Introduction
Human resource management system (HRMS) involves the process that merges and intersects the functions of HR with information technology (IT).This implies that HRMS takes the place of manual personnel HR systems so that paperwork is maintained at minimal levels.
Their central concern is to ensure that processing of HR-related data is both automated coupled with providing avenues for enhancing integrity of such data. Consequently, “HRMS allows an agency immediate access to employees’ records and enhanced reporting functionality thus providing managers with timely information to make essential human resource decisions” (Agarwala 2003, p.178: Laursen & Foss 2003,p.245).
This has the overall impact of increasing the efficiency of executing human resource functions among them being the absence management, recruitment, payroll preparations, and performance record preparation among others (Wood 1999, p.407: Audea & Teo et al. 2005, p.535).
The benefits accruing from the implementation of HRMS within an organisation makes the implementation of human resource management systems within the Victorian local government areas (LGAs) a worth project.
Referring this endeavour as a project implies that it is constrained by time and resource availability (Kjorstad 2010, p.27). Hence, the implementation of HRMS in the Victorian LGAs remains a temporary endeavour with both starting and ending fixed periods.
Background
LGAs have an immense requirement of deploying the concepts of strategic management to facilitate the management of their workforces in an effective way coupled with ensuring that the HRM practices follow precisely the stipulated organisational strategies.
This has prompted radical revisions of HRM approaches adopted by the Victorian local governments in 1993 to1994 especially “following forced amalgamations, and later the introduction of best value principles” (Mckenown & Lindorff 2011, p.185). Apart from these changes, myriads of alterations have occurred in the workforces of the Victorian LGAs.
The LGAs are able to amply manage their internal workforces with their current HRM systems. However, “many councils have an external workforce, which includes temporary staff, independent contractors, those working for external contractors, volunteers, work placement students and trainees” (Mckenown & Lindorff 2011, p.185).
Arguably, this means that the HR arms within the councils are facing increased roles in the attempts to ensure that all their mandates are realised. Increased roles truncate into hiring more HR staff (Kinnie &Hutchinson et al. 2005, p.11).
This approach faces challenges since, the more the workforce, the harder it becomes to orient all the staff to the common organisational principles of operations. Indeed, according to Mckenown and Lindorff (2011), “little evidence exist that theories of strategic HRM have been used to produce workforce planning strategies and policies relating to the additional external staff” (p.193).
The rationale for the project is based on the argument that HRM management approaches have not been found to ensure a precise alignment of the business plans of the councils with the strategic management approaches. This gap provides a fertile ground for articulation of human resource management systems in the execution of HR roles with precisions and optimal efficiency.
In summary, the HRMS project proposed for the Victorian LGAs encompasses the implementation of HRMS capable to conduct HR roles such as recruitment, administration of the benefits of the workforce, preparation of payrolls, times coupled with attendance module, module for employees self service, and workforce training module in an automated manner. The HRMS will also include a general human resource management module.
Overall aims and purpose
The aim of the proposed project is to implement an automated mechanism of conducting the functions of HR in the Victorian LGAs. This is achieved through the development and installation of a human resource management system.
The purpose of such a system is to increase efficiency and speed of executing the roles of HR within the councils particularly due to the increasing number of persons deserving such services accruing from possession of both external and internal workforces by the councils. Such systems are available in the form of enterprise management software.
Therefore, this project will not attempt to develop such software. Rather, HRMS software that is customised for each council can be purchased from commercial firms specialising in their developments.
However, the scope of this project is limited to the determination of the necessary resources besides considering the risks encountered in the process of its implementation to determine the appropriate times for completion of the project coupled with the work structures of the project implementation process.
Objectives
The project seeks to achieve four main objectives namely to:
1. Implement a payroll module. The module objects to ensure that all the transactions related to the workforce are integrated with the council’s existing systems of finance management through the intersection of IT. Ideally, the payroll may either be outsourced or generated in-house.
However, the HRMS should be able to make it possible to automate the “maintenance of employees through the use of interfaces and reverse interfaces processes” (Glenn, Rampton &Turnbull 1999, p.99). Therefore, the HRMS should posses the capacity to produce payroll transaction of all employees from the contexts of effective updates and field updates coupled with action coding.
2. Implement attendance coupled with time module. The objective here is to help in automated mechanisms of garnering of and standardisation of work elements coupled with the times of executing the work elements.
Essentially, this model should have the capacity to enable the “managers to establish and enforce leave policies updates and employee schedules besides verifying leave balances prior to approval” (Glenn, Rampton &Turnbull 1999, p.101).
Tools for electronic certification, entering, and making approval of various time sheets followed by their transmission to the various payroll providers also need to be facilitated by the module. This is critical in ensuring proper and accurate reporting of all hours worked for by all employees.
