This is a guest post from Asma Niaz. Asma is an Academic writer at Zoe Talent Solutions who loves to write stellar content on various educational topics, programs, trainings and courses. Zoe Talent Solutions is a premium teaching division, which offers highly professional HR courses to excel at your workplace.
Information technology plays a great role in this modern era of machines. It replaces humans with machines and efforts with electronic signals. Nowadays, informational technology systems are used by almost every business including leading entrepreneurs for the departments to run effectively and smoothly. Entrepreneurs have accredited the vitality of information technology tools in achieving business targets. It also helps hen performing operational tasks efficiently.
Human Resource Management consists of activities such as recruiting, training, developing and rewarding people in the organization. HRM must remain competitive by providing constant educational and training programs for the personal and professional development of the employees of the organization.
Like other departments, nowadays Information Technology is contributing a lot in the achievement of competitive objectives and fulfillment of personnel policies of the organization. IT enables the organization to improve its internal processes, core competencies, relevant markets and organizational structure as a whole.
It can contribute to fulfillment of business strategy in the case of HRM in order to push the business forward towards quality and to gain the competitive advantage in the market. Numerous researches declared that the HR goals, objectives and policies can be achieved moderately and efficiently by the implementation of HR information technology systems. Their utilization mainly in the HR department of the organization to attain defined key performance indicators can increase the efficiency of the business. The key to success is that you must be aware of the relevance of information system and objectives of the organization.
Information Technology may have greater impact on organizations that exist in a dynamic environment. Development in the technology is an important activity for the innovation process within the business. Technology may also include acquired knowledge. In the context, all activities may have some technical content, even if this is just acquired knowledge and results in greater technological advancement. This will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Resources. Hence, utilizing IT application for primary as well as secondary Human Resource tasks such as database management and advances recruitment system will increase the efficiency of the business. Innovation in Human Resource Management can manifest itself in a number of ways such as:
- To identify solutions quickly and flexibly during a negotiation
- To identify new ideas for products and services
- To identify new markets
One of the leading management theorists of her time, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, argued that the re-birth and success of business organizations would depend upon innovation (developing new products, introducing new services, and operating methods), entrepreneurship (taking business risks) and participative management (encouraging all employees to participate in making decisions about work).
Human Resource Management can have the following impacts of informational technology systems used in HR departments of the businesses:
Work as an assistant to HR and Line Managers
The primary function of HR department is to facilitate and manage the workforce needs and requirements of the organization. The chief objective of both HR and Line managers is successful operating of business. HR and line managers must be competent enough to review projection concerning forthcoming requirements to conclude whether to recruit new contenders with higher skills or to train current employees. Training and developing the line managers in IT tools will, therefore, prepare the line managers for a number of leadership tasks.
Enhancing management
HR information technology systems are capable of augmenting the efficiency and effectiveness of the management, which contribute in the success of the business. For example, currently, SuccessFactors Solutions has developed an HR IT tool of talent management for Hilton Worldwide, which had a worldwide operational capacity.
Organizations across the world are driving to improve organizational performance regardless of the size of the organization or the industry. Managers within the organization measure performance, perhaps by comparing it against a benchmark. They analyze and assess their findings and design their controls accordingly to advance the organizationâs performance. Customized HR IT tools are capable of providing facilitation to management regarding assurance that all departments are improving its procedures and controls and targeting its activities on better achieving the companyâs competitive differentiation through what the employees do and how they are doing it.
Effective recruiting
It is nearly impossible nowadays to achieve effectiveness in the recruitment process without Information technology HR tools. Companies are using online job portals that provide real time information to the intended users or candidates. This process is considered to be very effective as many people come to know of the offer and hence increases the probability of hiring efficient employees. These tools allow the employer to demonstrate all necessary information related to job, careers and personal development of each employee on portals online.
Currently, Envoy has developed an IT tool- Asana for recruiting where a potential candidateâs high priority value and tiny details of recruiting process is analyzed. The HR IT tools not only help hire the best potential but also retain it.
Data management and critical analysis
It is easy, efficient and effective to handle data using IT tools because it becomes paper-free. Monotonous work by the humans affects their efficiency in a negative way whereas IT systems allow doing these tasks efficiently. Organizational performance can lead to timely success of the business whether in a stable or an unstable environment. This is essential, as jobs that do not offer much variety in their performance and are of a highly repetitive nature are disliked by employees. It eventually results in intentional downsizing by the employees or decreased effectiveness. Employeeâs performance data can be critically analyzed by the HR IT tools more often if it’s online and becomes readily accessible to everyone.
For instance, Zenefits has recently developed an HR IT tool, which has made Passport completely paperless. The tool is further hierarchy sensitive and pings the manager for approval once it is submitted. Thus, it lets an individual get rid of the hassle of filling the paperwork. Thus by developing this HR IT tool, Zenefits has helped Passport radically simplify and manage its HR internal processes.
Inventory management tools and human resource management
Owners of the business are concerned with the profits made by the business and the entrepreneurs with business perceptiveness describe that the customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and leading edge contributes in the performance of an organization. Customer needs must be met by customization and by providing outstanding customer instances. For this purpose, organizations use HR IT tools to provide a universal set of products and diversify the business by providing improved products and services.
Cost-reduction and efficiency
Considerable benefit can be obtained as various reports can be made using IT tools.
Xero wanted to save its resources and make them easier to manage. Xero then implemented PlanSourceâs benefits system and ACA compliance technology with their payroll provider and now all their benefits are in one place and easy to access. This leads to cost reduction and efficient and work processes.
