Streamlining Human Resource Processes with Effective Information Management

THE greatest asset any organization has is its people. People are the lifeblood of any organisation and one of the greatest challenges is managing them effectively and treating them in a manner that is consistent and fair.

An organization cannot function without Human Resources (HR), as HR is charged with ensuring that the organisation does everything required to recruit and retain the best workforce, while ensuring compliance with the multitude of regulations and reporting requirements. The ability to keep detailed records, access them quickly when they are needed, inform the right parties of important occurrences, and enable proactive decision making is critical in daily HR function and processes.

Human resources managers are tasked with managing information from job applicants, employees, and even board members and the challenges can be overwhelming. From the posting of a position through an employee’s hiring, management, and departure, detailed information has to be provided, collected, and available to meet organizational and regulatory requirements.

HR Professional should know that organization, storage, archiving, and destruction of critical business documents are areas that cannot be taken for granted. Not only is it important to know what information is stored and where, you must confidently comply with government regulations to protect your organization as accurate HR records could save your business some good money.

Human resources information management is a crucial part of effective human resource management. It is a series of processes and systems that combine a HR function with information technology, merging the two to automate those HR administrative processes that can often be a drain on staff time and resources.  There are several HR information management systems that can be used to track, monitor and analyse key human resources information in a business or organisation. There are a few key reasons to make effective records management a priority, not the least of which is the legal requirement to maintain accurate records of personnel. This is particularly important when an employee takes legal action against the company and accurate records are required to present a case.

In addition, efficient records management eliminates time-wasting and provides key data and information needed to make informed management decisions. The HR department is the gateway to and information hub for all personnel files, employee records, application form, offer of appointment letter, medical reports, copies of certificates of qualifications, security-check reports, acceptance of offer letter, promotion letters, postings/secondment/transfer letters, probation reports, staff reports/appraisal forms, disciplinary correspondence, salary increment(s) form, appeals/petitions, requests and responses, special leave, change of name documents, personal/service record card, retirement notifications and relevant legal documents as well as any other information that an organisation is expected to store, maintain, access or destroy.

HR System appraisal
There are two key indicators for a system that requires an overhaul; they are delay in information/data access and duplication of work. A way forward is to audit your current HR records and see where the gaps are and identify areas for improvement. Your information management system is only as good as the people who use it, and if they are having trouble locating information, making decisions, and following proper policies and procedures, chances are an upgrade may be in order.

How Information management can help improve HR Processes?
The HR information management approach that a business or organisation chooses to implement can improve a number of separate HR processes and daily functions. An effective HR information management strategy combined with the right HR system will enable businesses to efficiently record and find key information about any of their individual HR processes and daily functions. Typically, many businesses find their human resources information management system to be most effective when focused on the HR processes such as:
Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole is the President of Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation (RIMA Foundation), a Not-for-profit NGO. He can be contacted at: president@rimaw.org

Recruitment information – applicant tracking, CV management, interviewing and selection processes and workplace inductions
Employee Information – attendance and work time, disciplinary actions, personal information and performance development plans
Legal information – employee handbooks, company procedures, health and safety guidelines and procedures and safe working practices
Benefits Information – pay grades and scales, ray rises, commission, pensions and redundancy packages

How improving HR Processes can help an Organisation?
The typical daily procedures of any HR department, whether in a small business or a large enterprise, involve a number of activities that incur a manual workload. These activities can range from tracking and managing employee information to ensuring that the policies and procedures detailed in company handbooks are current and in-line with the necessary laws and regulations. Implementing an effective human resources information management system into your business reduces this manual workload, freeing up the time of the staff in your HR department so that they can focus on more strategic HR work. A HR information management system will also enable your employees, company-wide, to administer and update their own personnel records, empowering them with a sense of autonomy and engaging them into the overall HR goals of your business.

Finally, by developing and incorporating an effective information management system into human resources processes, organisation will be able to benefit from the improvements that this has got to offer to both HR function and business’s general processes.

Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole is the President of Records and Information Management Awareness Foundation (RIMA Foundation), a Not-for-profit NGO. He can be contacted at: president@rimaw.org