人力資源管理系統(tǒng)的隱藏價值

年4月19日人力資源管理系統(tǒng)的隱藏價值文檔僅供參考Ifyouunderstandthataninformationsystemcanprovidethefoundationfortechnologythathasaveryvisible,concretefinancialreturn,thenyoureallycanseeanROIfromanHRMS.

ByMarciaBarkleyThisisaperiodofremarkablechangeforthehumanresourcesfunction.Almostintheblinkofaneye,HRisbeingforcedtosheditsnearly100-yearcharterasthecaretakerofemployees,andtobecomeastrategic,value-enhancingbusinesspartnertothefirm.

WiththisdramaticchangecomesomesignificantdifferencesinthewayHRplansandexecutesitsinitiatives,withaspecialemphasisonleveragingtechnology.

Intuitively,HRhasgenerallyunderstoodthevalueoftechnology,particularlyinlargeorganizationswherevolumesofinformationhadtobebuiltandmaintained,ifonlyforthenarrowbutcriticalpurposeofgettingpaychecks,intherightamounts,totherightpeopleattherighttime.

TheterrorofY2Kwasablessingindisguise,asitprovidedtheperfectinducementforCEOsandCFOstoapprovelargeinvestmentsinpowerfulnewHRinformationsystems.HRprosdidnotalwaysknowhowtheywouldactuallyuseallthefunctionalityofthosepowerfulnewsystems,andeventheCEOsandCFOscouldnotdemandadetailedjustification.

TheneedtoproveanacceptableROIwentrightoutthewindowinthefaceofthepossibilityofmassive,catastrophicdataloss.That'sunfortunate,formanyoftheverysameseniorHRmanagerswhohavemadesuchadmirableeffortstobecome"businesspartners"withtheirnon-HRcounterpartsaremissinganenormousopportunity.

AnHRMSisexactlythetooltheyneedtoprovethatHRcandomuchmorethanchannelrésumés,processbenefitsenrollment,andmaintainafileroom.Itisnot,inandofitself,thecompleteanswertothequestion"HowdoIproveHR'svaluetotheorganization?"butitisanabsolutelycritical,indispensablepartoftheanswer.Totakethingsastepfurther,companiesthatwishtobecomeorremaincompetitivecannotaffordtonothaveafullyfunctionalHRMS.

Thereareatleastthreesignificantreasonswhythisistrue.Thefirstreasonisperhapsthemostbasic.Justlikeanyotherpartoftheorganization,theHRdepartmenthasanobligationtocontrolitscosts.Buttocontrolcosts,youmustbeabletomeasuretheminthefirstplace.

Second--andthishasmorefar-reachingimplications--informationaboutcompanyperformanceisacriticalcompetitiveadvantage;personnelinformationistooimportanttoomitfromtheequation;andnoorganizationtodaycaneffectivelygatherandanalyzethebreadthandquantityofdataitneedsforthispurposewithoutafullyutilizedHRMS.Thereturnoninvestmenthereissometimesdifficulttoquantify,butisnonethelessquitereal.

ThethirdreasonforastrongHRMSisthatitprovidesthefoundationforatechnicalarchitecturethatcanprovideafinanciallymeasurablereturnoninvestmentintheformofgreaterproductivity,andevenreducedlaborcostswithintheHRdepartment.That"technicalarchitecture"ismoregenerallyknownasemployeeormanagerself-service.Controllingcosts

ManycompanieshavebeenmeasuringHR-relatedcostsforquitesometime.Therearemanysuchcosts,butthosethataretrackedmostfrequentlyincludethefollowing:TotalcostofpayrollAveragesalarycostperemployeeHRsalariesaspercentageoftotalpayrollPayrolltaxaspercentageoftotalpayrollCostperhire(usuallyrelatedtoadvertisingandrecruiterfees/salaries)

Thedatabehindthesecalculationsmaycomefromavarietyofsources:anHRMS,apayrollsystem,ageneralledgersystem,etc.

Butotherkindsofcostscannotbecalculatedunlessyouhavetherelativelybroaddata-trackingabilitythatisfoundinafullyutilizedHRMS.Oneoftheseisthecostofacompanymanagingitself.Thatsoundslikearathercomplicatedequation,butitcanbeassimpleasthetotalsalariespaidtosupervisorsandabove--statedeitherasasimplenumberorasapercentageoftotalsalaries.

