Purpose and Use of HRMS

Every organization has a set of employees working together to achieve the same goals known as the â€Å"human resource† of the organization. These people in turn are handled by another set of employees known as the â€Å"human resource management†. As the fast growing environment and the technology is becoming an active part of the daily exchanges in the business environment, companies are forced to implement latest tools to compete in the fast paced world. One of the tools utilized by the managers to counter the activities of the human resource management is to utilize the human resource management systems or they may also be called human resource information systems. These systems make a direct link with the human resource management and the information technology, enhancing the competence of the organization. Moreover, their main purpose is to automate the activities handled by the human resource management which in turn boosts the efficiency of the department. FINDINGS: Focusing on the purpose and uses of the human resource information systems, let’s look at the reason why managers want to implement these systems in the first place. There comes a time when your business is generating large profits and there is an immense amount of information that needs to be stored; be it about your employees or about the organization itself, there has to be a database securing this information. To ensure the security of this information along with reduction in paper work, organization of data, reorganization of processes, maintenance of profits and the employees an organization may require a human resource management system. These systems serve various purposes and hence, incorporate a lot of modules. Their main focus is on the employee information. First to mention is the Payroll module which takes a note of the attendance of the employees after which it automatically calculates various taxes that they are supposed to pay and also the deductions if any. This helps to reduce all the paper work and calculations; the only manual work done over here is to enter the attendance of the employees. The Work Time module takes care of the time along with the work efforts that the employees need to put in. This information is eminent in order to keep the costs of the organization low and efficiency high. Thirdly, there is the Benefit Administration module which basically focuses on making the employees involved in the benefit programs. These programs generally include compensation, insurance, retirement benefits and so on and so forth. The next module is known as the Human Resource management module. It helps managers to evaluate and analyze employees through their data provided and also takes care of the training and development of the employees and what skills do they encompass. There have been great advancements in technology and such systems have also been developed which tap relevant applicants and put them in the right database for further evaluation by the managers. Another similar module which focuses only on training is known as the Training module. It keeps a check of the skills, education and what type of learning the employee has and suggests books, CDs and other various platforms which may enhance their learning. A cost check is also kept by them, telling what training may cause what expenditures. The next module, known as the Employee Self-Service module enables the employees to check records of their attendance and also question the records if ever a problem is faced, without having to go directly to the HR personnel. It helps them to perform transactions related to the human resource department and ask questions related to the department. Basically this facilitates the employees to solve their own matter. All of these modules combine together to help the organization as a whole. The human resource unit is benefitted as it improves their decision making capability and aids them in providing their best to their customers/clients. It integrates all information into an Enterprise Resource Planning system which further enhances the capabilities of the organization. It promotes organizational and operational efficiency along with making the managers more intricate about their decisions and strategic planning. These systems can be used to achieve the objectives of the organization as well as establish a competitive advantage. As a lot of time of the HR activities is spent on activities which are transactional in nature, these modules may aid the purpose of those activities and help simplify the work. As mentioned above these modules activate the payroll and benefit activities serving the use of such modules. Also do they take into account the Equal Employment Opportunities by looking at various employees and their qualifications. Thirdly there comes the benefit that the employees gain due to an easy access of all the data. The self service provider module for instance aids the employees to get greater access to the human resource information which in turn reduces HR costs. These systems help to analyze the whole organization, looking at the absenteeism analysis, skills inventories, internal job matching, affirmative action plan, applicant tracking, workforce utilization, training needs assessment and so and so forth all give a clear picture to the HR managers of what the organization needs and what it should do to acquire its targets. HRMS facilitate employees by making data more accessible as no human contact is required which takes up most of the time in understanding the query of the employee. Another important factor is that bulletin boards again enhance the information spread throughout the organization as it is accessible to employees globally. They provide a platform through which data can be transferred electronically between vendors and the employees making the whole process swift and smooth. RECOMMENDATIONS: Looking at various uses and the purpose of the Human Resource Management Systems a few recommendations are as follows: * HRMS systems should also introduce a transparent mechanism through which employees are evaluated against their peers, to get a clear picture as to where they stand in the organization. This may enhance their motivation to do better and increase their ranking to become a more valued asset to the organization as it is visible to everybody. This can be included in the self sufficient module where employees can check each other’s ranking. These systems can also incorporate reports of the competitors; about their pay packages and benefits given so as to compare there’s with them; making the organization never lag behind in satisfying their employees. It should always remain up to date with the current scenarios of their competitors and look at the factors in which they need to improve themselves to motivate employees as compared to their c ompetitors. This information may only be available for the use of the human resource department. Another piece of information which may be generated from these systems is to generate productivity reports of each employee. Notice how much effort and time one employee is putting in and what the results are. The employee with the highest productivity may then be rewarded and based as a bench mark to evaluate other performances. * Certain surveys can be occasionally conducted to check the morale of the employees and seek what is there that is missing from the organizations point to satisfy them. Through online responses these systems can generate reports and infer what common problems employees face. * Also HRMS can hold information as to what other types of jobs would the employees like to do. This can come in handy for situations when managers want to utilize job rotation, job enlargement or job enrichment. This can make them aware that in what other activities a person is good in and how could that be put to use. CONCLUSION: HRMS, along with increasing the efficiency of the organization, also standardize the processes making employees utilize easier and quicker mechanisms. Their use and purpose for an organization is mostly administrative and they fulfill it ideally. It provides an effective framework to utilize and administer the human capital of a company. By the help of IT professionals these systems are generated and transformed from initially being the main frame â€Å"client server† architectures. Overall, as viewed through various insights it can be concluded that much of the work that is done manually is taken over by these systems for better management of processes and a well integrated company is a result of implementing these systems. They allow managers to employ them in such a way that it becomes an â€Å"effortless† job for the managers to keep a track of various activities: focusing on recruitment, employee turnover, problems and so and so forth. A company making use of these systems in the right way has a great chance to prosper.