The Impact of Technology on Human Resources Management Process

Introduction

Human resource is a prosperous and continually developing area as the years go by, it is a crucial component of any successful organisation. Human resource professionals are in control of managing the day to day operations of an organisation such as recruiting, managing employees, seeing to the continuous training and development of employees, managing employee’s performance, providing feedbacks, motivating employees and maintaining protocols and procedures.

Over the past decade, the evolution of technology has had a significant impact on how things used to be done which had an effect on the operations of human resource department and also reconstruct how people communicate. For instance, the internet has taken over advertising, as seen today majority of jobs are now advertised online cutting out traditional recruiting way of using HR personnel. Employee’s performance management has also changed as it is all done online now with the use rating instead on have a one-to-one with HR managers.

Information obtained from this research will be used for exploring why there is a significant change in HR process and why it is moving towards technology rather than HR personnel.

The aim and objective of this project is to critically analyse the causes of the rapid growth and shift towards technology in HR management process. The following information provided below suggest how I will determine these causes and reach my conclusion.

Research Aims

• I intend to complete my research within the time frame.
• I hope to achieve a well understanding and a well-structured research.
• To gather all the necessary documents to complete my study.

Research Objectives

The research objectives will be identified as follows:

• To identify the problems faced by HR personnel against technology
• Significance of using online HR process instead of HR personnel
• Identify the SWOT analysis of having technology in HR management.

Research Questions

The questions often asked are “Is it important for every company or and industry to adapt and use these technologies in their businesses or do they continue to conduct their business as normal?” There are a series of reasons why technology plays such a big role in the corporate world today. The questions I will be focusing on are ones that directly impact the HR industry as a whole and they are:

• What are the role of HR in the technology world?
• Why is HR management process moving towards technology?
• What are the impacts of technology on HR management?
• What are the key factors that lead to changes in HR process?

Timeframe

The time frame for the completion of the project is five months, within these five months I plan on completing the chapters in research and have a conclusion.

Literature Review

Definition

‘Human resource management can be defined as the process of hiring and developing employees so that they become an asset to the organization.’ REFERNCE LAST NAMEYR

The Historical Development of HRM

The origins of HRM lie in the dramatic changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, which has its roots in 18th century Britain and later spread to Europe and North America. The industrial revolution came about when a number of inventions transformed the British textile industry. This made it possible for them to produce textiles quicker and cheaper, these inventions were too large to be used at home and it became necessary to move production to factories, giving rise to the “factory system”.

The “factory system” is a method of mass manufacturing by using machinery and division of labour.  This framework eventually replaced the domestic system and became the ideal technique for production in modern economies. Owners of the factories delegated their work load to employees and in this manner made payment to them by means of wages. This allowed the factory owners to have an impersonal attitude towards those who were employed under their authority.

Two important developments in the late 19th and early 20th century critically impacted upon the development and evolution of HRM, The Welfare Tradition and Scientific Management.

Welfare tradition

The origin of modern personnel management can be generally traced back to what has become known as the welfare tradition. The welfare tradition was developed in a few large companies in Britain in the late 19th century post World War I. This refers to a series of voluntary initiatives undertaken to enhance and improve the conditions of factory workers and their basic need, particularly in relation to working hours, pay and health & safety. This was an important phase in the development of HRM because this is when the appointment of welfare officers began. Welfare officers first emerged mainly in the companies involved in food, coffee and confectionary industry in Britain in the late 1900’s. Welfare officers were also appointed in Irish companies, such as Jacobs & Maguire & Paterson in the early 1900s. Its significance oscillated due to World War I and economic conditions but its influence on HR endured. Welfare tradition as lead to the development of modern HRM which improved the caring approach to employees consulting problems such as counselling, employee assistance programmes, occupational health & safety provision. The position of welfare officer is still an important aspect of HR management these days. This is reflected in the role of HR managers drawing up organisation policies on equality, sick pay, medical care harassment and implementing functions such as recruiting, training and employee counselling.

