Introduction to HRIS
Chapters 1-3
What is the Most Important
Asset An Organization Has?
Land?
 Capital?
 Technology?
 Your people, and their ability to provide
goods and services to customers, both
internal and external.

Role of Human Resources
“To attract, motivate, and retain valuable
employees to meet the company’s goals.”
 HRIS is meant to support this role.

Human Resource Information
Systems (HRIS)
“The system used to acquire, store,
manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute
pertinent information regarding an
organization’s human resources.”
 “ The electronic management of human
resources information.”

Major HR Functions
Planning, Organizational Design
 Staffing/Employment
 Communications & Public Relations
 Performance Management
 Reward Systems, Benefits, Compliance
 Employee & Organizational Training &
Development
 Quality of Work Life

HRIS Sample Modules
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Job Analysis
HR Planning (supply &
demand forecasting)
Recruiting & Selection
Training &
Development
Time & Attendance
Payroll
Compensation and
Benefits

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Performance
Appraisal
Employee/Labor
Relations
Employee/
Performance Problems
Employee Assistance
Equity Programs
Retirement/Pensions
Applications for the HRIS

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Employee lists
Attrition
reporting/monitoring
Employment equity (EEO)
tracking/ monitoring
Salary/benefits budget
reporting
HR/strategic planning

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Salary/benefits
modeling
Seniority lists
Applicant tracking
Grievance tracking
and analysis
Workers comp, LTD
tracking
HRMS reports
HRIS Enhances Productivity

Increases work force quality
– More appropriate hiring, better T&D, improved
retention of desired employees

Controls expenses
– More thorough salary/benefits administration
tracking & analysis, training & development, ad
hoc reports for queries, more user independence

Eases regulatory
compliance
– EEO, COBRA, OSHA
HRIS Costs
1994
Avg
Budgetall respondents
541,000
25K or
more
employees
1,657,000
24K-5K 5K-1K 999 or
employ- employ- less
ees
ees
employees
385,000 171,000 60,000
HRIS
hardware
HRIS
318,000 1,645,000 145,000 121,000 55,000
software
Payroll 832,000 3,285,000 220,000 125,000 44,000
Services
HRIS
184,000 401,000 141,000 105,000 16,000
consult’g
http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/mrenard/teaching/websites.htm
Systems Model of Org’l Functioning
Feedback
HR
Strategic
System
Mgt
Mgt System
HR
HRIS

Functions
Org’l Goals
Productivity
Services
Profit
ROI
Morale

External Environment
Gvt, Technology, Labor Mkt, Societal Concerns, Competition,
HR State of Art
History of HR Field

Pre-World War II
– Reactive, caretaker activity; not part of mainstream; record keeping, caretaker of employees

Postwar: 1945-1960
– Employee morale; personnel part of costs; R&D in
selection; payroll automation; early applications of
mainframe computers in defense

Social issues era: 1963-1980
– Legislation changes HR; increased reporting
requirements; advance of MIS; HR in mainstream
History of HR Field, cont’d

Cost effectiveness era: 1980’s
– HR must cost justify activities; increased
regulation and paperwork; microcomputer and
software explosion; HRIS capabilities lower in
cost; HR part of strategy process; increased
emphasis on R&D for HR.

Quality and reengineering era: 1990’s
– Information is the resource of the 90’s; technology
is the catalyst/enabler of change.
Technology as a Catalyst or
Enabler
Old rule: “Information can appear at
only one place at a time”
 Disruptive technology: Shared
databases
 New rule: “information can appear in
as many places as it is needed”

The New Technology 2
Old rule: “Only experts can perform
complex work”
 Disruptive technology: Expert systems
 New rule: “A generalist can do the
work of an expert”

The New Technology 3
Old rule: “Managers make all the
decisions”
 Disruptive technology: Decision
support systems
 New rule: “Decision making is part of
everyone’s job”

The New Technology 4
Old rule: “Field personnel need offices
where they can receive, store, retrieve,
and transmit information”
 Disruptive technology: Wireless data
communication and portable computers
 New rule: “Field personnel can send
and receive information from wherever
they are”

The New Technology 5
Old rule: “The best contact with a
potential buyer is personal contact”
 Disruptive technology: Interactive
videodisks
 New rule: “The best contact with a
potential buyer is effective contact”

The New Technology 6
Old rule: “You have to find out where
things are”
 Disruptive technology: Automatic
identification and tracking technology
 New rule: “Things tell you where they
are”

Importance of HRIS

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Personnel -- largest part of organizations'
operating costs
Costs can range upwards of 80% to 90% of total
operating budgets
Personnel also among most difficult resources to
manage
HRIS required to collect info, manage it, and
report
Access to information increasingly important for
decision-making
HRIS becoming important strategic tool
Cost-Justification
Cost-justifying the purchase and implementation
of HRIS is one of the most pressing challenges
facing many HR Departments
”HR has to earn its keep. If you can't specify
exactly how you contribute to the bottom line,
you'll have increasingly few resources available.
Not only does the HRMS have to generate a
significant return, but also, customers need to
understand exactly how it's accomplishing that
return (Stright, 1993, p. 70)".
Human Resources Often
Undervalued & Misunderstood
HR practitioners have not been very
effective at justifying what they do in a
way that other managers readily
understand.
 HR practitioners are not used to costjustifying what they do
 HR Department often considered
a“necessary liability”, not a corporate asset.

Cost-Benefit Analysis
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Outlined in detail in books by Casio and FitzEnz
Not commonly known or used by HR
practitioners, although this is changing
Applies to organizations of all sizes
Examples
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Closer control of salary and benefits costs
Streamlining HR administrative overhead
Input into labor negotiations
More effective use of personnel in support
of corporate goals and objectives