...larger companies tend to have systems that have a fair degree of customization

Therefore, HRIS can be defined in simple words as given below.

Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS, EHRMS), Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), HR Technology or also called HR modules, shape an intersection in between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the planning and programming of data processing systems evolved into standardised routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible.

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Advantages of HRIS

•       An HRIS can reduce the amount of paperwork and manual record keeping

•       It retrieves information quickly and accurately

•       It allows quick analysis of HR issues

Most HRIS Contain:

•       Personal history - name, date of birth, sex

•       Work history - salary, first day worked, employment status, positions in the organization, appraisal data and hopefully, pre-organizational information

•        Training and development completed, both internally and externally

•       Career plans including mobility

•       Skills inventory - skills, education, competencies...look for transferable skills

The pressure is on for proactive HR innovations that contribute directly to the bottom-line or improve employee morale and efficiency. Ajuwon (2002) points out that the typical HR professional gets involved with one step in many different flows of work. Very often the involvement of HR has no purpose except to validate the process in some way and acts as an interruption to the flow of work. In other words, the HR function is a 'gatekeeper for information that’s been deemed too highly classified for the data owner.'

So HR is not actually making a measurable contribution - in fact, the opposite. HR involvement creates a queue or delay in the process. We should ask if the HR involvement is really necessary. Once upon a time the HR database had an 'all-or-nothing' quality - probably because it was paper-based.

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But now technology allows controlled access to various portions of the database. So an employee can safely amend his or her own address or bank account details, while the ability to change certain appraisal details might be confined to the line manager. In either case, there is no reason for HR to be involved. HR should move on from the role of intermediary.

Not surprisingly, the use of employee self-service systems for records, information, payroll and other functions is becoming increasingly common. Libraries of forms can be kept online to be downloaded as and when required. Systems can be enhanced to include streaming video and other new software providing wide access to corporate videos, training, etc. Obviously, e-mail announcements and newsletters can also be used to alert employees to new developments or urgent requests.

Ajuwon (2002) argues that HR should be proactive in the process and highlights three different perspectives for action:

*   The process perspective - getting the fundamental building blocks (people processes) right and ensuring their relevance at all times. This demands close and detailed knowledge of HR processes and a commitment to improvement and efficiency. HR professionals need to understand their own objectives and the relationship with business strategy.

*    The event perspective - a focus on providing a framework for knowledge management. In other words, capturing the experience and information available in that harnesses the organisation and making it available to individuals.

*   The cultural perspective - acknowledging that HR has a 'pivotal role in the proactive engagement of the entire organisation in a changing climate.

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During the 1990s the business process re-engineering approach resulted in many organizations taking a 'root and branch' look at HR and other processes. Subsequent reorganizations may have produced fresh, streamlined processes but often they became inappropriate or inefficient as circumstances changed. It is not enough to design a corporate human resource strategy or acquire a piece of technology. There has to be some way of ensuring effective operational delivery. A more fluid, constantly changing methodology is required. Ajuwon contends that we have the means:

"It’s more than innovating and/or streamlining your HR processes; or building an HR portal or introducing a culture change programme.

"It’s about weaving together all three in a way that sustains change, engages the entire organization and deploys the organization’s knowledge assets to gain competitive advantage and deliver profitability, even in times of economic downturn."

Human resource systems can differ widely. They may be:

* Intranets using web-type methods but operating purely within one organization or location.

*  Extranets - encompassing two or more organizations.

*  Portals - offering links to internal information and services but also accessing the worldwide web.

Advantages

-                    Familiarity (looking like web pages)

-                    Attractiveness (colourful, clearly laid out, graphics)

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-	Integration    (linking   different    HR    systems    such    as    basic    personnel
	records,  employee  handbooks,  terms  and  conditions,  contracts,  various
	entitlements and payroll)

-                    Allowing employees and managers to enter, check and amend controlled ranges of personal and other information.

-                    Eliminating printing, enveloping and mailing of personnel and other employee information

-                    Reducing need for telephone handling of routine enquiries by HR staff.

Basic system requirements

1. Desktop PCs for accessing and inputting information locally. Standard browsers are used to access information (e.g. Netscape or Internet Explorer).

2.   Organization-wide  server. In  a small  company this need  be nothing more  than

a   PC as well. The server must have an intranet server software package installed (Microsoft Internet Information Server, or Netscape Communications Server are examples.)

3.     Server-side software such as HTML, Java, Javascript, Perl.

4.     Intranet communications protocol running on both PCs and the server.

5.    Relational database/Information processing software for records, payroll, etc. If data is to be accessed then the procedure is made slightly more complicated with the need for CGI scripts and database server software on the server.

6.    Basic  documents  such  as  policy  manuals  typically  loaded  in  HTML  -  but

formats such as Adobe Acrobat PDF are also an alternative.

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Cost-benefit analysis

Difficult to quantify because the greatest return is in improved morale.