Scientific Management

Another important influence on the emergence of HRM was the advent of scientific management and what became known as “Taylorism”. Developed due to the improvements in technology, increases in company size and workforce density. Taylors principles came about as a result of research at the Bethlehem Steel Company (1900-11), based on this research Taylor encouraged employers to adopt more systematic approaches to job design, employment and payment systems. Taylor felt management needed to become much more professional in its approach and that academic principles could be set out to improve firm performance, through cooperation between qualified, trained managers and a carefully selected and trained workforce. Taylor believed organisation can be efficient and profitable by using standardisation working systems and people can be trained to become expert at one particular component of a job to create productivity, emphasis was placed on job analysis, time and creation of incentive bonus schemes, therefor extending the work of a mathematical system called H Functions.

Scientific management led to a shift in the emphasis of HR away from the employee-oriented caring/do-gooding agenda of the welfare tradition and towards the more managerial efficiency/profitability agenda of the work study officer. Taylorism helped improve efficiency in organisation and promoted a systematic approach towards job analysis, payments, methods of selection and training. From the HR perspective the spread of scientific management placed greater weight on the careful selection and systematic training of employees, the increased attention to job design, working conditions and payment systems. Although Taylorism was criticised a lot at the time, it still had a profound effect on management practice. It helped improve efficiency and promoted a systematic approach to selection, training and payment. It also led to the growth of the behavioural science movement.

Behavioural Science Movement

Behavioural science movement research is the follow up on Fredrick Taylor’s theories that there’s other factors to consider such as job satisfaction in increasing workers’ productivity in a workplace other than higher wages. The emergence of the behavioural sciences provided a major drive to HRM by establishing further knowledge to unfold many aspects of HR work such as selection, training, payment systems, industrial relations and motivation. The Hawthorne studies conducted by Elton Mayo found that there was a positive link between employee morale and productivity, output increased when people were happy. Business is a social system where managers need to take the satisfactions and dissatisfactions of workers into account if productivity is to increase.

Elton Mayo believed that Individual workers cannot be treated in isolation, but the behavioural monetary incentives and good operating condition are less significant to the individual than the requirement to belong and associate in accordance with a group. Managers need to keep conscious about personnel conventional desires then cater for to them in conformity with confirm to that amount personnel cooperate including the official employer as an alternative than work in opposition to it. The behavioural science movement was important for HRM because it lead to the development of a body of knowledge to underpin many aspects of HR work such as selection, training, motivation, IR and payment systems.

Industrial relations

A particular significant development affecting the nature of HRM and the role of the emerging HR function was the growing significance of industrial relations. Growth of an industrial relations emphasis in HR work was directly related to the increasing significance of Trade Unions. The 1913 Dublin Lockout and “new unionism” accelerated the development of Trade Unions and Employer Associations, therefore creating Industrial relations a part of manpower management. In the 1920’s memberships fell due to conformity with monetary and economic recession. In 1930’s growth increased in industrial employment, trade union membership increased and collective bargaining became more widespread and there was establishment of personnel function, with emphasis on industrial relations instead of welfare. 1946 – Establishment of Labour Court, Post WWII – development of specialised “personnel” departments, whose key activity was Industrial relations, 1960s – emergence of shop stewards – important players in workplace level industrial relations. Also significant increase in levels of industrial conflict. Nineteen Seventies – Onset of national wage agreement era.

This development was at first seen as moving major pay negotiation issues away from enterprise, thus giving management more certainty in corporate planning. The reality was completely different, instead of eliminating local bargaining, national agreements merely changed their focus to issues such as employment conditions, pay anomalies and productivity deals. Therefore, HR practitioners remained heavily involved in workplace bargaining with trade unions.

HR departments whose major responsibility was industrial relations became established in most medium and large organisations. Since the 1970s, government intervention has had an important impact on the HR function, primarily in the following areas: centralised pay bargaining, employment legalisation and attracting Foreign Domestic Investment by Multi-National Companies that moved to Ireland typically set up their own grievance procedures, encouraging workers to seek internal solutions with management rather than involving external unions.

The Law has replaced unions as the prime protector of workers’ rights. The upshot is a fairer balance between the rights of employers and the rights of workers. The statute books of most developed countries continue to swell with new laws – from unfair dismissals to health and safety legislation. But the successful push to widen the scope of workers’ rights in law means that workers have less to gain by joining trade unions.

