HRM textbook

CHAPTER 18 MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES IN SMALL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS 625
Improved Transaction Processing
The day-to-day minutiae of maintaining and updating employee records take
an enormous amount of time. One study found that 71% of HR employees time
was devoted to transactional tasks like checking leave balances, maintaining
address records, and monitoring employee benefits distributions. 80 HRIS packages
substitute powerful computerized processing for a wide range of the firm s HR
transactions.
Online Self-Processing
HR information systems also make it possible (or easier) to make the company s
employees part of the HRIS. For example, at Provident Bank, an HR compensation
system called Benelogic lets the bank s employees self-enroll in all their desired benefits
programs over the Internet at a secure site. It also support[s] employees quest for what
if information relating to, for example, the impact on their take-home pay of various
benefits options. 81 That s all work that HR employees would previously have had to do
for Provident s employees.
Improved Reporting Capability
Because the HRIS integrates numerous individual HR tasks (training records,
appraisals, employee personal data, and so on), installing an HRIS boosts HR s
reporting capabilities. For example, reports might be available (company-wide and
by department) for health care cost per employee, pay and benefits as a percent of
operating expense, cost per hire, report on training, volunteer turnover rates,
turnover costs, time to fill jobs, and return on human capital invested (in terms
of training and education fees, for instance).
HR System Integration
Because the HRIS s software components (record keeping, payroll, appraisal, and so
forth) are integrated, they enable the employer to reengineer its HR function. The
system PeopleSoft (now part of Oracle Corporation) installed in its own offices
provides an illustration. For example, its HRIS electronically routes salary increases,
transfers, and other e-forms through the organization to the proper managers for
approval. As one person signs off, it s routed to the next. If anyone forgets to process a
document, a smart agent issues reminders until the task is completed. Installing the
system in term enabled PeopleSoft to reorganize how the firm did these tasks.
HRIS Vendors
Many firms today offer HRIS packages. The Web site for the International Association
for Human Resource Information Management (www.ihrim.org/), for instance, lists
Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Business Information Technology, Inc., Human
Resource Microsystems, Lawson Software, Oracle Corporation, SAP America, Inc., and
about 25 other firms as HRIS vendors.
HR and Intranets
Employers increasingly use intranet-based HR information systems. For example,
LG&E Energy Corporation uses its intranet for benefits communication. Employees
can access the benefits homepage and (among other things) review the company s
401(k) plan investment options, get answers to frequently asked questions about the
company s medical and dental plans, and report changes in family status. Other uses for
human resource intranets include, for instance, automating job postings and applicant
tracking, setting up training registration, providing electronic pay stubs, publishing an
electronic employee handbook, and letting employees update their personal profiles
and access their accounts, such as 401(k) accounts.