Robert Musacchio, CIO with the American Medical Association in Chicago is quoted as having installed between 50-60 intranet applications for 1400 employees at $10,000 to $20,000 per application.

"Musacchio says a self-service employee-benefits site, which provides information on benefits and lets employees pick health-care, day-care, and retirement investment options, was built for "almost six figures." Musacchio figures it provided a 40% return on investment, based on the time saved by human resource managers who don't have to answer employees' questions about these topics because they're answered by the application".('Intranet ROI: Leap Of Faith',( Information Week Online, May 24 1999.)

Fletcher argues that businesses have to adopt a 'Human Capital Management' approach to make the most of any organization's greatest asset: the skills, knowledge and experience of its staff. She describes how, in the 1990s, most large businesses introduced 'Human Resources Information Systems' (HRIS) and that, in combination with re-engineering (the buzzword of the time), this enabled them to "replace antiquated, time-consuming personnel processes with automation."

Walker (Walker, A.J. 'Best Practices in HR Technology' in Web-Based Human Resources, McGraw Hill, 2001) states that if HR technology is to be considered successful, it must achieve the following objectives: It must provide the user with relevant information and data, answer questions, and inspire new insights and learning.

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Efficiency and effectiveness

HRIS must be capable of changing the work performed by the Human Resources personnel by dramatically improving their level of service, allowing more time for work of higher value, and reducing their costs.

But, despite extensive implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), and HR service centres costing millions of dollars, Walker concludes that few organizations have been entirely happy with the results. Why is this?

Many systems have been implemented by cutting HR staff, outsourcing and imposing technology on what was left. Arguably this approach should, at least, have cut costs. But Walker argues that survey results demonstrate that overall HR departments have actually increased their staffing levels over the past decade to do the same work. Moreover he considers that:

"Most of the work that the HR staff does on a day-to-day basis, such as staffing, employee relations, compensation, training, employee development, and benefits, unfortunately, remains relatively untouched and unimproved from a delivery standpoint."

Fletcher explores the issue of effectiveness in a very telling paragraph (page 15) in which she states that: "Executives struggle with what to measure and how to clearly tie employee metrics to business performance." Not only are they pressured by the vast costs of Human Capital Management (payroll, etc.) but they also have to report to analysts "whose valuations consist partly of measuring such intangible assets as the corporate leadership's team to execute on strategy or the ability of the business to attract and retain skilled talent."

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She concludes that:

• Executives are not sure about the kind of data that would prove to analysts that their employees are delivering better and creating more value than their competitors.

•        Analysts are struggling to make sense of intangibles, often falling back on a 'revenue per employee' metric which does not tell the whole story.

The HR Function

The business process should be re-engineering the HR function first, then E-engineering the HR work. He suggests the formation of re-engineering teams of providers, customers and users to examine the whole range of HR activities - including those which are not being done at present. The end product is a set of processes organized into broad groupings such as resourcing, compensation or training and development. These processes should then be examined by the re-engineering team and redesigned to:

•         Be better aligned with organizational goals.

•       Streamlined so as to be cost-effective in comparison with the 'best in class'.

•         Have a better integration with other processes.

From this redesign comes the picture of a new HR function. What next? The organization could be restructured and the tasks handed out existing or new staff. But Walker argues that the most effective approach is to introduce new technology to deal with the redesigned processes.

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For HR to survive in this brave new world it needs to "possess a technology acumen like never before." A tall order, one suspects, for many die-hard personnel traditionalists. But if they do not demonstrate the ability to recommend appropriate technology and control automated HR processes, organizations will use other people for these tasks some replacements for 'traditional' HR executives may have no direct experience of human resource management at all. Instead, they may have "led a line of business and have had P&L responsibility, understand what it means to be accountable for delivering business results."

Walker (Walker, A.J. 'Best Practices in HR Technology' in Web-Based Human Resources, McGraw Hill, 2001) discusses a range of technologies available for re-engineered HR processes, contending that they are all capable of dealing with HR activities in a secure and confidential manner.

1. Workflow. Walker describes this as being like e-mail with a database and built-in intelligence.' Essentially, a user accesses a range of employee records (perhaps their own) through a computer terminal, keys in data such as a change of address and submits the data electronically to the next person in the chain. The system is configured so that only certain individuals are authorized for a specific range of access or actions. The workflow chain is organized to ensure that the most suitable person approves an action. For example, a bonus payment would be authorized by a line manager's own manager. Also, the system can be structured so that bonuses over a certain level can be monitored by a HR specialist. The paths and actions are all specified in accordance with company rules.

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2.   Manager self-service. Managers can have access to 'front-end' applications on their desk tops in the form of HR portals. Typically, they are able to view a range of personal details and aggregate information. They are also allowed to change and input certain details and model the consequences on their budgets of salary increases or bonus payments. More generally, policy manuals, plans and strategies can be made available. Walker highlight the facility to 'push' information requiring attention to managers - including those dreaded employee performance appraisals.