Contrasting HRM Vs. Personnel Management

First such is argued to that amount HRM, personnel considerations are totally built-in between strategical decision making, inasmuch as in the PM model the rank enter are less mentioned then issue-specific.

Second is that HRM is seen as proactive then long-tem. While PM is considered as extra reactive yet short-term. CIPD described HRM as facilitating employee commitment, whilst TPM management model is extra geared in the direction of managerial limit on employees.

HRM is viewed as like focusing extra into members of the family between Line management and the individual workers, while the TPM model is seen so running principally thru collective family members in management and employee representatives. HRM is seen as operating most effectively in organic, softened enterprise structures, while TPM is considered as attribute over greater

bureaucratic organisation structures. HRM is seen to function particularly via tier management, while of the TPM model foremost responsibility is abiding between the specialist personnel function. The closing perceived difference is that HRM is seen so truly targeted about maximising the HR contribution to universal business enterprise effectiveness, while TPM focuses on the greater constrained goal concerning enhancing cost-effectiveness.

Chapter 3

Previously, the HRM was limited to some of the issues that include recruitment and remuneration. The management system in the different organisations was that rigid and bureaucratic. Querenet, (2017) his study proposes that the previously adopted practices were somewhat inefficient, biased, and inefficient. Presently, the human resources management appears more holistic, and there is a significant shift in attention towards the development of the employees and their professions. The primary objective of this shift in intellect encompasses ensuring that the individuals that work in the public service are appropriately managed, and that they depict competence and commitment towards the delivery of quality services to the clients (Guerin, 2015, pp. 27). The chapter mainly focus on the nature of the strategic HRM, the responsibilities of the HR department and the diverse internet-based technologies that influence the operations of the HR department in their daily activities.

The Role of HR in the technological world

Strategic human resources management

The concept of HRM is often defined as a strategic approach to the management of an organisation’s most valued assets – the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives for sustainable competitive advantage. HRM can be regarded as a ‘set of interrelated policies with ideology and philosophical underpinning’ (Storey, 199)

The strategic HRM mainly encompass the long-term, top-level administrative actions and decisions concerning the employment relations made and performed in ways that ensure full integration with the overall strategic management of the firms. It often encompasses synchronisation and integration of the strategic business requirements and plans of the organisation with the different features that arise from and relate strongly to the management of the firm’s staff.

Holland and Bardoel, (2015, pp.1521) states that the involvement of the human resources considerations during the formulation of the overall strategy ensures the contribution of the HRM to the attainment of the strategic advantage for the firm. Such is attributable to the synergy that is often achieved throughout the activities of the firm. The HRM can thus not be regarded as different from or inferior to the development and adoption of the corporate or business strategy. The strategic HRM is thus the long-term, top-level administration decisions, actions, and choices concerning the architecture of the firm’s human resources created and done in ways that ensure full integration with the entire general strategic management of the firms.

Recruiting

One of the significant ways through which the technology has been influencing the HR practices mainly encompasses its influence on the area of recruitment. Prior to the advent of the internet, HR recruiters exhibited high reliance on the print publications that include the newspapers for posting jobs and getting prospects for available positions. Other approaches that were common before the advent of the internet and other technologically advanced means of communication encompassed networking. However, there is the necessity for noting that the HR recruiters could not post a job in numerous locations and have millions of individuals see it simultaneously. The technological advancements have made recruitment more efficient and effective as well.

HR Management process moving towards technology

Recruiting

Technology can be seen as evolving over the past decades and has a huge impact on day-to-day operations of an organisation, recruiting is one of the main HR practices and it is also how companies attract the right candidate with the right skills that meets their job requirement. In the twenty-first century, there has been an improvement and new ways of recruiting process introduced such as online recruiting, and organizations has taken a hold of the recruiting niche of corporate job with the use of website to host candidate. Rather than the traditional way of handling the complex hiring process as a face-to-face method, organizations has turn to Internet-enabled software to modernise the recruitment process. E-recruiting allows users to easily control the recruitment process from a computer with a click of a finger. E Recruiting is not new, however it is increasing in popularity, and there are quite a lot of new developments that influence the process.

