History of Human Resource Management

How long has Human Resource Management or HRM been around? We need to be specific about which of these three aspects of the question do we want to know?

How long has the term HRM been used? How long have functions typically covered by HRM today been studied and managed? How long has there been a dedicated unit, department or system taking care of HRM functions?

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Definition of HRM

Let's define HRM first. Basically HRM is concerned with the policies, practices and systems that influence employees' workplace behaviour, attitudes and performance. HRM is a process of managing human talents/skills to achieve the organisation's objectives. Central to HRM is the core aim of all management, to increase predictability and achieve better control of events related to people in the organisation.

Examples of processes typically handled by HRM are

Compensation and benefits Industrial relations Performance and appraisal Safety, security and occupational health management Staffing - Job analysis, recruitment, selection and retention

How long has the term HRM been used?

The term HRM evolved in USA out of the earlier Personnel Management or PM in the early 1960s. Merriam-Webster dictionary claims that the first recorded use of the term Human Resource is from 1961. By the mid 1980s the term HRM or Human Resource Management started appearing and quickly replaced Personnel Management.

How long have functions typically covered by HRM today been studied and managed?

The functions typically covered by HRM today, have a much longer history than is widely believed. Many writers claim that the term Performance Management or PM in organisations was created, first in the USA to deal with the paperwork needed to hire employees and handle the payroll.

Though they did not use modern terms, there are many recorded instances of current HRM functions being named in ancient texts.

The ancient Code of Hammurabi from Babylon in 1750 BC sets minimum wages, obligations for expert craftsmen to transfer their skills to apprentices, quality standards for builders, and healthcare obligations for owners of slaves. The Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder in the first century AD, warned about the health hazards of handling zinc and sulphur and prescribed the use of protective masks made from animal bladder. In 1556, the German scientist Georgious Agricola in his De Re Metallica describes occupational hazards and methods for improving occupational health.

But the modern usage comes from USA especially after WWII, when Personnel Management practitioners wanted to different PM from other managerial functions.

How long has there been a dedicated unit, department or system taking care of HRM functions?

The first recorded modern dedication of a separate unit or department for HRM is from 1901 in USA. The National Cash Register Co. faced a disruptive strike yet won the battle with the unions. After this, the president of the company, John H. Patterson, organized a personnel department dedicated to improving worker relations by handling employee grievances, discharges, safety and other employee issues.

Though they were not called such, people dedicated to HRM functions started appearing in the USA in the 1920s when mass production started spreading. Personnel administrators were often called welfare secretaries in the 1920s. Much of the modern theoretical work on HRM began around this period. The studies conducted by George Elton Mayo (1880-1949), especially the Hawthorne Studies is credited as the foundation of the Human Relations Movement in management.

Only after WWII can we find specially designated units taking care of typical HRM functions. In many Western countries, collective bargaining defined industrial relations and HRM gained in importance.

From the 1960s, the rise of Japan as a commercial power also required efficient HR systems being adopted by the Japanese corporations.

Globally, the profile of HRM started becoming widely recognised by the 1980s. Universities and Business Schools started teaching different aspects of HRM in the 1990s. Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations was the first business school in the world for college-level study in HRM.

In the first decade of 2000, there was a strong movement to see HR as a strategic partner to business rather than as a support function system. The most recent areas where HR has become involved are corporate social responsibility and sustainable growth as well as environmental concerns.

History of Human Resource Management

Why Implement a Human Resource Information Software (HRIS) System?

Running a business will generate a lot of information, both related to the business and related to your employees. You need to be able to harness and secure this information in a system for a couple of different reasons. First, you don't want confidential information about your organization or employees getting into the wrong hands. Additionally, a human resource information software (HRIS) system is a wise choice because it will reduce the amount of paper generated, organize your data, streamline processes, and help your company's bottom line.

So, why is HR information important? Your employees are your biggest asset-having a system in which to contain their private personnel information, safely and securely is critical. You have worked hard to become an employer of choice-don't ruin that credibility by mishandling confidential information.

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Making a Business Case for the HRIS System
The HRIS system is an investment to an organization. An HRIS system is more than just a storage and organizational tool to contain confidential information about your organization's employees. The HRIS system needs to be viewed from a financial perspective. For instance, an HR manager or department usually has to justify their expenditures and if HR's functions are not tracked properly, you could be losing money. These include:

o Providing benefits for ineligible employees or their dependents.
o Cost of training new employees.
o Documenting why people leave the organization because the cost of terminations is high, and if you can track why people leave, then changes can ensue.
o Not properly recording vacation or sick leave taken. Time and attendance creates a loss of productivity, so having a way to track it to ensure there is not abuse of the system or employees taking time they don't have will help to reduce the risk of losing productivity and, ultimately, revenue.
o Reduce potential legal expenses in an employee dispute. Accurate and complete records can help build your case or diffuse a situation before it even gets in the courts.

Other justifications for a HRIS system can include savings in paper and supply costs and savings in time spent on human resource tasks. By implementing an effective HRIS system, the organization is well on their way to increasing confidentiality of their employees' information.

Why Implement a Human Resource Information Software (HRIS) System?