3.  Employee self-service. Similarly, employees can view company information, change selected personal details, make benefit enquiries (pension plans, sick pay entitlement), book leave and apply for training programmes. Walker makes the point that 'portal technology will personalize this data further and "push" relevant data to them as well.'

4.  Interactive voice response (IVR). A low-tech method, using the push-button control facility found in most modern telephones. Most of us are familiar with automatic responses such as: "If your call is about vacancies in the accounts department - press 3 followed by #" when we dial large organizations. The system is restricted but easy to use and inexpensive in comparison to web-based methods. It is suitable for job openings and training course details where straightforward information can be recorded as simple scripts.

5.    HR Service Centres. Walker notes that this has become one of the most widely used solutions to re-engineered HR in large organizations. Such centres centralize a number of HR processes and may deal with geographically widespread users. For example, the Raleigh, North Carolina service center can deal with all of IBM's North American current and former staff.

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Operators or 'Agents' take enquiries by phone, e-mail or online that may already have been filtered through interactive voice response scripts or desktop HR systems. In effect, they deal with the relatively non-routine issues that cannot be handled by basic technology. However, they do use recognisable Call Centre techniques such as scripted protocols. The Agent can enter keywords or a question into a knowledge database and bring up relevant information with which to answer the caller's query. If that query is not covered by information in the knowledge database it can be referred to a supervisor using workflow.

HR service centres also have a fax, e-mail and postal facility to send information, confirmations, follow-up queries and printed brochures to users. They are also monitored in the same way as conventional Call Centres and can generate useful statistics on types and frequency of enquiries. Walker contends that most reports show that organizations find HR service centres to be highly cost-effective and provider faster and more consistent answers than traditional HR departments.

6. Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) and databases. According to Walker (2001):

"The HRIS system is the primary transaction processor, editor, record-keeper, and functional application system which lies at the heart of all computerized HR work.It mains employee, organizational and HR plan data sufficient to support most, if not all, of the HR functions depending on the modules installed.

It will also supply information to other systems and generate reports.

7.  Stand-alone  HR  systems.  A  massive  choice  of  applications  available  from commercial   vendors   which   can   be   linked   to   a   HRIS.   They   include   online 15

MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM application forms, tests, appraisal databases, 360-degree performance

assessments and so on.

8. Data-Marts and Data-Warehouses. Sources of information, usually held as relational databases which can be interrogated. Data-Marts normally hold data from single sources, such as HR; Data-Warehouses amass information from multiple sources.

DATA AND INFORMATION NEEDS FOR HR MANAGER

Collect Data

Assess the mission, vision, strategy, and culture of the organization, from whatever written material there is in the company (check with the department or person who handles public, customer, or shareholder relations).

Collect existing data such as:

•       Hiring statistics (acceptance rate, hiring rate, hiring projections)

•       Turnover

•       Compensation and benefits philosophy and practice

•       Exit interview summaries

•       Employee complaints (discrimination, harassment, safety, other)

•       Promotion and advancement practices and trends

•       Human Resources budget and expenditures

Where possible, compare the data collected with market data. This information will provide you with a point of view for the next phase of the audit:

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM the interviews. If, during the interview, discrepancies arise between the data and

the interviewee's answer, ONE can explore the reasons for the discrepancy(s).

Conduct Interviews

The purpose of the interview is to collect input from the internal customer on their Human Resources needs and how those needs are being met. Begin the interview with top management. Next conduct interviews with a sample of subordinate managers including first line management. The topics to discuss during the interview include:

•       Perceptions of the company and its goals

•       Strengths and weaknesses of top management

•       Employee perceptions of the company and top management

•       Relations with subordinates

•       Support of career goals for self and employees

•       Major Human Resources issues

•       Which Human Resources functions work well

•       Which Human Resources functions need improvement

In addition they can provide indirect feedback. For example, the results may indicate that different organizations have conflicting goals. Perhaps a performance management system could correct this problem. Or perhaps communication isn't flowing well in the organization, suggesting a need for communication programs or some training and development.

Some of the information collected during the interviews will be sensitive. Confidentiality must be respected. Get advanced approval from top management on the questions you will ask during the interview phase.

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Summarize the Results

Consolidate the information you collected. Compare the results with market surveys. Determine which practices are good / popular / effective / competitive. Determine which practices need improvement. Recommend specific improvements referring to the results of both the Effectiveness audit and the Regulatory compliance audit. Justify the recommendations. Determine how to measure whether the improvements are successful.

Obtain Approval from senior Management

Present the preliminary results and recommendations to senior management individually. Point out how these recommendations will support their needs. Obtain their support, and then present the final results and recommendations to the senior management staff for final approval.

Implement the Program

Consider implementing the program in part of the organization as a pilot program. Monitor and measure success and seek to continuously improve processes. Be prepared to modify the program if an organizational change requires it.

