Imagine for a moment that you have been parachuted into a situation where an HR application has been installed (on server, hosted, whatever you fancy) but although data is meticulously being recorded on the system, there is no engagement between the software and the organisational environment it is supposed to support.
Unlikely? Well no, not as far-fetched as you might have thought. There are quite a few installations where the usage of the system capability is so minimal it might as well not be there!
There are two really important points of entry for the HR application into the organisation: Reporting and Triggered Actions (this latter can evolve into Workflow).
Reporting is the life blood of an enterprise – although it’s easy to overdose on it! – and a useful suite of reports coming from HR would include:
Headcount
Staff Turnover
Staff Stability
Equal Opportunities
Departmental Salaries
Costed Absence by Department
Objectives Met and Outstanding – Individually, and within Department
Training Needs Met and Outstanding – Individually, and within Department
Remember, the Reports are only as good as the quality of the information within them. All too often, reporting from the HR department is found to be strewn with errors or outdated entries, and once the integrity is questioned, it is very difficult to get confidence restored in the output.
HR departments will claim that they are under pressure, and this is understood, but Reports are a primary product of HR and data cannot be dealt with in a haphazard or sloppy fashion. Quality of data must be a paramount consideration.
Triggered Actions are not only an invaluable “admin-killer” for HR, but they are very useful in helping busy managers to ensure that nothing falls down between the cracks.
Typical support for managers will come with the following reminders:
Probation periods
AppraisalsUnfulfilled
Training Needs
Service Entitlements
Holiday conflicts
Sickness Absence trends
Company Property – Laptops, Mobile Telephones, Security Cards – issue on joining, return on leaving.
Did we say “admin-killer” for HR? Not only can you set up email alerts within your organisation, but you can generate messages to reach outside, for instance Starters and Leavers to the following providers
Life Assurance scheme
Permanent Health Insurance scheme
Medical Insurance
Pension
Company Vehicles
Sports Clubs.
As you can see, from scratch you will quickly be in a position to extract benefit from your HR software!
Is Your HR Department Ready For The Economic Upturn?
The time to prepare for a recovery is just before the recession starts to bottom out Many HR departments are being asked to cope with the ongoing effects of the recession whilst being asked to get ready for a recovery Make the most of the downturn to fine tune your operation
The HRIS Implementation Project
This is a rather more detailed look at the HRIS implementation. This has been done with the intention of giving a sense of scope and scale to the professional contemplating the acquisition and implementation of a new or replacement HRIS, and is not exhaustive, nor constitutes the ultimate Project Plan.
Is Your HR Department Pulling Its Weight?
We all know what good HR practice should mean – higher retention, productivity and business performance. The problem is, with costs coming under a higher scrutiny, how can you really demonstrate your worth?