Different Areas of Human Resource Management

Every company has its own human resource management department. However, this department is typically divided into four different sections so that focus can be given to each aspect equally. These four different areas of the department include the employment, the training and the development, the compensation and the benefits as well as the relations of the employee. All these four different areas hold importance in some ways or the other and one cannot run without the other. In fact, the success of the company depends on the proper organization and management of these areas effectively.

These four different areas of the human resource management have specific functions to perform. As the name indicates, the employment department is in charge of hiring people for the company as and when required. This area looks into the fact that the right candidate is selected at the right time. On the other hand, the next area- training and development starts functioning after the recruitment of the candidates have been done. There are qualified professionals who are in charge of imparting training and educations to the fresher and thereby help in essential development of the skill required for the company.

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As far as the compensation and the benefit area of the human resource management is concerned, the main task is to look into the fact that all the employees are getting the right emoluments and benefits as promised to them by their company. Last but not the least, the employee relations area looks into the fact that a good and healthy relation is maintained between the employer and the employee as well as between the co-employees. This helps in effective management and the functioning of the company. This in turn leads to the success and profit of the organization in general.

Different Areas of Human Resource Management

Human Resources Management

Human Resources Management (HRM) is an integral part of almost all large organizations. It is a department that looks into the recruitment, welfare, education and engagement of employees in accordance with the company policies. In other words one can safely state that human capital management is the organizational function that deals with various topics related to people in an organization such as performance management, hiring, wellness, compensation, organization development, safety, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.

Here are few key activities of performed by a Human Resources Management Department in an organization:

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- Organizational Design
- Performance Management and Appraisal
- Staffing
- Reward Systems, Benefits and Compliance
- Employee and Organizational Development

There are various activities that are part of human capital management function and these activities encompass the complete organizational set up. As you may note in various organizations 'Line Managers', spend a considerable amount of time to manage a number of human resource activities, which include disciplining, engaging, hiring, evaluating, and scheduling employees.

Human resource management team or department in an organization assist the organization with all activities related to staffing and maintaining an effective and agile workforce. Some of the most important HRM responsibilities include training and development, team-building, job analysis, recruiting, performance management and appraisal, compensation, worker health and safety issues, as well as identifying or developing critical methods for selecting staff. Human capital Department provides the tools, data and processes that are used by Line Managers in their human capital management component of their job.

The function of HR department in an organization is not limited to hiring and managing a large work force but research has shown that progressive and highly effective Human capital Management Practices have a major impact on corporate bottom-line and middle-line performance. Researchers have documented the positive impact of good HR practices on productivity; product and service quality; financial performance; and cost control. Researchers have documented the positive impact of good HR practices on productivity; product and service quality; financial performance; and cost control.

Those who consider Human Resources department as cost centre forget the vital role played by HR department in human capital management. Managing a talented work force, keeping it gainfully employed and engaged is an effective way in ensuring quality output from employees of an organization. Besides, human resources management provides competitive advantage to an organization. It refers to the ability of an organization to formulate strategies that place it at favorable position relative to other companies in the industry.

Human Resources Management

Human Resources - The Duties and Responsibilities of an HR Department

What exactly does your Human Resources Department do? This is a difficult question to answer, even for the owner of the company. Human Resources is one area that tends to evolve on its own, and everyone in that department is responsible for their own individual piece of that evolution. Some are employee oriented and work on programs and solutions that help the worker. Others are numbers crunchers, those who recommend cut-backs on personnel when it appears that a company might be on the verge of taking a loss. In some companies the terminations would be the responsibility of HR, or they could be a task reserved for management or ownership.

Regardless of the unique make-up of individual human resource departments, all of them have a few things in common. They are all responsible for recruiting and hiring and each needs to have their own applicant tracking system. That could be automated recruitment tracking software or manila file folders. If you're still using the latter you might want to upgrade. Paper filing systems are not only obsolete - they're inefficient. Once a folder is filed in the wrong spot it's more often than not never discovered. Quality job applicants fall through the cracks like that all the time.

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Most human resource departments also need to keep track of current regulations and required hiring quotas. There are compliance issues when it comes to hiring and employment. Foremost among these are EEOC and OFCCP, the federal guidelines that demand equal opportunity employment and enforce affirmative action. If you're modernizing and installing a new job applicant tracking system, you might want to look into web based recruiting software that downloads regular updates in these areas when the laws change. Like paper filing systems, keeping track of these things without automation is an obsolete and dangerous practice.

Human Resource departments are also typically responsible for benefits administration. There are statutes in place on federal, state, and county levels that mandate these benefits in certain areas. Health care is one of the big ones, and perhaps the most publicized in the past few years, but there are others. Regulations and liability issues on retirement funds, direct deposit, and stock awards can get pretty complex. It's up to the HR department to translate all those wordy rules and explain them to the average employee. Some companies even keep a lawyer or paralegal in HR specifically for that purpose. The legal presence is not a requirement, but it does help.

What else do human resources departments do? When new companies open and start to build, they put a lot of responsibility in the hands of human resources. As time goes by, those responsibilities are sometimes removed and passed on to other departments, but more often than not they stay with HR, making it one of the more complex and important departments in your company. Do you know what they do? If you're a business owner or site manager and you don't know, you might want to go down there and find out. That knowledge might come in handy at some point.