SOURCES OF DATA

Absence of sufficient qualification required for the job puts extra efforts on the HR department or the colleagues to train the new appointees. Many companies do take the pain of training new recruits by conducting induction training and other regular workshops. However, the best training one can get is on the job.

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Some companies give so much importance to the 'training' part that it turns out to be the best company for new comers to learn. A good training schedule is important, but simultaneously, all other HR concerns are equally important. Companies should learn to not just appoint and train people, but retain them through smart ways.

Recruitment source:

DQ Channels asked members of the solutions provider community to rank the best sources of recruitment. The best recruitment sources according to majority of the respondents were 'Referrals'. Yes, referrals or word-of-mouth is no doubt the best source of recruitment. This also saves a lot of time energy spent in testing a new candidate's caliber. "There is an element of trust involved. When a person is sent to us by a person known to us and who knows our requirement, he or she is the best we can get," said one HR manager.

The next best source for recruitment is consulting agencies, job sites and print advertisements in that order. Surprisingly, very few responded with 'Campus recruitment' as an alternative source for getting people

ITES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

The people working in IT Enabled Services have a great amount of stress when compared to other people and their nature of jobs. Nowadays the company’s work on target basis so to reach the target the employees have to strive hard therefore for the strain in their jobs the HR department have to think about coping their stress by giving some

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•       Recognition

•       Hike in the pay

•       Fringe benefits

•       Fun programs & some recreational activities.

IT FOR HR MANAGERS:

It is essential for a Human Resource Manager to have some knowledge on information technology because everything nowadays is becoming computerized and especially when it comes to human resource information systems the HR manager has to be aware about the system well at least for the sake of minor things like payroll, compensation, etc.

So information technology plays a vital role for any department & especially HR Department in any organization.

CONCEPT, STRUCTURE, AND MECHANICS OF HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS (HRIS)

Integrated HR Information Systems (HRIS) have a profound effect on firms that implement them. Most often these firms are replacing several related systems, such as a personnel database, payroll system and benefits system, with one HRIS that does it all. Many people focus on the improved reporting and processing that will be realized from the new system, and those are the reasons most firms choose to implement a new HRIS. But what many people don’t focus on is that the new HRIS will most likely affect the company much more deeply – it will challenge the operating structure and principles of all the HR-related departments.

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An integrated HRIS results is a drastically different environment than a cluster of related but separate systems. The core concept of a centralized data store inherent with an HRIS demands integrated work processes for consistently managing that store. The two attributes – centralized data storage and integrated work processes – will affect the company in ways most managers don’t expect.

EVALUATING AND PREPARING FOR A NEW HRIS

Many companies go through a process of comparing and evaluating several HRIS packages using a team of analysts or managers from the various departments affected – HR, Payroll, Benefits, Employee Relations, Training and so on. As this team prepares its evaluation criteria and reviews HRIS features, much is learned about the goals and values of the various departments. The HR department is looking for improved reporting of employee data, Payroll is concerned with the system’s paycheck calculations and regulatory reporting, while Benefits may be looking for a more streamlined enrollment process. As this team drives deeper into the selection criteria, the members learn more about each other and may start to see the emergence of some really messy business processes. It can be a bittersweet process.

The hiring process is a good example. As a person is recruited, hired and paid each department may have its own specialized system and process for managing the employee data. As the HRIS evaluation team discovers redundant processing and data storage, its members start to see ways to make the process more efficient by aligning their part of the hiring process with the requirements of the other departments. The team members are excited to find a better way to get the work done, but scared by the ramifications of closer ties to other departments. They think: ”If we improve the efficiency of the process we won’t

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM need as many people in our department and we might lose control of some piece

of data that is critical to our business function.

As the team evaluates an HRIS software package, it begins to get a better grasp on what the entire company’s business processes are, and therefore what the company might require in an HRIS. The team will most likely find that none of the packages are an exact fit and that substantial effort is required to modify or integrate the chosen HRIS. Or if not enough due diligence and research have been done, the team may be facing this effort and not be aware of it. This gap in planning will show itself later in the implementation phase when the project team realizes there are not enough resources – time, people and money – to implement the HRIS.

Perhaps the most critical results of the HRIS evaluation process are that the evaluation team set correct expectations for the project and gain executive management commitment. With correct, or at least realistic expectations and an executive management team that seriously supports the team’s efforts, an HRIS implementation project has a much greater chance to succeed. Most often the HRIS evaluation team members spend most of their efforts building selection criteria and choosing an HRIS, instead of setting expectations and building executive support.