Simpleasthecalculationmightbe,however,youfirstneedtoknowhowmanysupervisorsandmanagersyouhave,andwhattheyarepaid.Thisandothermeasurements,includingappropriateformulas,areexplainedindepthbyJacFitz-enzinhisbook"HowtoMeasureHumanResourcesManagement."Onceyouknowthecostofmanagement-orofanythingelse-youcanbegintocontrolit.HRdataisessential

Increasingly,humancapitalmanagementisbecomingrecognizedasanon-financialcomponentofanorganization'sfinancialsuccess:HRstrategy--whichshouldbefocusedonmaximizingtheoverallqualityofhumancapitalthroughouttheorganization--isasimportantassalesorproductionstrategies.ArecentbooktitledTheHRScorecard:LinkingPeople,Strategy,andPerformancediscussesthisatgreatandeloquentlength.AsnotedbyDaveUlrichandothersinTheHRScorecard,tobuildandmaintainastockoftalentedhumancapital,aHPWS(High-PerformanceWorkSystem)doesthefollowing:LinksitsselectionandpromotiondecisionstovalidatedcompetencymodelsDevelopsstrategiesthatprovidetimelyandeffectivesupportfortheskillsdemandedbythefirm'sstrategyimplementationEnactscompensationandperformancemanagementpoliciesthatattract,retain,andmotivatehigh-performanceemployees

Regardlessofwhatitcallsitselforhowitstructuresitself,thehumanresourcesfunctionalwayscomesbacktothesethreebasicfunctions:attract,retain,andmotivate.Todoanyofthesethreethingseffectivelyintoday'slargeorganizationsrequiresmeasurementandanalysis.Measurementandanalysisrequiredata.Lotsandlotsofdata.ThatrequiresanHRMS.Someexamples:

Attractingemployees:Successfulfirmskeeptheirsalarystructuresup-to-dateandtheiremployees'paycompetitive.Onesignthatthecompanyisnotdoingthesethingswellisthatthesalariesofnewemployeesareclosetoorevenabovethemidpointoftheirvarioussalaryranges.

HowdoesHRkeeptrackofthisiftheycan'tgetregular,accuratereportsaboutsalariesinrelationtosalaryrangesinagiventimeperiod?Howcancompensationanalystsidentifythemagnitudeoftheproblemiftheycan'ttrackexceptionsandadjustments?Whattheyneedtobetrackingisn'tjustthefactthatexceptionsandadjustmentsareoccurring;theyalsohavetobeabletoreportwhichkindsofjobsaregettingthiskindofattention,inwhichdivisionandgeographicarea,andtheamountofmoneyinvolved.

Thatkindoftrackingandanalysisrequiresrawdata,whichrequiresanHRMS.What'stheROIhere?Overtime,thecompanyrecoupsitsfinancialinvestmentthroughtimesaved(andrepetitiveefforteliminated),whentheystoplosingpotentialnewhiresbecausetheofferedsalarywasinsufficient,orbecauseittooktoolongtogetanexceptionapprovedandtheapplicantgottiredofwaiting.

Retainingemployees:Another"redflag"familiartocompensationanalystsisanincreaseinthenumberofrequestsfor"marketadjustments"tokeeplong-termemployeescompetitivewithnewemployees.Hereagain,data--accurate,complete,up-to-date,andavailablefor"slicinganddicing"fromseveraldifferentangles--iscriticalinordertospottheprobleminthefirstplace,andthentomeasureitsscopeandimpact.AnHRMSpaysforitselfbymakingthatmeasurementandanalysispossible.

CanyoumeasurethatROI?Yes:Trackyourterminationsandtheterminationreasons,thenmeasurethatagainstyourcosttohireforthosepositions.Keepinmindthatthe"costtohire"isn'treallythefullcostofreplacement,becauseitdoesn'ttakeintoaccounttheproductivitylostduringthetimeittooktofindandtrainthereplacementsforthoseterminatedemployees.

Therearemanypay-relatedmeasurementsthatacompanycantrack(asmentionedbefore,checkoutJacFitz-enz'sbook),suchasthefollowing:AveragemeritincreasegrantedbyjobclassificationandjobperformanceFirmsalary/competitorsalaryratioIncentivecompensationdifferential(lowversushighperformers)Percentageofemployeeswhosepayisperformance-contingentPercentageoftotalsalarythatis"atrisk"orvariableRangeinmeritincreasegrantedbyclassification

Noneofthesemeasurementsarecomplicated,buttheydorequiredata.Noneofthesemeasurements,inandofthemselves,willfullyanswerquestionsaboutwhyemployeesareleavingorwhyemployeecommitmentseemstobeloworwhyproductivityisn'tashighasyouthinkitshouldbe.Butallofthesemeasurements,individually,canprovidevitalclues;together,theyprovideapattern;andthepatterneventuallyprovidesanswers.