Human Resources - The Duties and Responsibilities of an HR Department

Recruitment And Selection Process

The most important job of a Human Resources person is the selection and hiring/recruitment of employees. It cannot be faulted that the success of any firm depends on the quality of human resources or talents in that firm. This is why it is very important for any human resources expert to be very sure of hiring the right staff without compromising anything from the onset. The questions behind your mind while sourcing for talents should be can these staff deliver? What are their strengths? Can they fit into the corporate goal and objectives of the firm? What are their competencies? Can they be trained? Can they pursue the vision of the firm? What values are they bringing into the organization? Are they coming to use our firm as a learning ground and move on with their career somewhere else? Can we count on them to fit into the succession plan of the company? Etc. Answers to these questions and more are why selection and recruitment seems to be an onerous task. It cannot be argued that most applicants fake their qualifications and experiences just to impress interviewers and get the job. It is very important then for interviewers to look beyond the physical to determine how suitable an applicant is. This brings us to the issue of the competency analysis of those to be interviewed. Competency test is always one of the important selection strategies. This is because it goes beyond what eyes can see. It checks the behaviours of the applicants as well as their characteristics, which influences and drives their performance on the job. A competency can then be seen as the underlying characteristics of a person which enables him to deliver or not deliver superior performances in a given job, role or situation.

The competency of a candidate can be seen in his Skills, educational qualifications, Knowledge, abilities, achievements, strengths, social roles, self image, Traits and Motives. Where the candidate's skills, educational qualifications, knowledge, abilities, achievements, strengths and weaknesses can be easily identified, his Traits and Motives are always hidden in the core of the candidate. The Motive and Traits of different candidates are always what separates the chaff from the juice. This then means that interviewers should pay more attention during selection exercises in the motives and traits of candidates more than their qualifications and experiences.

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When there is an opening in a firm, it is always very important for the Human resources department to check inwardly if there is any existing staff that can fit perfectly into that position. If none, the next step should be to look outwardly. While placing the advert, it is also very important for the HR person to know the job requirements for that position, the educational qualification needed, number of years of experiences on the job, the job description, the gender of the person needed etc. These will help in knowing the content of the advert placement.

It is also always very important for the advert to specify that each candidate should have his profile and career summary in the first page of the resume. This will make the short-listing job simple.

Bearing all these in mind, the selection and recruitment process will flow as easy as ABC. For a guide, a typical selection and recruitment process should follow the sequence below:

Be aware that there is a vacancy / opening in your organization.
Analyze the position/s requirements. Learn everything about the job, the processes, performance; the skills needed, the traits, the competencies, salary range etc.
Vacancy announcement. Place the vacancy in your website as well as in one or two dailies as the case may be. Be sure the daily you are to use has wide readership.
Start your short listing, having in mind the job description and requirements.
Depending on the number you have in mind, shortlist many candidates for the pretest selection to give you a variety of choice.
Conduct the test exercise (for entry job levels mostly).
Prepare interview questions for the pre-screening interview.
Conduct the pre-screening interview (to trim down the number of candidates.)
Prepare more practical questions for the next stage of the interview.
Make your selection and present to the Management for the final selection.
Conduct your background checks/reference checks on the successful candidates.
Recruit the successful candidates.
Conduct employee orientation.
Hand over a copy of the employee Handbook to each of them.
Place them on probationary period before confirmation of appointments.

Recruitment And Selection Process

6 Keys to Increase Profits Using Organizational Development - The Role of Human Resources

What is the role of Organizational Development, also known as Organizational Effectiveness, in Human Resources? Why is this so important to an organization? Will OD affect the profitability of your organization?

Organizational Development Defined

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"Organization development is the process through which an organization develops the internal capacity to most efficiently and effectively provide its mission work and to sustain itself over the long term. This definition highlights the explicit connection between organizational development work and the achievement of organizational mission. This connection is the rationale for doing OD work.

According to Warren Bennis, organization development (OD) is a complex strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of organizations so that they can better adapt to new technologies, markets, and challenges.

Organization development, according to Richard Beckhard, is defined as: a planned effort, organization-wide, managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health, through planned interventions in the organization's 'processes', using behavioral science knowledge.

Warner Burke emphasizes that OD is not just "anything done to better an organization"; it is a particular kind of change process designed to bring about a particular kind of end result. OD involves organizational reflection, system improvement, planning, and self-analysis.

The term "Organization Development" is often used interchangeably with Organizational effectiveness, especially when used as the name of a department or a part of the Human Resources function within an organization.

Organization Development is a growing field that is responsive to many new approaches including Positive Adult Development." (Quote From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)

Human Resources and Change Management...

Positive change is necessary for any organization and the highest levels of management need to understand how to work with Human Resources (HR) to help bring about the positive changes that can move your business to higher levels of effectiveness and productivity. Strategic Planning, system improvement, and the successful implementation of the organization's development plan are essential functions that can be developed and carried out through Human Resources. This process will have positive outcomes on your organization's profitability and demonstrate the value of HR. As communication improves and the organizational plan unfolds, managers and frontline personnel can better understand their roles in your organizations strategic plan. "The Big Picture" will allow for a greater investment in, and motivation for, organizational success and leads to greater work satisfaction, reduced turnover, and increased profitability. HR can be the "Change Agent" and help to create "Buy in" for more of your organization's key personnel.