3. Implement a module for administration of employees’ benefits. The objective of this module is to provide a mechanism for administration coupled with conducting a track of workforce enrollment in councils’ benefit programs.
4. Implement a human resource management module. The objective of this module is to garner all data relating to employees from the time they are employed to the time they retire.
Outcomes
The human resource management systems operates on data contained in an organisation’s human resource database to produce the desired outputs, which can then be used in making human resource related decisions. This means that, for a successful implementation of the project, the councils must have maintained a database either virtually or in paper form.
However, this is not a challenge since all the councils have either their data in the form of soft or hard formats. Where the data is available in hard formats, conversion into soft format is possible with the help of the inputs from the council’s staff. Consequently, the councils have facilitated ways of ensuring loading of the information of the employees into the HRMS.
Approach and Methodology
The implementation of the project initiates with analysis of project requirements. This is done to ensure “current HR processes are collected and documented to create workflows” (Glenn, Rampton &Turnbull 1999, p.92).
Prior to the distribution of all information coupled with a proposal to the relevant authenticating authorities, an analysis of technical and functional needs of the projects that are consistent with the established council’s management hierarchies are analysed. Another critical issue is making a consideration of studying the accepted HR reporting standards by the councils.
The next phase of the implementation process encompasses exporting the employees’ information from the existing payroll systems. Depending on the hierarchical structures, appropriate assignment of electronic signatures is then executed.
Since electronic data is prone to exposure to a variety of risks that may lead to its loss particularly when the management systems are availed to the employees, it becomes crucial to implement systems for tracking data and maintaining data backups. When this is accomplished, the next approach would involve completing the functionality of the system tests and appropriateness of the user interfaces.
Another crucial work element in the implementation process of the HRMS is “writing and distribution of standard operating procedures for end users” (Glenn, Rampton &Turnbull 1999, p.109). After a successful implementation of this aspect, communication plans coupled with training program for the HRMS are developed. This is done through either web-based training or classroom-based training or both.
For this particular project, system administrators would take charge of training and guiding employees and the human resource personnel on its operations and maintenance. The end of the project is marked by a documentation of the resources utilised in the project and the achievements of the projects.
However, before the project is declared closed, it is necessary that the relevant authorities including the councils top management personnel to append signature signifying that the project has met its objectives and the scope as stipulated in the planning phase.
In all the above work structures, each structure is assigned to particular group of professionals whose outputs must comply with the milestones set out by the Victorian councils on the reporting standards coupled with HR strategic management approaches. Important resources here include money, time, and workforce composed of HR management professionals and information technology experts.
Paramount to note is that, at times, it is impossible for the project to be implemented within the set time limitations. This follows because of reasons such as delays in procurement of the necessary resources (Kjorstad 2010, p.45).
This presents cost and time risk to the execution of the project. Additionally, the implementing personnel may fail to achieve the preset quality standards. This further amplifies the risks to the planned quality standards of the project.
Gantt Chart Representing the above information
Resources
All projects can neither be planned nor executed without commitment of resources. Since money and time are limited in their supply, these two resources act as the most crucial constraining factors to any project including the proposed project.
- Money is required for the procurement of custom-made HRMS system, hiring of the implementing agents, project implementation and administration costs, training personnel on the successful implementation of the project, and for sourcing the project analysis experts. Financing of these resources is the responsibility of Victorian LGAs. This is anticipated to cost each council an estimated cost of 40,000 US dollars.
- The contractor will assume the costs of hiring the employees who shall be charged with the responsibility of executing various work structures, which while combined, constitute the completed project. This would cost the contractors about 10,000 U.S dollars.
Risks
Project risk management entangles all the measures taken to identify, respond, and analyse various risks likely to be encountered in projects (Haughey 2012, Para. 5). This means that it focuses on “maximising the probability and consequences of positive events besides minimising the probability and consequences of adverse events to project objectives” (Mitchell 2008, p.53).
This is done in a number of steps including planning of risks, identification of risks, qualitative risks analysis and quantitative analysis of risks, response planning for risks, and risk monitoring and control (Duncan1996, p.175). From the dimension of risk management, the proposed HRMS project requires the mitigation of various risks.
They include project operational risks, commissioning risks, scope achievement risks, and financing risks among others. Risks related to delays in the completion dates, financings, and departures of the project from the reporting standard acceptable by the councils are mitigated by both the contractors and the clients (councils).
Risks associated with the inability of the employees to complete their work structures within anticipated time are mitigated solely by the contractors. The mitigation of scope risks is principally the responsibility of the councils.
Recommendation and conclusions
The paper proposes a project aiming at introducing a new HR management approaches by deploying HRMS. With the increasing needs to incorporating information technology in almost every facet of organisational management, it is recommended that the employment of HRMS at the Victorian LGAs would improve both speed and efficiency of administering HR roles and functions within the councils. Implementation of these projects is approximated to cost the councils about $40,000.
References
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