Why a Strong Human Resource System is Important
When discussing the intricacies of business, usually issues surrounding sales or production or management come to mind first. Clearly those are all vital issues to a company being profitable, but one of the least recognized, when considering important business functions, and yet most important parts of a company is the human resource system. Even though many of us only think of the HR group when we need them or at the end of the year, their role in the everyday lives of each employee is significant.
What a Human Resource System Is and Does
Simply defined, a human resource system is the system by which your company manages the administrative needs of its employees. Generally, this information is now contained in a single database. Old school files and are time and space consuming, and simply inefficient. The new human resource system software packages make this work much easier. The information is not only the benefits and payroll systems, but the hiring, firing, training processes, and compiling of basic employee information as well. Security of the information, both for protections of the employees and the company, is paramount.
Improvements in Human Resource System Technology
With improvements in Information Technology, and with the realization of the importance of having a strong human resource system, there have been significant improvements in the systems themselves. The new functions are automating the work for your HR staff, and they are also allowing employees more and more access to their own information so they can make sure it is correct and up-to-date. These efficiencies are saving companies significant money, and the improved reports available have helped ensure compliance with regulatory agencies.
What Happens Without a Quality Human Resource System
The human resource system is part of the company that most employees do not think much about after all the paperwork is filled out after being hired and getting the benefits sorted. That is of course until the annoying yearly meetings that you are required to attend. Most of us like it that way. However, consider being without a strong human resource system. First off for the company; you spend a lot more time and money finding quality employees, you spend more time doing simple tasks like payroll, and you may or may not be in compliance with local, state, and federal laws about employment and safety.
Secondly for the employees; the benefits are not as up to date as they otherwise would be, your taxes may not be calculated correctly making for a bad start to the year, your private information can be accessed by people who have no business knowing that, and you do not have proper protections surrounding your employment. None of these options sound great, for either part of the company.
The Need to Keep Up with Human Resource System Changes
Though there is significant capital investment involved in any human resource system purchase or upgrade, it is important to keep on top of changes as much as possible. Having a quality HR team that functions at its highest capacity helps keep your people satisfied and helps your company save money in many different personnel areas. That functioning is augmented with a great human resource system, and it needs to be kept up-to-date for full effectiveness