THE    HRIS    IMPLEMENTATION    PROJECT       (Configuring    the    New

HRIS)

There are three primary activities in an HRIS implementation – configuring the HRIS for the firm’s business processes and policies, interfacing data with other systems and converting historical data into the HRIS, and preparing the organization for the new HRIS. An HRIS comes with built-in

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM processes for most HR activities, but firms will need to customize the system to

process according to their specific needs. For example, every HRIS supports the process of benefits open enrollment, but the system does not come delivered with a firm’s specific benefit providers and eligibility rules. Customizing the HRIS for this typically does not involve programming; the common activity is to enter specific data into control tables that then direct how the HRIS operates. The customizing, or configuration tasks then become a process of understanding the firm’s business processes well enough to encode that logic into the HRIS.

This mapping of business processes and policies into system control tables requires people who understand both the business process and the HRIS – typically the existing IT support and HR business analysts. Due to the large amount of work, the HRIS project team usually needs these analysts fully dedicated to the project, requiring the ”home” departments to fill the gaps in their absence. Having partially dedicated team members may cause tension since the team members have to maintain responsibilities at the home department while also fulfilling responsibilities on the project team. Either way, back-filling resources becomes a big issue if not planned for during the evaluation stage.

Firms may find that the internal resource people assigned to the project do not have the skills or capabilities needed for the job. Sometimes training can resolve this, but other times the people lack basic analytical skills required for the implementation. One of the key requirements for a person to be successful on an HRIS implementation project is that he/she have excellent analysis skills. The most analytical people in HR and IT should be assigned to the project, or else the company should rely on external resources (i.e. contractors or consultants). The project can get done this way – but the more an implementation team relies on external resources the more difficult it will be for the company to become self-sufficient in ongoing HRIS support, maintenance, and operations.

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Many HRIS implementations include, to one degree or another, business process reengineering. As a firm documents, investigates, and discovers its true business processes, it’s natural that the firm also take time to improve them, or at least integrate the processes across departments. The integrated nature of most HRIS packages drives this activity. When a process is reengineered or integrated, once-independent departments become much more dependent on each other. That dependency can increase tensions on the project team as representatives from those departments learn to trust others to do their part of the process. Or, once the project team members become comfortable with the new processes they have designed, they may have a hard time selling those changes back to their departments.

Most HRIS packages don’t handle exception processing very well. As new business processes are designed, the project team customizes the HRIS around those new processes. Users will most likely find that exception cases require significant manual thought or labor to process – since the exception does not fit into the business process as implemented in the HRIS. HRIS project team analysts will walk a fine line between generalization of the process to fit exceptions vs. a more narrowed implementation of the process to enforce data integrity and accurate application of HR policy. This is a great time to enforce some standards and clean-up ”special deals” – but HR managers and policymakers must be willing to support these efforts, and to help implement them. Finally, as the project team analysts dig into the current business processes, they may find that the HR users, and sometimes managers, don’t really understand or know the processes well. Users may know what is done, but not why it is done. Knowing the why part is critical to getting the most out of your HRIS implementation. In most every HRIS there are two or three technical methods of implementing any given requirement – knowing why something is

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM done in a business process helps ensure the project team analysts select the best

method of implementing it in the HRIS.

Linking the New HRIS with Other Systems

Most HRIS project teams have a number of people assigned to converting historical data from the existing HR databases into the new HRIS, as well as for interfacing the new HRIS with other systems that rely on HR data. As this group starts mapping historical data to the new system for conversion, most often group members will find (particularly when combining data from several existing systems to go into one HRIS) that the existing HR data contains a significant amount of invalid, incomplete, or contradictory data. As the new HRIS was configured for new, reengineered or streamlined business processes, the existing employee data may not fit well into the new system. The new HRIS will demand more complete and accurate employee data.

Making sense of these data conversion problems is a skill that falls to HR analysts, not the programmers writing data-conversion routines. Conversion and interfacing are not solely technical activities – user consultation and input are required. Many HRIS project teams discover these requirements too late, thus increasing the demand for time from HR analysts on the project team – time that the analysts most likely do not have.

If the firm has a data warehouse, the new HRIS data will need to be mapped to it. If the data model in the warehouse is based on the legacy HR database, the two data models may not be compatible. A lot of effort can be spent mapping the new HRIS to an existing data warehouse. Or if the HRIS vendor has its own data warehouse application, the project team might be

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM tempted to use it, but they’ll still have to contend with converting existing

historical HR data into the new warehouse. Either way, HRIS project teams spend more effort than planned on this issue – the details can get very tedious and time consuming.

Replacing HR systems involves any area of the company that reads or relies on employee data. New system implementation may highlight employee data privacy issues, or increase the scope of interfacing once the project team realizes just how many systems read employee data from the current HR-related databases.

