Human resources (HR) are the key success factor of any organization operating in the 21st century. From the beginning to till today, they have been playing vital role to boost up organizations’ competitive capabilities for enjoying competitive advantage and superior profitability over rivals. As today’s business environment is more vulnerable due to intense market competition and higher employee empowerment. Organizations have been using information technology for achieving efficiency in human resource management. The study found that HRIS emerged in the low-cost era (1980-90) and the roles of HR professionals transformed from traditional administrative to more strategic roles during the high-tech era (from 1990 onward). In Bangladesh we have got into this concept in 2000 and onward where it was started as Personnel Management. With the advent of time we also acquired the knowledge and competency in HRIS system.
In Bangladesh still we believe, HRIS (Human Resources Information System) is only to manage attendance, leave, shift up to generating Payroll through a software application installed in a computer. Nevertheless a good nos. of companies are using Ms Excell to prepare Payroll and benefits. Few are showing their interest on ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) where HRM is integrated with core functional modules like planning, production, supply chain, sales, accounts, commercial etc.
A HRIS generally should provide the capability to do plan more effectively, control and manage HR costs; achieve improved efficiency and quality in HR decision making; and improve employee and managerial productivity and effectiveness.
Few most essential HR Functions as well Modules of a good HRIS Software usually found:
- HR plan & Cost Budget
- Recruitment Management
- Training-development & Employee skill tracking
- Performance Based Appraisal Management a
- Shift, Attendance & leave Management
- Compensation & Benefit Management
- Management intelligence & Analytics
- Disciplinary Management & Records
- Personal Asset Management
- Payroll & final settlement
In the contemporary scenario of modernization and globalization, organizations heavily rely upon technological advancement and innovation in the field of Information Technology. Advancements in the field of IT has opened up newer avenues for the organizations and provided a competitive advantage by using innovative and customized solutions. It has become an integral part of the organizational functioning and all the departments depend on integrated systems for organizing, storing, retrieving and reviewing data. Today Internet and automation has facilitated accessibility, reliability and accuracy of information; improved organizational effectiveness and provided a leadership edge by applying technology in various operations.
The field of Human Resource Management has been continuously evolving and the HR in today’s scenario is playing a strategic role than merely a support system & without HRIS a HR cannot play good strategic role.
1. Web based A to Z process
2. Paperless office
3. Best HR practices
4. Access control & Security
5. Policy & implementation
6. Budget control
7. Job analysis
8. Individual JD & KPI setting
9. Performance based appraisal
10. Employee self service
11. Auto notification
12. Employees disciplinary record
13. Dynamism & Customization
14. Online approvals
15. HR matrix & analytics
16. E-Learning
17. E- Recruitment
18. Attendance and Leave Management
19. Compensation & Final Settlement
20. User Friendly implementation
21. Database, Integration & data redundancy
22. Easy Implementation
23. Affordable Price
We may discuss one by one to make it understandable to our common knowledge for any HR professional irrespective of industry, type or sized of the organization.
1. Web based A to Z HR process:
“Accessible On The Go”! By now your HR system should be web or cloud based and accessible on the go, whether in a different country, different office, at an airport or train station, or simply when working from home. This is a non-negotiable system feature offers every processes ofHRoperation, payroll, benefits, training, recruiting and compliance issues.
If you make the HRIS real IPbasedthenyou can access the HRIS from anywhere through that you can materialize the concept of office from home or flexible work practice.
2. Paperless office:
“GO GREEN, KEEP THE EARTH CLEAN”! We’re going paperless!” seems to be the statement of our time.Going paperless sounds like a great idea on paper. But one of the great unfulfilled promises of technology is the paperless office.If we look back to our usage of paper in our daily life, the shocking scenario comes out that we just waste a huge number of rims. Can anyone just imagine, preparing this number of rims paper how many trees we have destroyed? But the great gain to going paperless is, collaborating, synchronizing, and sharing our documents, along with being able to search through them and easily file them without having to buy a new file cabinet, backing up all of our documents easily and automatically & it is only possible through HRIS.
3. Best HR Practice:
A good HRIS can offer best HR practices of the industry. It can accommodate and regulate the legal and local best practices while implemented. There are few software vendor who has USP ie. They are not selling software rather offer solution for “Industry Best Practices”. A HRIS application is a big tool for implementing well accepted good rules and regulation integrated with other HR function of the system.