E-recruitment, also known as online recruitment, it’s the practice of using technology and in particular Web-based resources, recruiting managers use online recruiting for tasks that involves finding, attracting, assessing, interviewing  potential candidate for a job vacancy. Most of the common asked questions when it comes to E-Recruiting is how has E-Recruiting changed in this century from the traditional way of recruiting? What kind of candidates is attracted to E-recruiting? What impact does e-recruiting implementation have on business processes? Why use E-Recruiting the advantage and disadvantage of using E-Recruiting?

This chapter will address these questions and more. Recruiting technologies have changed in this century. With E-Recruiting, issues that emerged from using a mixture of large-scale systems and customized software systems programmes can be solved more easily now.

What kind of candidates attract E-recruiting?

E-recruitment is the process of using online software to attract people seeking employment and streamlining applicant qualified for the job objective. It is does not target a specific group of people, as that would consider being discriminating, however E-recruitment is likely to attract a younger generation as they are more aware of technology advancement, and up to date with social media and can easily adapt to new changes. Unlike the older generation, they are likely to do things the traditional way and most likely not to keep up with social medial but can still adapt to some aspect of technology advancement just not on the same level as the younger generation.

Social medial is one of the ways on how E-recruiting generate information used when it comes to recruiting. when applying for jobs online candidate are often asked what social media do they use quite frequent, hiring manager uses this to promote their jobs and create awareness for their companies too, information are generated from social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Why use E-Recruiting the advantage and disadvantage of using E-Recruiting?

E-Recruitment is process that has run more efficiently and effectively with dedicated online services and software systems, to reduce administrative and financial cost.

E-recruitment covers more than just posting job ads online. It covers the complete hiring process, from drafting the job requirements to selecting the right applicant. The following are the advantage and disadvantage of using E-recruiting:

Advantages of E-Recruiting

1. Wider reach: online recruiting reaches more and a larger target audience from a wide geographical background, candidates can be apply for jobs advertised from any part of the world with online recruiting. It also depends on what channel is being used to advertise the jobs. If it is through an agency it is like to limit the range of attraction because agencies have their own network, which may not be aware to everyone, but with the use of different advertising resources, such as Facebook, Indeed and LinkedIn, it would increase the chance of reaching out to a bigger audience globally and nationally.
2. Low Cost: cost for online recruiting is much cheaper as compared to the physical recruitment process. Recruiting is regarded one most expensive process for businesses, it involves the actual cost of hiring a candidate and orientation. This is considered an investment and if an employee was to leave the organisation before making the costs paid off in recruiting process, it is recorded as financial loss and the organisation would have to go through all that process again. Online recruiting reduce cost and increase employee retention, which in return is a better investment. Online recruiting is cost effective, it minimise the labour cost involve in the process.
3. Efficiency: online recruiting limits time wasting by selecting the right people that’s fit and matches the job requirement, this is done by matching applicants CV to the job profile
4. Communications: E-recruitment allows direct communications for both employer and jobs seekers, which is much easier, and convenience rather than send application trough the post and waiting forever for reply.

Disadvantages of E-Recruiting

1. Technical issues: with online recruiting it is possible information can be lost online meaning employers may miss out on candidates that may be qualified for the job
2. Technology: as effective as technology may be not everyone is a fan of it; some candidates may prefer dealing face-to-face where they can get a straightforward answer and there’s always the possibility that application system may operate slowly submission process and people can easily lose patience.
3. Security: it is hard to tell what website is real as there’s a lot of fake profile out there which can be misleading and personal information can end up been in the wrong hands, with the security of an online application.

Selecting

Training

The HR department often bears the responsibility of organising training sessions for the company’s staff. The technological advancement has played a crucial role in facilitating the capability of the human resource professionals to provide the appropriate training to new staff members effectively. The capability to access the business information and training programs remotely often eliminate the need for the trainers working directly with the trainees. However, there is the necessity for acknowledging the fact that at some instance interaction is often necessary. The training in virtual environments has ensured the effectiveness of the HR department to provide effective reduction of the costs associated with offering training besides saving on time as well since the trainees are capable of accessing the necessary information at their convenience. The technological advancement has as well plays a significant role in ensuring that the HR professionals are capable of training a large number of employees quickly and at the same time assess the progress of the training through the computerised testing programs.