Preparing the Organization

Many  times  it  is  easier  for  project  teams  to  focus  on  technical  aspects  of

the implementation, which is ineffective. For example, configuring the HRIS to correctly assign resident tax codes based on the employee’s address is easier than getting HR, benefits, payroll, and recruiting to buy into and implement a reengineered hiring process. The HRIS project team must track progress not only on the technical aspects of implementing the HRIS, but also on the softer side of managing the organization as a whole to accept the new business processes that come with the HRIS. Companies typically underestimate this change-management effort. From the very beginning there must be a focus on preparing the organization and the employees for the new HRIS. A new HRIS, with more integrated work processes, tends to pull related departments together. Some firms recognize this as they go through the implementation process, and also implement a new organizational structure with the HRIS roll-out. For example, HR and Payroll may have reported to separate areas of the company,

and    parts    of    HR    business    processes    were    scattered    throughout    various

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM departments. But as a new HRIS is implemented, the previous organizations are

transformed to report to a single authority, and a shared-services group is established to perform the integrated work processes that were once scattered. This is a common, but often unexpected, result of HRIS implementations.

During the implementation phase, firms should also be determining what their support model will look like – what kind of organization will be required to support this new HRIS? Those who study this task in detail will realize they need cross-functional support teams – containing programmers (ABAP), configuration experts, and business analysts – to successfully support the new HRIS. But this integrated support team does not fit well into the vertical departments in most companies today. Finding a way to implement this cross-functional team is a critical success factor for the new HRIS’ ongoing operation. All of the items mentioned so far force HR managers to become involved in what is usually perceived as an IT project. They may be accustomed to pushing responsibility for such projects onto IT managers, but implementing an integrated HRIS requires HR manager participation and active involvement in scoping, implementation, cutover, resourcing and management.

LIVING WITH THE NEW HRIS    (Changes in the HR User Community    )

An integrated HRIS leads to more integrated reporting of employee data, which can lead to efforts that benefit the company. Better reporting of employee costs, skills and requirements, time-keeping and recording, etc. give senior managers information that can be used to improve the application of HR policy or to cut costs (i.e. reducing time-card fraud, highlighting wasteful compensation practices, etc.). Most integrated HRIS packages are very sophisticated in the functionality and processes they offer. Compared to legacy,

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM or screen-based/code-based systems, the new HRIS requires a more analytical

user. The user cannot simply be trained to put certain codes into certain fields -- he/she must know the business process and how it relates to the HRIS. In most companies, a certain portion of users will be able to make this jump to ”analytical” thinking; others will not. The resulting shakeout has to happen, and it is most often painful – either for the employees themselves or for the HRIS support organization.

If a more centralized, integrated HR organization doesn’t surface during the implementation period, the organization will tend to evolve in that direction. An integrated, centralized HRIS tends to pull user departments together. Using integrated work processes across departments that do not operate under a common authority will highlight data and process ownership issues. These issues in turn get pushed up to HR managers or executive management. Eventually, these managers resolve the issues by increasing the integration of the departments to match the processes. Either way it happens – at implementation or via evolution -- this level of organizational change is always difficult.

Supporting the HRIS

IT support analysts may be accustomed to, and only skilled for, flat-file processing techniques. Most HRIS packages rely on relational data models, higher-level programming languages, and interactive data management – presenting technical requirements for which some IT analysts may not be ready.

The new HRIS may have proprietary languages or facilities, requiring new IT skills. Often these skills will be in high demand, driving a premium rate of pay. Internal resources may opt to leave the company for the higher pay, or they may

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM demand higher pay at the company. The higher pay might be outside the HR

guidelines for fair salary. The resulting dilemma can create retention problems. HR users – the analysts in HR, payroll and benefits – must take a more active role in ongoing support and system changes. Since business rules are often coded into the HRIS instead of resting in manual processes, the business analysts are necessarily drawn into this activity. Some firms may push this “business rule” knowledge to their IT support analysts, or rely on consultants who help with the implementation. Although either of those scenarios can work, HR business analysts and managers have the most to lose if the HRIS does not process transactions correctly. Placing HR analysts in system support and change roles will help ensure that the HRIS processes transactions correctly.

Some companies depend too much on consulting firms or contractors to perform an implementation. Many times this happens because the firm can pay a consultant to do precisely what the firm wants to do, which is often easier than getting internal resources to do the same thing. It takes some of the pain out of change management. This can lead to a continued dependence on external resources and might be acceptable for firms that have historically relied on external resources. For others it may generate substantial internal conflict in the way of higher IT budgets or continued presence of non-employees in the HRIS support organization.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUCCESS

Given all the things that often do go wrong with HRIS implementations, what can be done to ensure a smooth transition? There is no one solution, no grand secret for avoiding all the problems. As with most successful efforts, a successful HRIS implementation requires participation and commitment from all areas of the firm. The first area from which to gain commitment is the firm’s

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM executive management – the sponsors of the project. Given the level of change

such a project will create, there will be areas that resist the implementation. Support from executive management is invaluable for making sure new business processes are implemented effectively, for funding the project, and for ensuring appropriate staffing on the project team. Without this support, the payoff of the new HRIS will most likely be compromised, and will cause disruptions in employee service.