What is the role of Organizational Development, also known as Organizational Effectiveness, in Human Resources? Why is this so important to an organization? Will OD affect the profitability of your organization?

As a Human Resource Professional use these 6 focus areas to enhance your organization's profitability:

1. Improve organizational communication

2. Assist in management development, especially for new managers or technical personnel raised to project or team leadership

3. Enhance the Emotional Intelligence of leadership and managers

4. Organize mentors or executive coaching opportunities

5. Bring in the training that your organization requires including: EQ-emotional intelligence, leadership, communication, time management, etc.

6. Lead strategic planning, goal setting, implementation planning

6 Keys to Increase Profits Using Organizational Development - The Role of Human Resources

The Challenges of Human Resource Management

Introduction

The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources.

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With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organization's big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of today's HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organization's members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity.

This paper will highlight on how a HR manager can meet the challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human resources.

Workplace Diversity

According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workplace diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience.

The Challenges of Workplace Diversity

The future success of any organizations relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset if an organization is able to capitalize on this melting pot of diverse talents. With the mixture of talents of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles, an organization can respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena (Cox, 1993), which must be one of the important organisational goals to be attained. More importantly, if the organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, one risks losing talent to competitors.

This is especially true for multinational companies (MNCs) who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, a HR manager needs to be mindful and may employ a 'Think Global, Act Local' approach in most circumstances. The challenge of workplace diversity is also prevalent amongst Singapore's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With a population of only four million people and the nation's strive towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign talents are lured to share their expertise in these areas. Thus, many local HR managers have to undergo cultural-based Human Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. Furthermore, the HR professional must assure the local professionals that these foreign talents are not a threat to their career advancement (Toh, 1993). In many ways, the effectiveness of workplace diversity management is dependent on the skilful balancing act of the HR manager.

One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity management is the predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile (Thomas, 1992). In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.

The Management of Workplace Diversity

In order to effectively manage workplace diversity, Cox (1993) suggests that a HR Manager needs to change from an ethnocentric view ("our way is the best way") to a culturally relative perspective ("let's take the best of a variety of ways"). This shift in philosophy has to be ingrained in the managerial framework of the HR Manager in his/her planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources.

As suggested by Thomas (1992) and Cox (1993), there are several best practices that a HR manager can adopt in ensuring effective management of workplace diversity in order to attain organizational goals. They are:

Planning a Mentoring Program-

One of the best ways to handle workplace diversity issues is through initiating a Diversity Mentoring Program. This could entail involving different departmental managers in a mentoring program to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from them. In order for the program to run successfully, it is wise to provide practical training for these managers or seek help from consultants and experts in this field. Usually, such a program will encourage organization's members to air their opinions and learn how to resolve conflicts due to their diversity. More importantly, the purpose of a Diversity Mentoring Program seeks to encourage members to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population.

Organizing Talents Strategically-

Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as China's electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapore's marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapore's open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993)

With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity.

An organization that sees the existence of a diverse workforce as an organizational asset rather than a liability would indirectly help the organization to positively take in its stride some of the less positive aspects of workforce diversity.

Leading the Talk-

A HR Manager needs to advocate a diverse workforce by making diversity evident at all organizational levels. Otherwise, some employees will quickly conclude that there is no future for them in the company. As the HR Manager, it is pertinent to show respect for diversity issues and promote clear and positive responses to them. He/She must also show a high level of commitment and be able to resolve issues of workplace diversity in an ethical and responsible manner.

Control and Measure Results-

A HR Manager must conduct regular organizational assessments on issues like pay, benefits, work environment, management and promotional opportunities to assess the progress over the long term. There is also a need to develop appropriate measuring tools to measure the impact of diversity initiatives at the organization through organization-wide feedback surveys and other methods. Without proper control and evaluation, some of these diversity initiatives may just fizzle out, without resolving any real problems that may surface due to workplace diversity.

Motivational Approaches

Workplace motivation can be defined as the influence that makes us do things to achieve organizational goals: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we are motivated to complete organizational tasks effectively. As these needs vary from person to person, an organization must be able to utilize different motivational tools to encourage their employees to put in the required effort and increase productivity for the company.

Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). In our changing workplace and competitive market environments, motivated employees and their contributions are the necessary currency for an organization's survival and success. Motivational factors in an organizational context include working environment, job characteristics, appropriate organizational reward system and so on.

The development of an appropriate organizational reward system is probably one of the strongest motivational factors. This can influence both job satisfaction and employee motivation. The reward system affects job satisfaction by making the employee more comfortable and contented as a result of the rewards received. The reward system influences motivation primarily through the perceived value of the rewards and their contingency on performance (Hickins, 1998).

To be effective, an organizational reward system should be based on sound understanding of the motivation of people at work. In this paper, I will be touching on the one of the more popular methods of reward systems, gain-sharing.