4. Access control & Security:
ThroughHRISwe can control the access level wise & ensure the system security. For example If we do not want to sharesalary & other confidential information with particular group of employees (like below assistant Manager) we can do so through HRIS by this we can ensure the security & access control.
5. Policy implementation:
Where policy is absent in black & white, a good HRIS can be substitute of that. All the policies can be adopted and implemented in a HRIS system. Inan organization we have lots of policy but it is taught to monitor that all the things is going on in accordance with policy but if we set this policy at HRIS we can easily implement these policies. For example an organization has a policy like- employees who has completed six month will entitled for certain benefits & if we set this policy at HRIS, then HRIS always allow this certain benefit to those who meet this criteria.
6. HR Planning & Budget Control:
A right man power planning is an essential part of sustainability of any organization especially any labor intensive factories like RMG, Re-rolling or Jute mills. A good HRIS would help any Management to ensure right kind of skilled people at right quantity. It can ensure competency based recruitment through right head count of people with right skill within the overhead budget.
7. Job analysis
Before selecting an employee organization need to fixed the job specification & job description of that particular designation moreover organization need analyze whether the position is required for the organization or not. Analyzing the job, time & frequency through HRIS organization can assess whether the organization needs the position or not.
8. Individual JD & KPI setting:
Each individual has different KPI, target & achievement so it is tough job to do it manually. Once if we set the KPI & target on HRIS then it automatically recall the performance data from performance record table & do necessary calculation to show the performance.
9. Performance based appraisal Management
An organization’s success depends on its employee’s performance. Hence evaluation of the employee’s performance is essential. But unfortunately employees are either undervalued or overvalued just because of absence of the right tools. HRIS provide a right tools to evaluate the performance of the employees and ensure satisfied, motivated & productive employees. When a 180/360 degree appraisal is hard practice in a manual system, a good HRIS can help to accomplish at ease. Through HRIS organization can conduct online appraisal.
10. Employee self-service:
Since organization always want to utilize their employees time properly, so it would be time wasting for company if the employee went to HR & ask for few service like –pay slip, attendance information, tax statement, leave, loan , movement issue & so on. Through employee self-service employee get this service at their desk which saving their time & improve the quality of service.
Your system should enable employees to securely log-in, update and maintain their details on the system and they should be able to submit absences, holiday requests, and self-appraisal data directly to the system. Modern HR software should be automating these time consuming manual processes.
11. Auto notification:
In an organization Top management are very busy with their regular work so sometime they forget the interview schedule or forget to approve their subordinate leave & many other small but important issue. HRIS allow the organization to remind the top management regarding these issue through auto notification service (SMS & Email) not only this it also allow to wish employee on their birthday occasion & send the interview notification to the potential candidates
12. Employee’s disciplinary record
Disciplining employees is a necessary matter in every organization, though an unpleasant one. Effective discipline can help to correct employee behavioral issues and can increase productivity. Effective discipline will also help to protect company against wrongful dismiss. Through HRIS we can maintain an effective disciplinary process & can able to preserve the disciplinary record which is necessary for appraisal & for future disciplinary procedure.
13. Dynamism & Customizability:
A Good HRIS should be dynamic & customizable in all respect whether it is accommodating a new process or issuing of letter or delivering email automatically. HR department needs to accommodate new functions, rules, policies very frequently. HR also needs to generate thousands of letters like – offer letter, appointment letter, increment letter, promotion letter, transfer letter, disciplinary related letter, long absent letter & many other type. A good HRIS can eliminate many manual jobs of many man hour by few clicks only.
14. Online approvals:
In every organization it is tough task to have the top management approval on different issues like recruitment, increment, leave & so on, since they are busy with the foreign meeting & their routine activates. So online approval process of the HRIS enables them to give the approval at wherever & whenever they want it.
15. HR matrix & researches:
Top management always want to see all the index or matrix at a glance. In HR matrix we find total recurrent status & its cost, total separation status & its cost, total disciplinary record, monthly late, present, absenteeism, turnover, orientation record & so on. After seeing this management decide where further initiative should be taken to control or improve this. Though HRIS we can maintain this HR matrix
Your system should be taking all the manual effort out of reporting and should have a library of template based reports (along with the ability to build custom reports) on attendance, performance, joiners, leavers, turnover etc… and do graphical representations. If your system has anything but a powerful, empowering and easy to use reporting system, then look elsewhere.
