Human resource management system

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A human resources management system (HRMS) or human resources information
system (HRIS) or human capital management (HCM) is a form of human
resources (HR) software that combines a number of systems and processes to ensure
the easy management of human resources, business processes and data. Human
resources software is used by businesses to combine a number of necessary HR
functions, such as storing employee data, managing payroll, recruitment, benefits
administration, time and attendance, employee performance management, and tracking
competency and training records.
A human resources management system ensures everyday human resources
processes are manageable and easy to access. It merges human resources as a
discipline and, in particular, its basic HR activities and processes with the information
technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into
standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin from software that integrates
information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its
financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important
distinction to the individually and proprietarily developed predecessors, which makes
this software application both rigid and flexible.
Human resource information systems provide a means of acquiring, storing, analyzing
and distributing information to various stakeholders. [1] HRIS enable improvement in
traditional processes and enhance strategic decision-making. [citation needed][2] The wave of
technological advancement has revolutionized each and every space of life today, and
this includes HR. Early systems were narrow in scope, typically focused on a single
task, such as improving the payroll process or tracking employees' work hours. Today's
systems cover the full spectrum of tasks associated with human resources departments,
including tracking and improving process efficiency [3], managing organizational
hierarchy, tracking absence and annual leave, simplifying financial transactions, and
providing reports on people data. In short, as the role of human resources departments
expanded in complexity, HR technology systems evolved to fit these needs.

Contents

 1History
 2Functions
 3See also
 4References
 5Further reading

History[edit]
The trend of automating payroll and workforce management processes began during
the 1970s. Due to limited technology and mainframe computers, companies were still
relying on manual entry to conduct employee evaluation and to digitize reporting. [citation needed]
The first enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that integrated human resources
functions was SAP R/2 (later to be replaced by R/3 and S/4hana), introduced in 1979.
This system gave users the possibility to combine corporate data in real time and
regulate processes from a single mainframe environment. Many of today's popular HR
systems still offer considerable ERP and payroll functionality.
The first completely HR-centered client-server system for the enterprise market
was PeopleSoft, released in 1987 and later bought by Oracle in 2005. Hosted and
updated by clients, PeopleSoft overtook the mainframe environment concept in
popularity. Oracle has also developed multiple similar BPM systems to automate
corporate operations.[citation needed]
Beginning in the late 1990s, HR vendors started offering cloud-hosted HR services to
make this technology more accessible to small and remote teams. Instead of a client-
server, companies began using online accounts on web-based portals to access their
employees' performance. Mobile applications have also become more common.
HRIS and HRMS technologies have allowed HR professionals to shy away from their
traditional administrative work and have inserted them as strategic assets to the
company. For example, these roles include employee development, as well as
analyzing the workforce to target talent-rich areas.

Functions[edit]
The function of human resources departments is administrative and common to all
organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll
processes. Management of "human capital" has progressed to an imperative and
complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data, which
traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments, and
salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations
began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing specialized
human resource management systems.
HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an
integrated HRMS. Before client–server architectures evolved in the late 1980s, many
HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle
large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment
necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally developed HRMS
were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of
client-server, application service provider, and software as a service (SaaS) or human
resource management systems enabled higher administrative control of such systems.
Currently, human resource management systems tend to encompass:

1. Retaining staff
2. Hiring
 3. Onboarding & Offboarding
4. Administration
5. Managing payroll
6. Tracking and Managing employee benefits
7. HR planning
8. Recruiting/Learning management
9. Performance management and appraisals
10. Employee self-service
11. Scheduling and rota management
12. Absence management
13. Leave management
14. Reporting and analytics
15. Employee reassignment
16. Grievance handling by following precedents
The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time
and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay
cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from human resources and
timekeeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing
capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as
integrate with existing financial management systems.
The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts.
The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor
distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics
are the primary functions.
The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer
and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass
insurance, compensation, profit sharing, and retirement.
The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from
application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data,
selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation
planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability
to "read" applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify
employers and provide position management and position control. Human resource
management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation,
and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used
computer-based information systems to:

 produce paychecks and payroll reports;

 maintain personnel records;
 pursue talent management.
Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR
departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an
organization. Talent management systems, or recruitment modules,[4] offer an integrated
hiring solution for HRMS which typically encompass:

 analyzing personnel usage within an organization;

 identifying potential applicants;
 recruiting through company-facing listings;
 recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both
recruiters and applicants;
 analytics within the hiring process (time to hire, source of hire, turnover);
 compliance management to ensure job ads and candidate onboarding follows
government regulations.
The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-
posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a
competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the development of a
dedicated applicant tracking system (ATS) module.
The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track
employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a "learning
management system" (LMS) if a standalone product, allows HR to track education,
qualifications, and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses,
books, CDs, web-based learning or materials are available to develop which skills.
Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training
resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMSs
allow managers to approve training, budgets, and calendars alongside performance
management and appraisal metrics.
The employee self-service module allows employees to query HR related data and
perform some HR transactions over the system. Employees may query their attendance
record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel. The module
also lets supervisors approve O.T. requests from their subordinates through the system
without overloading the task on HR department.
Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human
resource management information systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring,
job placement, performance appraisals, employee benefit analysis, health, safety, and
security, while others integrate an outsourced applicant tracking system that
encompasses a subset of the above.
The analytics module enables organizations to extend the value of an HRMS
implementation by extracting HR related data for use with other business intelligence
platforms. For example, organizations combine HR metrics with other business data to
identify trends and anomalies in headcount in order to better predict the impact of
employee turnover on future output.
There are now many types of HRMS or HRIS, some of which are typically local-
machine-based software packages; the other main type is an online cloud-based
system that can be accessed via a web browser.
The staff training module enables organizations the ability to enter, track and manage
employee and staff training. Each type of activity can be recorded together with the
additional data. The performance of each employee or staff member is then stored and
can be accessed via the Analytics module.
Employee re-assign module is a recent additional functionality of HRMS. This module
has the functions of transfer, promotion, pay revision, re-designation, deputation,
confirmation, pay mode change and letter form.