The executive managers should appoint a steering committee containing stakeholders from all areas affected by the HRIS (payroll, benefits, HR, IT, employee relations, etc). This group should contain members who can ensure that their line managers have the necessary directives and responsibilities for making the HRIS operational. The steering committee should take an active role in resolving broad issues and taking corrective actions if the project gets off course. One of the most important roles of the steering committee is that of “winning the HR managers.” The steering committee needs to ensure that managers fully understand the impact of a new HRIS system, that they are involved in the implementation, and that they support the project with a positive attitude towards change. This will not only set an example and guideline for each committee member’s department, but also prepare the ground for dealing with change-management issues. The steering committee should be responsible for appointing a project manager or project management team, as well as assuring that the project is appropriately staffed. The project manager should carry out team-building exercises for employees who will have to work together, since many people who will be assigned to the team may not have experience operating in such an environment. The HR analysts and the technical analysts must learn how to work together to solve issues neither group can solve alone – such as data conversion and interfacing. HR analysts will become more technical, and technical analysts will learn more about HR. The project

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM planning process needs to include not only the technical tasks but also the

processes and deadlines for change management tasks. The project manager can get an indication of these issues early in the project by comparing the goals of the different stakeholders involved and identifying all the inconsistencies.

For those HR analysts who are placed on the HRIS project team, their managers need to be fully aware of the analyst roles in the project. Managers need to review and possibly redefine the roles before, during and after the implementation. New job descriptions may need to be prepared and managers need to brief employees about any changes and additional responsibilities. Managers also must start back-filling the positions left by the analysts to ensure their departments still run smoothly and the analysts are not torn between working in their departments vs. working on the HRIS project.

Not every person will be able to make the transition to a new HRIS. Certain employees – payroll clerks, benefits analysts, IT support, and even managers -- may not want anything to do with the new HRIS and the processes that come with it. Instead of forcing them to make the transition, it is often wiser to place them outside the HRIS-related organization in roles appropriate for their skills. A transition plan needs to be constructed, and the steering committee must accept the fact that there will be some turnover.

Likewise, employees who have demonstrated their interest and ability to work with the new system and who have gained substantial knowledge of it should be offered an active system-support role together with a promotion. This should motivate other employees to follow their colleagues’ paths and will discourage internal system experts leaving the company for a higher-paying consulting job. Training – technical and non-technical – must be identified and performed to help people make the transition to working with the new HRIS and

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM the new organization model. The training needs to go beyond screen-prints and

mouse-clicking sequences to an explanation of how the new process fits into the organization, its relationship to other processes, and the execution steps in the process. Employees will have to know the why as well as the how of the process.

Formalized cross-functional support teams are essential to the steady operation of the HRIS. Firms can be successful by patching together an informal organization of HR analysts and IT analysts, but that loose-knit framework may not hold up to the continued demands of HRIS support. A formalized, co-located team of HR and IT analysts will be most effective.

Many firms also find it useful to preserve the steering committee past HRIS implementation and into the productive life of the HRIS. The steering committee is an excellent group to monitor the ongoing quality of HRIS operations, manage relationships with the HRIS vendor, and clear the path for later HRIS upgrades or enhancements.

It may take years for a firm to adjust to a new HRIS. As it does, most will see that their organizational structure will tend to reflect the HRIS structure. This is natural – managers for years have organized their departments to fit the way work is done, and the organizational culture often reflects that structure. When the way that work is done changes – and an HRIS will engender that change – it’s natural for the organization to change as well. Structural and cultural changes might be painful, and people will resist, but it’s hard to fight these natural tendencies. Instead of fighting them, managers need to be aware of what’s happening and proactively prepare for this new world.

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MBA-H4040                                        HUMAN RESOURCE   INFORMATION SYSTEM

SURVEY OF SOFTWARE PACKAGES FOR HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS INCLUDING ERP SOFTWARE SUCH AS SAP, ORACLE FINANCIALS AND RAMCO MARSHALL:

ERP Software Market will grow to USD 29 Billion in 2006

The ERP market continues to benefit from a widespread acceptance of the idea that businesses must have integrated information systems to be competitive. Management and IT organizations are realizing that the most effective way to satisfy this need is to purchase an ERP package that features broad functionality and pre-built integration.

The ERP software market came into being in the early 1990s when companies realized they had to integrate the databases and applications that drove their back offices, their manufacturing floors, and their distribution operations. ERP software expanded beyond manufacturers into healthcare, financial services, and other businesses because the same kinds of problems, assembling a product, delivering it, and charging for it, span all industries.

Just like companies need to consolidate their business operations into one place, the biggest ERP software vendors have been on a buying binge, and after all of the acquisitions, the installed bases of ERP software are increasingly controlled by a handful of players. Shepherd reckons that 66 percent of new ERP license sales in 2006 will done by SAP and Oracle. SAP will have 43 percent, with Oracle getting 23 percent. The next biggest player will be Sage Group, with five percent, followed by Microsoft with four percent and Infor (which now owns SSA Global) getting three percent.