16. E-Learning & Skill tracking
Often using the outcomes of the performance management process as a starting point, this module may produce individual training plans for staff, deal with bookings (for training courses and other learning options), and manage the follow-on evaluation and feedback process, while tracking training expenditure against budget allocations. A good HRIS can track the skill inventory of every individuals and take advantages of that information.
Common learning and development module features include:
· E-Learning portal
· Training recommendations linked to role, skillset, and career aspirations
· Individual user learning plans
· Setting and managing goals
· Links to competency framework
· Streamlined learning administration (reducing the HR overhead)
17. E-Recruitment Management
E-recruitment can allow any HRM to be efficient in sourcing right talent. Through a good HRIS an organization can do following series of task for a right recruitment –
· Manpower Budget
· Manpower Requisition
· Manpower Requisition Approval
· Job Advertisement
· On Line Application
· Notify potential candidate through Mail & SMS
· Notify Board member through Mail & SMS
· Online exam and screening
· Interview Appraisal
· Auto Generated offer & Appointment Letter
18. Attendance & leave Management
Organization can maintain shift wise attendance through HRIS & have the wide range of parameter for attendance reporting such as – late report, date wise late report, department wise late report, early out, absence report, department wise absent report. Through HRIS organization also able to maintain the online leave in such way- First employee apply for leave on his entry screen assigning his responsibility to someone (Except sick leave) whenever assign person agree to take the responsibility by clicking the agree button then it goes to his HOD for recommendation & when HOD agree it goes to HR for approval .
19. Compensation Management & Final Settlement
Through an integrated HRIS an organization can able to generate auto calculated payroll, bonuses, incentives etc even at the separation it can deliver a final settlement bill where it includes due salary, due OT, current salary current OT, service benefit, earn leave & other form of income as an income & deduct all the loans or liabilities.
Through HRIS organization can do following task of compensation-
· Auto segregation Pay package
· Bonus & incentive
· Auto loan deduction
· OT( Compliance & Non-Compliance )
· Increment history
· Uploading excel File
· Auto generate letter(Increment )
· Final settlement
20. User Friendly implementation:
There has been such a rush to market in the HR software space that user friendliness may have been sacrificed to get the system out of the door in some HR systems. If your system is not easy to use, you simply won’t get the return on investment from the system and you should not settle for an awkward to use system. There are plenty of intuitive, user friendly systems out there and if yours is not user friendly, find one that is.
21. Database Integration to Avoid Human Error & Data Redundancy:
A strong database (like Oracle 10g or 11g) & integrated HRIS can offer the Management Intelligence & Analytics to take strategic decision for any progressive business to be competitive by being free from Human Error and redundancy of data input. Just doing Payroll is no way considered as HRIS where a modern HRIS offers lot many HR activities in the HR Application or in the software.
22. Easy Implementation of a HRIS:
Any success of implantation of HRIS must demand an easy and user friendly system. The respective Management involvement plays a vital role to install and implement a result driven HRIS application. It is a pretty long and tiresome process of implementation where every users motivation is highly anticipated. A HRIS implementation may take few months to few years where customization is a continuous process to remain competitive in the industry.
23. Affordable Cost:
Finally it arises the ultimate question -which is the software where we can get this sort of solution at what price. There are many renowned HRIS around the world but most of them require huge investment and high level of user efficiency. Some of them are working as a part or module of giant ERP solution software like SAP HANA HCM/ SeccuessFactor, Oracle PeopleSoft, Microsoft Dynamics 365, NetSuit, Infor CloudSuiteetc. which may cost millions of dollar. Many of them are free standalone HR system like Sentrifugo, OragngeHRM, BarazaHCM, OpenHRMS, iHRMS– which are also open source and customizable. There are few locally developed HRIS like- GreenHR, Kormee, Kandaree, BaseIT, Shorol, Jibika etc. is better suits with local laws, cultures and practices where affordable price is a big factor.
In most cases local companies are putting their effort & time to develop in house HRIS but without having right professional consultation & right programmer it goes in vein. Experts advice-while searching a good HRIS try to get an integrated system which has proven track record with all these features. Only attendance and payroll process does not name any application as HRIS- Human Resources Information System. It should have a complete process flow of HRM functions.
Written by –
Md. Kamruzzaman -Sabuj
BA(Hons) MA(Eng) MBA, LLB, PGD-HRM, DSC, DISM, ITP
Director -HCM, Compliance & Admin, Windy Group
Contact: mksabuj@yahoo.com| 01715750440
Fb: sabuj.kamruzzaman | Skype: mksabuj