Gain-sharing:

Gain-sharing programs generally refer to incentive plans that involve employees in a common effort to improve organizational performance, and are based on the concept that the resulting incremental economic gains are shared among employees and the company.

In most cases, workers voluntarily participate in management to accept responsibility for major reforms. This type of pay is based on factors directly under a worker's control (i.e., productivity or costs). Gains are measured and distributions are made frequently through a predetermined formula. Because this pay is only implemented when gains are achieved, gain-sharing plans do not adversely affect company costs (Paulsen, 1991).

Managing Gain-sharing

In order for a gain-sharing program that meets the minimum requirements for success to be in place, Paulsen (1991) and Boyett (1988) have suggested a few pointers in the effective management of a gain-sharing program. They are as follows:

A HR manager must ensure that the people who will be participating in the plan are influencing the performance measured by the gain-sharing formula in a significant way by changes in their day-to-day behavior. The main idea of the gain sharing is to motivate members to increase productivity through their behavioral changes and working attitudes. If the increase in the performance measurement was due to external factors, then it would have defeated the purpose of having a gain-sharing program. An effective manager must ensure that the gain-sharing targets are challenging but legitimate and attainable. In addition, the targets should be specific and challenging but reasonable and justifiable given the historical performance, the business strategy and the competitive environment. If the gain-sharing participants perceive the target as an impossibility and are not motivated at all, the whole program will be a disaster. A manager must provide useful feedback as a guidance to the gain-sharing participants concerning how they need to change their behavior(s) to realize gain-sharing payouts The feedback should be frequent, objective and clearly based on the members' performance in relation to the gain-sharing target. A manager must have an effective mechanism in place to allow gain-sharing participants to initiate changes in work procedures and methods and/or requesting new or additional resources such as new technology to improve performance and realize gains. Though a manager must have a tight control of company's resources, reasonable and justifiable requests for additional resources and/or changes in work methods from gain-sharing participants should be considered.

Executive Information Systems

Executive Information System (EIS) is the most common term used for the unified collections of computer hardware and software that track the essential data of a business' daily performance and present it to managers as an aid to their planning and decision-making (Choo, 1991). With an EIS in place, a company can track inventory, sales, and receivables, compare today's data with historical patterns. In addition, an EIS will aid in spotting significant variations from "normal" trends almost as soon as it develops, giving the company the maximum amount of time to make decisions and implement required changes to put your business back on the right track. This would enable EIS to be a useful tool in an organization's strategic planning, as well as day-to-day management (Laudon, K and Laudon, J, 2003).

Managing EIS

As information is the basis of decision-making in an organization, there lies a great need for effective managerial control. A good control system would ensure the communication of the right information at the right time and relayed to the right people to take prompt actions.

When managing an Executive Information System, a HR manager must first find out exactly what information decision-makers would like to have available in the field of human resource management, and then to include it in the EIS. This is because having people simply use an EIS that lacks critical information is of no value-add to the organization. In addition, the manager must ensure that the use of information technology has to be brought into alignment with strategic business goals (Laudon, K and Laudon, J, 2003).

Conclusion

The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.

The Challenges of Human Resource Management

HR KPI - The Use Of Balanced Scorecard Metrics In Managing Human Resources

HR is a crucial supporting function whether you have a team of 2 or 2,000 and business managers need to get the very best out of their people if they are to get the very best business performance. KPI's typically lend themselves to monetary or physical metrics such as dollar value of sales or number of widgets produced by a team or region. KPI's or balanced scorecard metrics (the two are essentially one and the same) provide management and decision makers with an overview of business performance and software based solutions give a dashboard type presentation that allows users to "drill down" to view performance at the micro level.

Applying KPI's to non-monetary functions such as HR, that do not produce a tangible dollar benefit or a physical item in production still lend themselves to KPI analysis. We just have to look at what these business units (taking the HR department as the example) are actually producing in terms of training days delivered, staff turnover ratios, sick days taken. If you view the HR function as producing an indirect benefit to the business operation (which you will do if you are allocating the cost of the HR Department out to operating divisions) then it will follow that simply looking at training days delivered is not a useful measure of contribution to business performance. Combining training days delivered to the sales force coupled with increases in sales revenue would be a better metric that seeks to represent the correlation between training and improved revenue.

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Similarly combining HR metrics with other tangible dollar denominated revenues and expenses can provide a good set of indicators to assess and control the contribution of the HR department to the organization. Does the implementation of a staff benefit scheme affect employee turnover ? If employee turnover remains unaffected upon introducing staff medical benefits, then is the continuing expense really worthwhile from a commercial point of view ?

This leads on to an interesting point with KPI's, particular those used to measure the impact of the HR function on an organizations human resource. It is simply this, that KPI's will usually prompt more questions than they will in fact answer. KPI's if properly designed and implemented will advise management and decision makers on what and where something has happened but it is unlikely to say why it has occurred, particularly if you are using raw metrics. Management will almost always be required to ask more questions before they are able to arrive at a decision on action to take if any.

