The Function of a Human Resources Information System
Effective and successful human resource management is required for a business to compete in the marketplace. HR managers coordinate a wide variety of employee management activities that involve large amounts of data over time. A human resources information system provides data management and accurate and timely information for decision making; it also streamlines HR operational, managerial and executive support processes.
A human resources information system functions as productivity tool for HR operational processes. Increased speed and accuracy result when HR transactions are performed with computer software rather than manually, and routine transactions such as employee headcount, payroll tracking and time and attendance reporting become automated and more cost-effective. HR representatives enjoy increased productivity and accomplish more in their work week when manual processes take up less of their time.
An HRIS functions as a managerial information system to gather and provide key data about staffing, turnover, benefits and regulatory compliance issues. Human resources personnel can provide reports on total number of employees, cost to hire, vacant positions, benefits costs, required reports such as EE03 and cost of raises and bonuses. HR managers can more easily present analysis of compensation, recruiting, accidents and injuries.
A company’s HRIS functions as an executive information system to aggregate high-level data for long-range planning such as succession planning. The system provides executive planning information for strategic needs such as forecasting, staffing needs assessment and employee skills assessment.
An HRIS also can function as an office automation system to design employee management documents such as applications and job requisitions, to schedule shared resources and schedule and track employee training and recognition. HR reports can be automated and set to run and distribute right from the system, getting information to the people that need it in real time. An HRIS reduces the amount of time the staff spends on daily transaction activities, such as tracking employee status changes, and frees them to work on more planning and strategy aligned with corporate goals.
HR Information Systems are very useful for payroll processing. Manually executing payroll for each employee is resource intensive. Analyzing, processing and managing benefit information is also possible through these systems.