Impact of technology on HRM

The university professors, owners, and managers of the businesses often question whether the HR department is usually capable of affecting the financial success of an organisation. However, there is the necessity for noting that any firm that wishes to remain competitive in the modern-day rapidly changing global marketplace needs to ensure effective addressing of the issue of achieving productivity through their staff. Of crucial importance, in this case, encompasses the role that the HR plays in providing the effective improvement of the organisational performance. The development of technology saw the shift in the role of HR department to more administrative.

The advent of the internet technology has contributed significantly to the change in the way that the HR professionals accomplish their tasks. Consequently, the HR has become a crucial aspect relating to the web development commonly identified as an electronic human resource (e-HR) (Looise, Ruël, & Bondarouk, 2011, pp. 121). ‘E-HR’ has gained popularity amongst the diverse HR departments across the globe. Despite the assumption by several individuals that the ‘e’ refers to electronic, the definition that is often intended often encompasses the extending, empowering and enabling the function of the HR department.

Olivas-Lujan and Bondarouk, (2013) in their study defines e-HR as the overall HR strategy that often focuses on lifting HR through ensuring its shift from the physical HR department and considerably isolated HR practices, and ensure its redistribution to the firm and its partners. E-HR thus often contribute significantly to tying and integration of HR activities to other corporate processes that include customer service, finance, and supply chain. The assurance of E-HR encompasses the fact that the HR serves as the strategy’s owner and serves as the broker of services rather than the provider.

The different organisations often exhibit firm reliance on communication. Communication often plays a significant role in integrating the various elements of the organisation, coordination of activities, promotes teamwork and contributes to the production of results. One of the notable functions of the HR in the different organisations often encompasses communicating new initiatives to the staff. The communication efforts of the HR often occur in diverse ways. The upward communication methods commonly adopted mainly include open-door meetings, electronic mail, complaint procedure, and suggestion programs. On the other hand, the downward communication approaches often occur from administration to staff, which include the bulletin boards, orientation sessions, employee manuals and newsletters.

Despite the fact that HR as a field often emphasises on the face-to-face interactions, the accessibility of the internet-based technologies has contributed significantly to the shift in the emphasis towards the considerably more efficient and productive management associated with the switch from human to online services (Kintana, Alonso & Olaverri, 2006, pp. 72). The contemporary era of information technology is characterised by the presence of numerous opportunities aimed at facilitating the capability to transfer information to the staff. The considerably essential and urgent messages can be sent to the targeted individuals through the electronic mail system. These individuals can, in turn, transfer the necessary information to their subordinates in instances whereby not every staff is capable of accessing the system. Some of the common communication media adopted at the workplaces often include the internet, information systems, intranets, and the human resources information systems.

Internet

The internet if often viewed as an information technology that often focuses more on software, messaging capabilities, and data transmission systems. The internet as well encompasses the innovative aspect of the business which mainly focuses on harmonising the practices within the community of firms linked electronically. The use of internet has resulted in the emergence of numerous business opportunities within the different firms. The opportunities mainly encompass the capability to overcome cost and geographical barriers to new markets besides improvement of the service delivery to the clients, restructuring of the relationships besides promoting the ability to share the considerably scarce information and enable applications (Lawler & Boudreau, 2015, pp. 48).

Intranet

Intranet often refers to the network established with the aim of serving the internal informational demands of the firm using the web tools and concepts. The intranet often contributes to the delivery of internet capabilities and cheaper means of browsing. The intranet usually encompasses the use of the web browsers by the managers to perform some crucial tasks that include viewing the resumes of the staff, business plans, and corporate regulations and procedures. The intranet as well facilitates the capability of the manager to retrieve the sales data and review the desired materials easily. The intranet often facilitates searches through using hyperlinks that in turn facilitate the ability of an individual to find the necessary materials in the database. The employees as well can use the intranet to ascertain the presence of the software required for performing some of the crucial tasks.