KPI's are not only about measuring metrics, they are also about exercising control over activity and expense. The knowledge that HR are collating data on staff sickness for instance will in itself help reduce unauthorized absences simply by virtue of the fact staff know they are being monitored. Likewise productivity is likely to increase or be maintained for the very same reason, however skilled use of KPI's can also bring about increased business productivity and profitability but the key issue is knowing what the metric you choose actually is telling you.

HR KPI - The Use Of Balanced Scorecard Metrics In Managing Human Resources

Importance of Human Resource Management

The function of human resource management is responsible for a lot of things in the organization. Some of these functions include finding out the requirements of the work and the type of people required to fulfill those. The hiring is one of the most important human resource management activities. Other than that it involves recruiting, training and educating employees. The function of any human resource manager is to maintain the high standards of the organization. The HR also ensures high quality performance in dealing with issues being faced by the existing employees of the company. In addition, the people management techniques take care of workers and their administrative needs in forming several regulations and policies. HR managers also have to take care of the goals and vision set by the company.

The causes of some of the major organizational problems lie in the misuse of the HR in the company. Most of these ills are not intentional, but is a result of lack of knowledge and inability to identify the real cause. This is where the human resource management and its handlers come into the picture. These HR coaches are experts at handling such issues and are capable of finding the real causes and cure it. They are equipped to take care of all the workforce related activities at all levels of management. The mark of any good human resource management coach is that they would look to treat the problem and not the symptom. The executive helps the HR process and, provides the solutions in every which way. The end result is a profitable one and eventually leads to cost reductions accompanied by increased efficiency and productivity.

Human Resource Software

The role of the members of human resource management team is generally to look after profitability, quality, and other similar goals which are aligned to the organizations mission and vision. Recruiting, training, compensation and performance appraisal are the practices followed that typically shape the organization's culture and its role in satisfying the needs of the people involved in business. To deal with the issues, it is important to have a perfect HR strategy to makes sure that the entire variables are properly aligned to help organization to reach unthinkable heights. We live in a complex globalized world and hence it becomes important to take note of certain trends that will lead us into the future. Trends in human resource management talk about leveraging technology in the global marketplace to ensure that benefits are properly delivered to all the involved parties.

Importance of Human Resource Management

Common Trends in Human Resource Management

Business leaders need to be aware of the trends that will impact the operating environment in the future. Trends offer clues about how the operating environment will change. Understanding these shifts will allow smart CEO's and managers to adapt and thrive. This is especially true in the area of Human Resources management since people are one of the most important resources to any enterprise. Here are five common trends in Human Resources management that business leaders will want to watch:

Leveraging Technology

Human Resource Software

Technology is ubiquitous. Whether you are in the industrialized world or developing markets, a growing number of people are connecting with mobile devices like smart cell phones and very portable computers like Apple's iPad. This allows people to communicate across traditional boundaries within companies or externally across the world. They have instant access to information and to people. Smart CEO's are thinking about ways to leverage this technology explosion. Many are already experimenting with virtual teams, non-traditional workplaces, and flatter corporate structures. How will your company leverage technology? Are there ways to connect more effectively with co-workers, customers, or investors? Can access to information help to run the company more effectively? Have you identified what information is important to your success and how it should be shared? Will you use an enterprise platform like SAP or Peoplesoft, or will you simply use basic services like email and the Internet? So, the basic question from a human resource perspective is how to use technology to connect people and information to your advantage. If you are not thinking about all of this, rest assured that your competitors are already experimenting with the new technologies. Make sure that you don't get left in the dust.

Global Marketplace

As demonstrated during the recent downturn, worldwide economic activity is more interdependent than it ever has been in the past. Although trade has crossed borders even before the Silk Road was traveled by Marco Polo, in today's global marketplace what happens in one country usually has a dramatic impact in another. The largest economies like the US, China, Japan, and Europe are so interdependent that their leaders meet periodically at the G-20 summits to discuss issues of mutual interest and common strategies. Smaller countries that were formerly called third-world countries are now called emerging markets because they have the most robust growth. It is now also possible to do business across borders more easily using global transportation services like DHL, FedEx, and UPS. Even small businesses have the opportunity to compete or buy supplies from outside their local marketplace. This is a growing trend and much of the growth will be outside of the developed countries. So, how is your company positioned to participate in this growth? Can you tap into new markets or find suppliers or contract workers at lower cost? Can you partner with other businesses or agencies in different markets at home or abroad? If you are looking for new customers, project workers or new opportunities, then it only makes sense to think about strategies that would allow your company to participate in the global economy. How can your company tap into the growth in the emerging markets? More specifically from an human resources perspective, can you leverage contract workers for projects or support staff? While this may not be feasible for every business, it might be more viable than you think. Workers who do their job primarily at a computer can do this just as well in another state or country. This is especially true if you have the right technology platforms or use cloud computing. While there are security, cultural, and other issues to address, don't let the opportunities pass you by just because you haven't thought globally about your business in the past. The future is a global marketplace. Think globally.

