Human Resource Management Systems

Human Resource Management Systems, also called Human Resource modules, is a link between Human resource management and information technology. A Human resource management system provides a single, accurate view of all human resource activities including recruiting, performance management, training and development and also compensation. Human resource management systems reduce the workload of the human resource department as well as increasing the efficiency of the department by standardizing human resource process. Human resource department plays an important role in the smooth running of the company by tracking and analyzing the time keeping and work patterns of the workforce. There are a wide range of applications available to help human resource department in their tasks, making possible the automation of certain tasks and helping in the organization many other tasks.

The function of human resource management to large extent is administrative and common to all organizations. Most organizations have formalized selection, evaluation and payroll processes. The function consists of tracking innumerable data of each employee from personal histories, data, skills, capabilities, experiences to payroll records. Organizations began electronically automate many of these processes by introducing Human resource management systems to reduce the manual workload. Human resource executives depend on internal and external IT professionals to develop and maintain their Human resource management systems due to complexity in programming capabilities and limited technological resources.

The invention of client server Human resource management systems helped HR executives to take the responsibility and ownership of their systems. These client server HRMS are mainly developed on four principal areas of HR functionality. They are:

(1)Payroll: The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering information of an employee such as time and attendance, calculating various deductions and takes, generating periodic paychecks and employee tax report.

(2)Time and labor management module: It applies the technology and methods to gather and evaluate employee work and time information. This module is the key ingredient to establish organizational cost accounting capabilities.

(3)Benefits Administration module: This module permits human resource professionals to administrate easily and track employee participation in programs ranging from healthcare provider, insurance policy and pension plan to profit sharing or stock option plans.

(4)Human Resource Management module: It is the component covering all other aspects from application to retirement.

HRMS is a web- based system .Only a web browser (internet explorer, Netscape) is needed to access the system. Human Resource Management System serves three categories of users:

(1)Heavy user- This user's job includes entering, requesting and updating data. Transactions are submitted frequently.

(2)Light user- A light user submits requests of updates infrequently i.e. a few times a day.

(3)Self service user- This category of user requests and updates his or her own personal data or visits services such as job listings infrequently.

HRMS merges Human resource management as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field whereas the planning and programming of data processing systems evolved in to standardized routines and packages of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. As a whole these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different application in to one universal database which makes the software application both rigid and flexible.

Human Resource Management convert human resource information in to a digital format allowing that information to be added to the knowledge management systems of the organization. The result of this is that human resource data can be integrated in to larger Enterprise Resource Planning systems of the enterprise. When the entire recruit to retire process is automated the HR team can concentrate on designing the workforce with the strategic objectives of the organization.