Information system

The information system mainly refers to the system that ensures the effective collection, processing, storage, analysis and dissemination of information for a particular purpose. The information system often includes inputs and outputs. The information system regularly engages in the processing of the inputs and producing outputs that are in turn conveyed to the users or other systems. The feedback mechanism controlling the operations is often included. The proper development, management and use of the information often ensure its effectiveness in the provision of the cost-effective resources for the organization (Zheng, 2016, pp. 125). The different web-based technologies considered in this discussion serve as crucial tools for the HR department to ensure the effective distribution of the considerably accurate and relevant information to the key decision makers and staff of the firm.

Methodology

Concerning primary research, the information will consist of secondary analysis based on my findings on the project. This research will be conducted using secondary sources such as books, articles and information online, below are a list of reference I’ll be using to conduct the research. The study intends to consult the books, journals, and internet sources. The scrutiny of the differently available literature on the research topic involved is a crucial aspect of mind mapping.

The books do not often contain the considerably some of the most recent information, and if one is researching a current topic that is likely to be dynamic, the journal articles (either on paper or in electronic) serve as good sources of information. The different articles are often dated and can thus be efficiently used as sources of ideas for the study. Moreover, the pieces are often put on the web as soon as they are ready without having to wait for a space in the journal issue or specific date of release hence implying the ability to find current articles that focus on the topic of discussion. The articles can as well be sent conveniently to the subscribers through email.

The internet often serves as a vast source of information. The advantage associated with the web in its use in obtaining the different crucial information encompasses the fact that it is self-publishing hence anyone is capable of posting a website. However, there are instances whereby the internet does not often contain the reliable information. As such, all the sources obtained from the internet will be used after thorough scrutiny to ascertain their reliability.

The research intends on ensuring the analysis of the findings through comparison of the different studies that relate to the topic on consideration. The reliability of the results is ensured through the selection of study materials for the study that are reliable and scholarly. Such approach is crucial for ensuring that the findings are accurate and representative of HR departments of the different organisations. The study intends to provide the effective analysis of the various study materials with the aim of establishing some of the challenges experienced in the different organisations by the HR department attributable to technological advancement.

Data Storage and Retrieval

The HR professionals often engage in the processing of the considerable amount of paperwork. These professionals as well bear the responsibility of keeping a more significant part of the papers on file for a substantial amount of time. Using the electronic imaging often facilitate the capability of the firm to ensure effective storage and retrieval of data in electronic formats. The technological advancement has as well play a vital role in facilitating the capability of the HR professionals to print the necessary forms for the employees easily. The ability to print on demand often eliminate the need to search through the numerous files in the storage cabinets to find the required documents.

Performance management

The HR department often bears the responsibility for managing the performance within the organisation. Integrating the technological advancements in the different ways of performance management tend to play an essential role in facilitating the operations of the HR department. The HR professionals often bear the potential of using the computer technology to assess the performance of the organisation’s employees and at the same time get the feedback from the staff applicable to the betterment of the organisation. The presence of the different types of software programs often makes it possible for the HR professionals to ensure the effective examination of the employee performance using suitable metrics as a way of ensuring that the staff meet the performance standards of the organisation. The results obtained from the assessment often play a crucial role in informing the decisions concerning the necessity for subjecting the employees that fail to measure up to the organisational objectives to additional training or letting them go in favour of replacement of individuals capable of measuring up to the organisation’s goals.

Study Design and Analysis of findings

The study is mainly based on the exploratory study design that encompasses the use of the qualitative methodology in collecting the primary data. The choice of the qualitative method arises from the fact that it is often effective in facilitating the discovery of the existing relationship between the technological advancements and the operations of the HR departments of the different organisations.

Being positivist research, hypotheses are recommended to test for the relationship between the variables of the research. The independent variable is the performance of the HR departments while the dependent variable of the research is technological advancement. A null hypothesis is a way of being cautious and not just assume the relationship. For this research, below are the null and alternative hypotheses:

1. The HR personnel often face numerous challenges against technology
2. The HR processes are exhibiting significant shift towards technology
3. The online HR processes tend to be effective on comparison to dependence on HR personnel

The analyses of the findings from other studies are crucial for testing the validity of the hypotheses to see if the null should be rejected and to draw conclusions from the collated data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for the research (Bondarouk & Olivas-Lujan, 2014, pp. 71). The findings are crucial for helping in the creation of a compact data with the charts and graphs generated and this will enable the researcher to focus on patterns that could have been missed when sifting through the raw data and the latter will help draw the right conclusion about the variables of the research (Stone & Dulebohn, 2016, pp. 49).