Rising Costs of Benefits

In the United States, health care and benefit costs generally have been rising at an unsustainable rate. Recent federal health care legislation may address some issues; however, it is still very likely that the costs will continue to rise. Thus, companies will be looking to shift the burden for the costs of benefits. Some of this will be shifted to the government, some will be shifted to workers, and still other benefits will just be cut because they are no longer affordable. Many companies have already cut their defined benefits pensions and retirement programs. Others have modified them to lower matching contributions when they aren't making a profit. Others have shifted their health insurance to high-deductible plans which offer lower premiums, but also require workers to pick up much of the basic cost even when they use health savings accounts. Thus the trend for many companies is to be more frugal with employee benefit offerings; however, other companies will use their enhanced benefit programs as a recruiting tool to attract the top talent in their industry. So each company must analyze their benefits in relation to their overall strategy to attract and retain talent for their firm while balancing the overall costs of the programs. You must be able to answer the basic question, "What is our compensation and benefits philosophy and how does if fit into our overall business strategy?

Flexible Workplace

The workplaces in the future will be more flexible. Once again, technology might be one of the driving considerations that makes this possible; however it is not the only factor. Younger generations are not only more accustomed to being treated differently, but in some cases demand that employers are flexible so that they can balance work-life issues. Unless there is a compelling reason for workers to be on site during certain hours, such as a doctor in an emergency room or a shift manager at a manufacturing facility, then employers should think about how they can be more flexible in their workplaces. Allowing workers to tele-commute has both disadvantages as well as advantages, so there is not a simple right or wrong answer for every company. However, make no mistake; some companies are working through these issues right now so that they can offer flexibility for their employees that compliments their business strategies. This will be their key to attracting top talent.

Demographics

Demographics are definitely changing. In the United States where there is a tradition of immigration, there is a shift from the traditional white-male dominated workplace to a multi-cultural environment. This is happening at all levels from line-workers to management. Additionally, women will break through the "glass ceiling" and rise to more senior management ranks. Beyond ethnic and gender considerations, age is also likely to play into the equation of workforce planning. Many leadership and managerial positions are now occupied by aging "baby-boomers" who will be retiring over the next five to ten years. This will open up new opportunities for younger workers, but only if they are prepared. On the other hand, some older workers will be working well past retirement age either because they haven't saved for retirement or because they will be retained as critical employees due to their job experience. They might be willing to stay if their employer offers some flexibility like job sharing or a four-day work week. Outside of the US, industrialized nations will also need to deal with aging populations while the emerging countries will have younger workers who are eager to share in a more affluent lifestyle. Thus, CEO's and HR managers are thinking about ways that their workforce will change in the next few years. Will you have qualified leaders to replace aging baby-boomers? Will you need to train younger workers to transfer the institutional knowledge that is currently retained by your more experienced staff? How will your company take advantage of shifts to a more diverse workforce? These are all very important questions that must have an answer if your firm is going to thrive in the future.

Looking into the future is hard to do, especially in the 21st Century, but trends offer some clues. We live in a more complex and interconnect world. Events in one part of the world are quickly news everywhere over the internet, cable TV and mobile phones. Although it is an exaggeration to say that the gentle flutter from a butterfly's wing in Asia can result in a hurricane on the other side of the globe, we see the far reaching effects from events in one place to other regions that would not have known about them in the past. Thus, it is important to look for trends that will impact our world. If you can capitalize on the changes that result from the trends, then you can prepare to either take advantage of them or minimize their harmful impact. These five trends in human resources trends are already impacting the way we do business. They will definitely continue to impact our world, and it is up to you to figure out how to leverage them to your advantage.

Common Trends in Human Resource Management

The Importance Of A Human Resource System To An Organization

Modern business practice requires an integrated human resource system to replace manual processes for the operational control of employee relations. This has resulted in reduced labor requirements and administrative processes. The corresponding increase in productivity due to centralized computing streamlines operations and assists managers to focus on more mission critical aspects of human resource management. Although paperwork hasn't been totally reduced, human resource managers can now spend more time on core business objectives as opposed to attending to minor administration tasks.

One area where a computerized human resource system is fully utilized is in the screening, tracking and reporting on application processes associated with filling vacancies. With internet integration, job posting, the tracking of open positions and the ability to store resumes electronically, human resource managers can fulfill recruitment, screening and conduct all operations from a centralized computer terminal. The ability to performing searches and track jobs and applications greatly expedites processes that would otherwise be very time consuming to execute.

Human Resource Software

The financial management module of human resource systems permits managers to conduct payroll operations seamlessly. With software to control salary and wage rates, superannuation contributions, employee performance details, sick leave and annual leave entitlements and incidents, there is no longer any need for a huge payroll division to organize company payments. The automatic reporting functionally essentially means that once the manager setups and structures employee details, the system can operate without manual processing and minimal labor oversee.

The operational requirements of employee management entail tracking, archiving and staying on top of rules, regulations, compliance, health and safety issues. A centralized human resource system minimizes the administration associated with maintaining operating requirements. New government regulations and legislation can be tracked over the internet for system integration.

The hr system is necessary for companies of all sizes, whether they operate locally or globally. Keeping track of labor, forecasting labor requirements, facilitating day to day employee management and providing financial reporting to the accounting department are essential components to company operations. With the ability to cut costs, save time and increase productivity, a hr system is an investment that companies will long reap benefit from.

