HRIS Project Key Pillars

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) often described as Human Resource Management System (HRMS), in the present scenario can serve as a crucial tool in providing a competitive advantage to the organizations. It involves measurement, better management of data and information, equally provide scope for measurement of key HR practices and its outcomes on employee productivity as well as organizational performance.

1. Improving Efficiencies: Automation in HR, reduces dependence on hard copy form of data and information related with the employee details, facilitates saving of time and resources by way of using online applications/forms created in a user friendly interface. This improves the overall efficiency of the HR department and the HR professionals may focus more on strategic decision making and developmental functions of HR.
2. Mutually Beneficial for both the Management and the Employees: Automation of HR or HRIS, facilitate transparency in the system, thereby result in improved employee satisfaction from his job and convenience for the management in proactively responding to people related affairs.
3. HR as a Strategic Partner: With the implementation of HRIS in the organization, the role of HR expands from merely being a support system or an administrator to a strategic partner. HR functions in alignment with the corporate strategy and today plays a strategic role in driving business objectives through effective management of human resources and implementation of HR best practices/interventions for improved employee performance.

1. An evaluation of HR costs involves calculation of ROI (Return on Investment) on Human Capital, which generally encompasses an assessment of the benefits or the positive outcomes and also the costs or the negative outcomes of HR led initiatives/practices. The evaluation of costs and benefits of HRIS can be performed with the help of various techniques:
2. Identification of sources of value for costs and benefits of HR led initiatives: This would be involving an assessment of the business environment, changing trends and an evaluation of the strategic course of alternatives.
3. Estimating the Timing of Benefits and costs: This essentially involves comparing the HR costs and benefits in various periods or measuring the costs-benefits of various programs led in different timings. This plays a crucial role during the policy making process.
4. Calculating the value of Indirect Benefits: Indirect benefits are the secondary benefits. This step helps in understanding the influence of various factors on the probability of success of HRIS projects.

1. Improving the organizational competitiveness by way of improved human resource functioning.
2. Provides the opportunity for shifting the focus from day to day operational issues of HR to much more strategic objectives.
3. Employees play an active part in the HRIS implementation and its usage in day to day functioning.
4. Results in re-engineering or restructuring of the entire HR.

1. Project Manager or Project Leader: A project manager is a professional who is responsible for planning and execution of projects within predefined timelines and resources.
2. Steering Committee/Project Charter: The project manager is helped by a team of individuals who assist the manager in following the implementation process, which is known as the steering committee which decides on the priorities of business of an organization and manages its operations.
3. Implementation Team: Project Manager is supported by both the functional as well as technical professionals who look after the operational and software development requirements. The functional team members are essentially from the HR department, who have extensive knowledge about the HR functioning and the processes involved in it.
4. Project Scope: It is important for effective project management. Projects should be carefully planned and executed and this can be made possible if the project scope is clearly defined. Project scope enables following of the predefined road map, the resources which may be involved in it and the deadlines within which the project is supposed to be completed.
5. Management Sponsorship: Management sponsorship and project management are mutually interdependent and are linked with each other. Management is responsible for any change in the project whether to add or remove or change the project.
6. Process Mapping: This is one of the most crucial steps involved in implementation of a system as it highlights the systems and processes involved in the implementation stage, provides a clear idea about the key existing processes and the changes required for implementing the system.
7. Software Implementation: Once the planning, sponsorship as well as the mapping is done, now is the stage for the ultimate software implementation. At first the hardware condition is verified, i.e., all the parts of the software implementation. Then the software implementation process starts by determining which past data should be acquired. Each and every step of the HR Processes are matched with the HRIS process. The documentation process is the last step.
8. Customization: Customization offer ample opportunity to the HR department to match their functional processes with the software. Customization provide scope for continuous improvement and facilitates achievement of business goals through robust solutions. Customization involve continuous software up gradations and involves huge maintenance costs.
9. Change Management: In this process acceptance of user is determined, whether the HR users accept the concept of HRIS. The employees may face difficulty on accepting it, so, proper training should be given over the system processes.
10. “Go Live!”: This is the stage for the get goers. Here in this stage, the old software may be shut down immediately with the introduction of the new one or there may be training procedures or proper knowledge training of the software before interaction.
11. Evaluation of Project: Once the project is implemented, continuous evaluation is required for identifying the loopholes or major drawbacks in the system and developing a plan of action for overcoming these drawbacks.