HRIS Meaning, Features, Evolution, Objectives, Essentials, Components, Functions

HR software mechanizes the day to day general and administrative functions performed by the HR department, enhances overall employee productivity and performance. HRM applications can be used for updating and recording employee information, its usage can make the recruitment process more robust and effective.

HRMS facilitates applicant tracking, interviewing and confirmation process. Apart from this, the workforce administration strategies can be streamlined and it can generate various cost advantages to the organizations by streamlining various functional operations.

Human resource management system or HR Package (HR solutions) can be used in training processes, tracking employee performance and participation (performance management system), payroll management system and accounting, benefits and leaves.

In a nutshell, HRMS offers distinctive advantages to the organizations by automating various functions of HRM, thereby reducing the workload of the HR department and increasing the efficiency of the department by standardizing key HR processes.

Features

Employee integration

With an Employee Self-Service Portal connected to a cloud database, the necessary paperwork is removed from the integration equation. Employees can complete the integration process in 15 minutes with scanned documents, automated workflow, a pre-defined checklist, and easy-to-use digital forms.

Succession Planning

This special module allows companies to map the talent pipeline and rankings. Once key positions are identified, it is easy to create specific development plans for each employee.

Training

A training module can enable companies to offer their employees a mixed training experience to improve engagement, job satisfaction, and retention. They can also plan, monitor and measure the impact of their training program to ensure its effectiveness.

Recruitment

This function provides a complete candidate tracking system with a reporting engine to analyze recruitment trends and patterns. It can also be seamlessly integrated with employment portals, internal websites and recruitment services to reduce hiring chaos.

Talent management

Employees are the most valuable resources of any company. However, the talent management process the recruitment, retention, development, and retention of employees is a complex process. In addition, staff turnover costs are high. An HRIS with a proprietary talent management system will help the company take better care of its employees.

Time and absence management

The manual administration of timesheets, schedules and attendance recording of employees requires an enormous amount of personnel work. Tracking e-mails with vacation requests and tracking employee absences while outlining a workload change management schedule is a major challenge. In addition, exporting all attendance data to the accounting system is time-consuming and tedious.

Employee self-service

SMEs often have difficulty maintaining up-to-date data on their employees. Employee self-service (ESS) is an effective way to address this issue. By giving employees access to access and manage their personal information (profile, leave, benefits or pay), the time HR employees spend on day-to-day office work can be reduced.

Payroll

Many SMEs already use an independent system to manage their payroll processes. And nobody is eager to switch to an HRIS. In addition, it is questionable whether the accounting module of an HRIS is sufficiently efficient to treat the entire range of services as a separate accounting system.

Centralized database

With an automated database that collects, stores and displays up-to-date and consistent information on an organization’s people, policies and procedures, HR managers can finally access spreadsheets and paper files.

Evolution

Historical data reveals that the evolution of HRIS can be traced back in 1950’s and 1960’s when the first automated systems (payroll system) was introduced (Martinsons 1997). Kavanagh et al. (1990) shared their insights on historical evolution of HRIS by introducing the historical eras in human resource from the pre-World War II period to the 1980s and how the evolving HR practices had its effect on the HRIS.

With the increasing importance of IT applications in HR, the functioning of HR department has been undergoing a radical change from mere administrative and support functions to a more active participant in the strategic decisions of the organization.

During 1990’s, extensive studies were undertaken on the advantages of the introducing HRIS in the organization and its influence on the overall human resource strategies and business planning. Several theorists advocated the advantages of using HRIS and the organizations were considered to be more competitive if they had a well-equipped HRIS to support HR functions.

Objectives

• HR information system should provide information in the most cost-effective way. An information has benefit but it has cost too. Benefit from information is derived in terms of improved decision making and satisfaction of other requirements. Cost of information is in terms of its collection, processing, storing, and retrieval.
• Apart from decision making, HR information system should supply HR information which is required by statutory provisions or other agencies like industry associations, research organizations, etc. Besides, there may be ad hoc query from internal employees to know their current status like leave account, overtime worked, provident fund account, and so on.
• HR information system should provide information in such a manner that it helps in improving one or more decisions, that is, it must cause an appropriate decision to be made and a less appropriate decision to be rejected. Information has no value if the same decision could be made even without it. Thus, accurate, relevant, and timely information is needed.

Essentials

HR software should also have provisions for publishing the jobs, listing of job and should support the overall hiring process by producing quick user-friendly reports about various applicants and job descriptions, etc.

A robust HR software must include Salary related details as well and the software that supports this reduces half of the burden of the HR professionals. The features might vary but nowadays a lot of software are adding time tracking and attendance too into this feature.

The option of self service in the software saves a lot of time of the human resource personnel in big organizations where most of their time is spent on several HR tasks. With the help of this feature, the staff members may have an access to the software for updating their won details, without interrupting with the work of the HR employees.

Employee Database is the most important feature in any human resource software. This involves filling in all the employee details and relevant data. It can be revised or updated as per the requirements.

Any HR software should have a module on Performance Management. The software includes certain parameters and scoring system for evaluating the performance against certain criterions or parameters and shares the complete performance report. Good HRIS software also tracks training status and professional development; which may help the HR professionals in implementing strategic initiatives for boosting employee performance and developing their skills through T& D initiatives.

Administrative benefits are also availed from the software, as it generates reports across various levels and equally of individual employees.

HR software should have ease of accessibility which means it should be accessible through any gadgets. This provides flexibility in using the software at anytime and from any place.

Components

1. Databases:

• State of the art Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) can reduce the need to keep and maintain duplicate data.
• With the use of database systems, information appears only once, in an appropriate table; for e.g., a table on employment information, a table on benefits or on employee skills.

1. Screens:

• Each module in the HRIS will have its own screens for data entry and retrieval
• Screen for basic personnel data can be effectively organized employee-wise.

1. Modules:

• Most systems in the HRIS would have a number of modules that perform specific functions and produce regular reports.
• The most basic module, which virtually all systems have, contain employee information such as age, sex, date of appointment.
• And the like which can be accessed by other modules as needed.

1. Query Programs:

• More sophisticated HRISs do not just produce regular reports; they also can produce special reports, answer queries and play an important role in support of the decision-making process.

Functions

• Applicant and resume management.
• Reporting and analysis of employee information.
• Management of all employee information.
• Company related documents such as employee handbooks, emergency evacuation procedures and safety guidelines.
• Complete integration with payroll and other company financial software and accounting systems.
• Benefits administration including enrolment, status changes and personal information updating.