The Importance Of A Human Resource System To An Organization

HR Software - How to Improve Efficiency in Your Human Resources Department

Although human resources departments are vital to the successful running of any company, the complexity of HR management is responsible for the fact that the whole process is a very labour intensive and expensive one. It takes a lot of employees and employee hours to run and maintain an efficient employee management system. There is the management of absences and holidays, rewards and benefits, expenses and of course the exceptionally complex and time consuming payroll management to name just a few of the processes that need to be handled by the HR office. It is an unfortunate fact that when dealing with complex processes like these, mistakes are almost inevitable and can also be expensive and even more time consuming to locate and remedy, usually any errors that creep in do affect a member of staff adversely so the whole human resource processes are often seen as a burden. There is a corporate saying that goes something like, there are no problems, only opportunities, and human resources is not exempt to this point of view.

Most businesses start their journey with HR and payroll being done manually, either by the business owner or someone with an administrative function within the company which is not ideal or the best use of peoples time and skills. As the organisation grows then often someone is employed to manage the HR functions and payroll management until the company gets to the position outlined earlier where the whole process becomes over expensive and inefficient. This is when they start to look for opportunities to improve things and usually they see HR software as the way to move forward. Human resources software comes in all shapes and sizes with small single function applications suitable for all but the smallest business up to and including full Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools designed for enterprise level businesses with possibly thousands of employees.

Human Resource Software

Human resources management systems aimed at the small business only is usually locally installed on computers within the company and typically manage only a few employees and will likely only cover a few functions like payroll and expenses with the additional processes still being handled manually. While this kind of setup will work for small businesses it still presents a problem to them that it is not really a scalable solution that can grow with the company, in fact most of the workload actually still exists and the reporting tools in such applications are minimal at best. What medium sized companies really need is the capability of a full ERP software solution without the expense of such an application, or perhaps a solution that is suitable for them now but that can grow as the company grows. These applications do exist and with the growth of software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing they are available to all sizes of organisations, now smaller business can have access to the exact tools the big players are using and literally pay only for what they use.

This arrangement can bring huge benefits to an organisation, the management reporting tools alone can provide clear indications to companies on how to plan for future success, however immediate benefits are seen initially by HR staff who now find themselves able to actively participate in planning and providing an efficient and accurate service to employees and management alike. Never again are workers overlooked for positions because their training has been incorrectly recorded allowing the company to make the best possible use of the staff resources it has and to plan for future recruitment. All the information being available from one application means that all cross referencing is done automatically and nothing gets missed, saving the company cold hard cash which can make the difference between success and failure in these uncertain economic times.

Employee performance and monitoring also means that should a particular post show as being inefficient the employer can be pro active in ensuring the post holder has adequate skills and training to carry out the job and if not ensure they get the training required, these are things that boost employee morale and confidence and shows in productivity and helps to ensure that everyone is pulling in the same direction which is critical to the success of any company. Parts of these HR software products are self service where staff themselves update their records and have access to various elements ensuring correctness and lets them know that promotion opportunities that match their skill set will not pass them by.

A fully integrated HR software application will also take care of payroll, cutting the costs of this critical business process immensely, payroll bureau costs become a thing of the past as the company becomes large enough to handle it on their own. Time and attendance, reward management and management reporting all combine to make any business more efficient and cost effective which translated to increased profitability and a greater chance of success in an uncertain economic climate. Human resource staff can become far more productive and valuable to the business when they are no longer bogged down with the complexities of the process management which means they are happier and much more able to help the company move forward and assist all employees become more productive and happier in their day to day function, and you thought it was just HR software!

HR Software - How to Improve Efficiency in Your Human Resources Department

Increase Efficiency Using Human Resources Software Solutions

There are many precise HR needs and human resource tasks, which become easy, due to the human resources software solutions. These solutions assist the organization in managing employee information and records. They provide fast scalable employee data management with self service. Best employee performance, talent management solutions with quality employee appraisals training and development is provided by these Hr software solutions. They help developmental plans of the organization to side with their strategic goals.

The business operations are directly supported by the human resources management software, thus helping excellence of the organization. These solutions save the HR department's time by easy to use system for employee tracking. It is the easiest, fastest and configurable solution for human resource department.

Human Resource Software

In today's economy, the HR rules are changing rapidly and thus, to stay in competition, the hr software is one of the best. Employee is a competitive edge to the business and these solutions are designed in such a way that they satisfy the management by motivating employee with time management, good administration and maximizing HR strategic contribution.

These solutions are easy to execute, easy to use, easy to learn thus managing time properly. It also helps to find employee information easily and quickly. These Human Resources software solutions act as a trusted adviser to the organization by meeting the challenges faced by the HR team with trustworthiness, integrity and impartiality. It also helps to improve communication within the organization.

At times, it proves as cost cutting agent and customizes the HR software to the best of use. It helps in the makeover of the police enforcer from HR Professional to the strategic human resource business partner. It manages the entire life cycle of the employee with good use of the tracking system to generating comprehensive reporting.

So, it is always a better thought to get this software and utilize its benefits to the fullest for the progress and development of your company.

Increase Efficiency Using Human Resources Software Solutions