Motivatingemployees:Manycompaniesdonottakeadvantageofthefullfunctionalityofthesystemstheybuy."Trainingadministration"and"competencymanagement"arerarelyhighprioritiesandusuallyarepostponed;inmanycases,thesefunctionalitiesnevergetusedatall.Thisisextremelyunfortunate,becauseanythingrelatedtotrackingemployeeperformancecanbecomeatoolformanagingemployeeperformance,andthatinturncanbecomeameansofimprovingemployeeperformance.Andofcourse,ifyoucanimproveemployeeperformance,youcanimprovecompanyperformance-thecompany'sprofitability.

Averysimpleexampleofthiswouldbetrackingemployeeperformanceratingsbyjobclassification,division,andsupervisor.Whenthesearematchedagainstcompanyperformancemeasures--salesvolume,manufacturingvolume,etc.--trendsappear:"DivisionAhadthebestsalessuccesslastquarter,anditalsohadthehighestaverageperformanceevaluationslastyear."ThenextstepwouldbetofindoutwhatDivisionAisdoingtomotivateitspeople:Whattraininghavetheyhad?Whatkindsofcompensationprogramsareinplace?Dotheemployeescompetewitheachother,orcooperate?Thenfigureouthowtoreplicatethatintheotherdivisions.TheROIonhavingthedatanecessarytodothismightbealittlecomplicatedtomeasure,butit'scertainlyeasytounderstand.HRMSasfoundationforthefuture

Recentyearshaveseenanexplosionofinterestinapplicationsandsystemsthatusedtobeconsideredstrictly"nicetohave"icing-on-the-cakekindsofthings,especiallywhereHRwasconcerned.Initially,employeeself-servicewassomethingthatonlyreallylargecompaniescouldafford,andmanagerself-servicewasoftenlimitedtoviewinglistsofemployees,ratherthanprovidinganyrealservicethatwouldmaketheworkofmanaginganyeasier.Whatwiththecostsandcomplicationsofimplementation,andthe"fuzzymath"thatseemedtounderliethepromisesofreturnoninvestment,mostcompaniescouldn'tbebotheredwitheitheremployeeormanagerself-servicesystems.

Thingshavechanged.

Self-servicesystemsforHRarecomingintotheirown,whethertheyarefront-end,third-partyapplicationsorfullyintegratedwithaback-endERP.Moreandmoreemployeesarecomingtoexpectthatitwillbeaseasytochangetheiraddressortheirpayrolldeductions,enrollinbenefits,orupdatetheirhealth-caredependentsasitistobuyabookonline.

Moreandmoremanagersarediscoveringtheconvenienceofelectronictransactionssuchassalaryincreasesandonlineperformanceappraisal.AccordingtoasurveyconductedbyTheHunterGroup(nowcalledCedar)andpublishedin,thenumberofcompaniesimplementing(orplanningtoimplement)somesortofself-servicetechnologyhasgrownineachofthelastthreeyears.

Therearestillcostsandcomplicationstoimplementation,butthemathbehindtheROIpromisesnolongerhastobefuzzy--andinfact,israrelyallowedtobe.AccordingtotheHunterGroup(Cedar)survey,abouttwo-thirdsofcompaniesthatexplorethepossibilityofaself-servicesolutionnowrequireabusinesscasethatquantifiestheanticipatedreturnoninvestment.Therearemethodologiesandtoolsavailablewithwhichtodevelopverysoundestimatesofreal,hard-dollarsavingsthatcanbeexpectedfromaself-serviceapplication.HRcanbuildabusinesscaseforinvestmentinthistechnologythatevenaCFOwilllove.

Beyondthat,astrongcasecanbemadeforexpectedincreasesinproductivityamongbothemployeesandmanagerswhenself-serviceapplicationsareavailable.ReallyusefulHRself-servicedoesnothappenwithoutthekindofdatathatisavailablefromafullyfunctionalHRMS.Summary

TherearemanykindsofanalysesthatcanbeusedtomeasureanddemonstrateHR'svaluetotheorganization.Dotheyhaveanyrelationshiptotheperformanceoftheorganizationitself?Manyofthemdo.Thefo