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MBA-H4040                                        HUMAN RESOURCE   INFORMATION SYSTEM

As the ERP methodology has become more popular, software applications have emerged to help business managers implement ERP in business activities such as inventory control, order tracking, customer service, finance and human resources.

ERP Software Services

Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP may be defined as an information system that takes into account all related applications of an enterprise and integrates all departments and functions across a company in a single computer. There are a number of departments (finance, human resource, production, etc) which form the backbone of the company. Each of these departments has their own processes running. ERP integrates all the individual processes of all individual departments into a single system.

Synapse is a leading offshore software development company in India with a determined focus on ERP software. We develop customized ERP software tailor made according to the business needs of small, medium and large companies. At our state of art software development facility, we have the perfect blend of expertise and infrastructure that help us devise ERP software that are unique and confirms to the highest standards for quality.

Their in-depth industry experience gives us the ability to devise our software. In other words, their ERP software include a vast range of business analysis and efficiency tools, and are user friendly. They give special importance to navigation methods in their ERP software so that users can easily find what they are looking for. However, the "Enterprise Resource Planning" is the most common term that has been used widely.

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MBA-H4040                                        HUMAN RESOURCE   INFORMATION SYSTEM

Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) integrate (or attempt to integrate) all data and processes of an organization into a single unified system. A typical ERP system will use multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a single, unified database to store data for the various system modules. Examples of modules in an ERP which formerly would have been stand-alone applications include: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Financials, CRM, Human Resources, and Warehouse Management.

SAP

SAP, started in 1972 by five former IBM employees in Mannheim, Germany, states that it is the world's largest inter-enterprise software company and the world's fourth-largest independent software supplier, overall. The original SAP idea was to provide customers with the ability to interact with a common corporate database for a comprehensive range of applications. Gradually, the applications have been assembled and today many corporations, including IBM and Microsoft, are using SAP products to run their own businesses.

SAP applications, built around their latest R/3 system, provide the capability to manage financial, asset, and cost accounting, production operations and materials, personnel, plants, and archived documents. The R/3 system runs on a number of platforms including Windows 2000 and uses the client/server model. The latest version of R/3 includes a comprehensive Internet-enabled package.

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MBA-H4040                                        HUMAN RESOURCE   INFORMATION SYSTEM

SAP has recently recast its product offerings under a comprehensive Web interface, called mySAP.com, and added new e-business applications, including customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM).

In early 2001, SAP, a publicly traded company, had 21,500 employees in over 50 countries, and more than 30,000 installations. SAP is turning its attention to small- and-medium sized businesses. A recent R/3 version was provided for IBM's AS/400 platform

SAP focus on SMEs

Having sold its wares to most of the world's largest businesses, SAP now believes it has to tap into the small- and midsized-business market to keep growing. The small-business software market is estimated to be worth $10 billion a year worldwide, but SAP won't corner it without a fight from more consumer-oriented rivals like Microsoft and IBM. As if that competition weren't fierce enough, upstart companies like Salesforce.com, Sage Group plc and Upshot (acquired last year by SAP rival Siebel Systems) are grabbing a piece of the small-business market with products they hope will squeeze SAP out.

Oracle Financials

The Oracle E-Business Suite Financials family of applications automates and streamlines all your financial business processes, for enterprise-wide daily business intelligence that lets you make more informed decisions, improve operations, and reduce costs. A unified data model provides a single accurate view of all your financial information, including a 360-degree view of your

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MBA-H4040 HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM customers. And Oracle Financials, running on Oracle technology, gives you

industry-leading performance and scalability.

Seamless Integration, Complete Flexibility Oracle Financials is part of the Oracle E-Business Suite, integrating with other E-Business Suite applications including Oracle marketing and Oracle Supply Chain Management. Implement one or several application families—or implement the complete Oracle E-Business Suite for the fastest way to high-quality enterprise information.

Oracle eBusiness Suite

Oracle Applications is a collection of business ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) applications developed by Oracle Corporation, which utilize their core RDBM database technology. Sometimes referred to as Oracles "E-Business Suite", Oracle Applications (currently in the 11i series version), contains several product lines such as Oracle Financials, Oracle Logistics, Oracle HR, Oracle Sales, and others. Within each product, there are several modules, each to be separately licensed.

Key technologies incorporated into the applications are the Oracle database technologies, (RDBMS, PL/SQL, java, html, xml, engines), the "technology stach" (Oracle Forms Server, Reports Server, Apache Web Server, Discoverer, Jinitiator and (Sun Java).

Oracle developed the applications from a terminal based VT220 interface to a client server model in 10.7, only to drop this within the space of a year for the Network Computing Architecture (NCA). This was a revolutionary concept exploiting the internet/network and thin client computers.

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