Johnson, Scholes and Whittington have rightly said, âPoor performance might be the result of an inappropriate configuration for the situation or inconsistency between structure, processes, and relationships.â Organizational performance can be increased by implementing management by objectives and using participative style of management through Human Resource Information Technology tools. The management of an organization is accountable to the owners of the business for the performance and the achievements of the organization. Managers can perform well and justify their authority only if they produce the desired economic results, for instance, the profits they have desired to achieve in a period of time.
Management often uses the Operationâs Research to maximize the profit, yield, utilization and the performance. The management of an organization usually creates a measurement system to set targets for change and measure organizational performance.
Customer service and human resource management
As organizational change is inevitable, critical success factors and key performance indicators should be revised, and relevant Human Resource IT tool must be devised for the better quality of work. Reliable and quality service to the customers depicts the organizational performance of the company. Value can come from providing a reliable service, so that the customers know that they will receive the service on time, at the promised time, to a good standard of performance. Doing good quality work and providing quality results will increase organizational performance.
Career development and human capital management
Informational technology tools for career development are responsible for the learning and management of personal development of entrepreneurs as well as development of the employees. Performance evaluation and career progression is interlinked with each other and can be a key motivating factor for the employees to work effectively and efficiently.
Performance measurement and reward systems in an organization establish views of priority i.e. what is important and what is not so important. Thus sound performance evaluation systems HR IT tool is crucial for the organization. The system must be reliable and logical. Rewards systems must be linked with performance management systems. Employees should be rewarded for performance based on the desired behavior and results as per the HR IT tool database.
Also, according to Vroom, one of the best management theorists of his time, instrumentality (rewards system) affects motivation for the increase in organizational performance. Managers must keep their promises that they have given of rewards for performance and try to make sure that the employees believe that the management will keep its promises. However, performance targets do not usually have to be financial targets. They can be in other forms such as recognition, promotion etc.
Human Resource IT tools have great organizational effects; serve as a pipeline connecting a personal policy and personal processes in all organization, facilitate personnel management in the company, provide important data for a strategic personal decision-making and enable a quick acquiring and analysis of information for HR assistants and reduce cost labors at performance of personal activities.
According to survey of 37 companies in Turkey applying IT in HRM, the employees expressed that their business environment satisfies them and they work efficiently. The survey confirms that these companies use HR IT tools and should contain all HR processes which will sustain all parts of HR it means from âRecruit to Retireâ functions within the company.
This article was updated 2/4/20
Better focus on serious issues through automation
The whole idea of the HRM industry is to serve and care for the talent. However, if there are dozens of mundane processes that demand the attention of an HR specialist, it will become much harder to focus on issues like employeesâ motivation, satisfaction, and well-being.
The advancement of technology led to the automation of many HRM-related processes, such as tracking a certain employeeâs data, sending emails or similar notifications, or even communicating with employees with the help of smart chatbots.
By having these and similar processes automated, HRM specialists get an opportunity to focus on more serious issues such as analyzing the level of employeesâ satisfaction with the company, new ways to increase their motivation or ways to promote the companyâs brand.
Even though these activities are extremely important, it often happens that HRM specialists simply do not have enough time for them, especially with endless paperwork or monotonous activities.
Better analysis of employee data
HRM specialists have access to huge data sets regarding employeesâ performance, personal data, corresponding bonuses, vacations, etc. In order to manage this data efficiently, HR managers need sophisticated tools that can process and analyze big data sets and extract useful insights from them.
The advancement of technology led to the creation of efficient HRM tools that significantly contribute to the data management process and empower specialists with new approaches towards the data.
Now, specialists only need to upload the data in the system and can receive a detailed report, while all the steps in between are handled by the machine.
This is a huge advantage that technology brings to the HRM. Now, employees can find the needed information in mere seconds without going through massive blocks and reports. This, in turn, contributes to saving time and effort and increases the work results.
More precise recruitment
One of the main concerns of any HRM specialist is where to find new talent for a company. And naturally, the more advanced technology gets, the easier it becomes for HR managers to search for suitable candidates.
First, there are now more options to choose from in terms of possible search areas. Before it was just a few job portals but now companies can search for their perfect candidates on multiple platforms:
- Stack Overflow: a platform for developers where it is easy to find an experienced developer within the required field
- Quora: this platform is becoming more and more popular for finding specialists for managerial positions as people there tend to share their own personal insights and knowledge
- Social media: can actually serve as a source of reliable and experienced professionals but thorough filtering is needed
- LinkedIn: a one-stop platform for easily finding a necessary professional in a certain industry
Above is just a short list of options. You can also search through freelancer marketplaces to hire a remote specialist.
Secondly, recruitment is becoming more precise thanks to the smart recruitment tools. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning helps recruiters immediately and accurately filter the resumes and get a suitable match for the open job posting. This is a great time saver, since resume screening is hard work that requires much time and effort.
Increased transparency
Transparency of processes is crucial for any company. In an ideal world, every department would be aware of the work that other departments do, so all the employees can work on one common goal, with deep understanding of otherâs tasks and responsibilities.
Unfortunately, for a long time, this was challenging due to the overwhelming amount of paperwork.
Now, HRM specialists have access to cloud storage and can manage the roles for access. In this way, practically any department can see what HR specialists do and what kind of tasks they have. It also allows for efficient collaboration and higher transparency.
As a result, everyone in the company stays on the same track, share one common vision and can access the needed information at any time and from any place.
Efficient onboarding
Onboarding is an important process that heavily impacts a newcomerâs perception of a company and people working in it. Thus, it is the HRMâs responsibility to optimize this process as much as possible and the use of innovative technologies can help a lot.
Chatbots, virtual tours, step-by-step guides, welcome letters and much more – all these things significantly facilitate the work of an HR specialist and make the onboarding process more interactive and memorable. Such an approach significantly saves time of both an employee and an HR specialist and also shows that the company cares about the employees and is ready to help them in every way.
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
