HUMAN RESOURCE CHALLENGES: TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS):The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a software or online solution for the
data entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the Human Resources, payroll,
management, and accounting functions within a business. Normally packaged as a data
base, hundreds of companies sell some form of HRIS and every HRIS has different
capabilities.
Typically, the better The Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) provide overall:
o Management of all employee information.
o Reporting and analysis of employee information.
o Company-related documents such as employee handbooks, emergency evacuation
procedures, and safety guidelines.
o Benefits administration including enrollment, status changes, and personal
information updating.
o Complete integration with payroll and other company financial software and
accounting systems.
o Applicant tracking and resume management.
The HRIS that most effectively serves companies tracks:
o attendance and PTO use,
o pay raises and history,
o pay grades and positions held,
o performance development plans,
o training received,
o disciplinary action received,
o personal employee information

o management and key employee succession plans,

o high potential employee identification, and
o Applicant tracking, interviewing, and selection.
An effective HRIS provides information on just about anything the company needs to
track and analyze about employees, former employees, and applicants. Your company
will need to select a Human Resources Information System and customize it to meet your
needs.
With an appropriate HRIS, Human Resources staff enables employees to do their own
benefits updates and address changes, thus freeing HR staff for more strategic functions.
Additionally, data necessary for employee management, knowledge development, career
growth and development, and equal treatment is facilitated. Finally, managers can access
the information they need to legally, ethically, and effectively support the success of their
reporting employees.

Internet portals:Customize and personalize each person's workspace through Internet portals. A manager
might track key indicators such as labor costs or competency levels by workgroup. He or
she might also view personal account information, pending emails, alerts that certain task
need to be addressed--say an approval for a promotion or a 360-degree review. A well
designed portal concrete a very compelling experience," says Alexis de Planque, program
director for e-business strategy at Meta Group in Stanford, Connecticut.
Shared service centers:Consolidating various functions in a single location and processing all transactions and
claims en masse, its possible to reduce--if not eliminate--much of the redundancy and
overlap that plagues the typical corporation. At
Allied Signal Corp. in Morristown, New Jersey, new technology, heavily dependent on the
Web, has ushered in a new model of corporate efficiency

Application Service Providers:Allow them to rent space on a remote system and let an outside company manage system
maintenance, security and upgrades. For example, US Internetworking Inc., based
in Annapolis, Maryland, supports ERP packages from PeopleSoft and Lawson, customer
relationship management (CRM) software from Siebel Systems, and e-commerce and
messaging applications from Microsoft.
Business intelligence:Business intelligence uses tools such as online analytical processing (OLAP), decision
support systems(DSS), executive information systems(EIS) and data mining.
Resource Analysis:HR department can analyze labor costs and productivity among various groups
of workers to better structure pay and benefits packages.
Personal digital assistants (PDAs):Making human resources data available through PDA, digital phones and interactive
pagers. SAP announced a partnership with Motorola that enables the Page Writer 2000
interactive pager to cull information from ERP software --including sales automation,
financial tracking, medical information gathering and transactional updates from an array
of industries.
Virtual meetings:Smart agents-pieces of software that monitor networks and computers-will automatically
sense bottlenecks and trends and adjustor change processes to optimize workflow.
Electronic travel &Expense reporting (T&E):-

Employees submit expense reports electronically, using an intranet and browser. When an
employee logs on to the system, it auto populates charges from their corporate American
Express card. They simply add out-of-pocket expenses and the system generates a report.
Telecommuting:Telecommuting is working from one's home or some other remote location outside
the company's office. It increases quality of life by enabling a meshing of personal and
professional lives. Telecommuting include productivity gains, reduced absenteeism,
reduced employee turnover costs, reduced real estate costs, and reduced relocation costs.
Talent management system:Lawson Talent Management Version 3.4, a system of record that captures all data related
to the names, titles, roles, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities of the people within
an organization. Six functional modules tapping that data handle recruiting, goal
management, performance management, compensation, learning and development, and
succession management.