Key Factors that lead to changes in the HR process due to technology

The technological advancements can be clear in the contemporary society and has contributed significantly to the transformation of the business world. Majority of the businesses are reliant on the computer technology for the effective delivery of services to their clients. This has had an impact on several departments in an organisation. There are a number factors that influenced these technological changes in the HR process and they are:

Economic conditions

The shape of the economy is indefinitely one of the biggest influences that can lead to a change in the HR process. As the economy is always subject to change, it is very unlikely that the old method of completing the process will remain, as the new generation will be entering the work force. In recent times, technology can been used to attract and retain a younger working force by managing performance and making the recruitment, selection and training process easier and more efficient.  The only way to get ahead in the industry is to adapt and keep up with the latest technology advancements.

Technological advancements

The Information Age is mainly characterised by the arrival of the computers and internet in which shapes the ways we conduct business in the world today. The IT sector constantly introduces new technologies, which can help professionals in HR understand their clientele, consumer markets and competition. Technology in HR is developing rapidly that social media has a growing influence on recruitment and employee engagement. Employers are beginning to reach out to their target audience by using social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to advertise and recruit staff. Job seekers also use these platforms to gain knowledge of what the different companies offer in terms of employee benefits such as health care benefits or and bonuses. These advancements have made it easier to engage with employees and build relationships and rapport in the workplace.

Improved accuracy and compliance

Usually when a process is carried out there are high chances that human error can occur. Introducing technology into this can help eliminate any possibility of such error occurring.

Compliance is a sensitive area and can be difficult at the task completing stage. For instance, if three HR assistants are required to carry out the same tasks there is a chance that there will be three different outcomes. Introducing technology can make sure the process is conducted in a consistent manner and yield same results. Noncompliance of guidelines can be prevented in this case.

Speed and efficiency

Another key factor that has led to changes in the HR process due to technology is speed and efficiency.  Speed is an important part of carrying out day-to-day tasks and with technology incorporated it increases productivity. Previously HR personnel would have to manually document and file information from employers and details employees, which is time consuming. With technology established, it has become a lot easier for HR personnel to carry out their duties in a timely and well-organised manner.

Efficiency ties in with speed and performance. The development of software that allows HR to complete tasks effectively and in a timely fashion leads to the overall improvement of HR process of the HR personnel. The more efficient the HR team, the more efficient the entire HR department is.

Security

HR professionals

Privacy and Human Resources professionals are responsible for ensuring that employees comply with security policies that are designed to protect your firm, your clients and your workforce.

The section discusses the roles of the HR department besides some of the internet-based technologies. The chapter as well explains the Human resource information systems (HRIS) and their application within the different organisations in detail. Chapter 3 mainly discusses the methodology. The chapter focuses on the approach that the study uses and the analysis of the findings.

Findings and Analysis

The role of HRIT in transformation of the HR function

The HRIT often influences the HR function transformation. The HR function transformation often require IT to ensure the effective and efficient management of the organisation’s activities. The HRIT often facilitate the capability of the HR to realize more valuable functions for the organisation. The influence of HRIT is not only within the HR department but at any level that engages in the HRM activities. The HRIT often play a significant role in realization of HR function in a considerably more competitive and efficient way towards the achievement of the organisation’s objectives.

HRIT in transforming the HR professional

The conventional HRM is often characterised by the HR professionals putting in huge energy on some of the time consuming and tedious daily administration processes but pays less attention to the consultation work and strategy formulation that should be the main tasks of the higher management level in the organisation. The HRIT often ensures effective optimisation of HRM through complete transformation of their working styles. The HRIT often ensures the gradual transformation of the HR professionals into strategic partners of the organisation. The critical functions of the HRIT often include the HR planning, recruitment, and in-office management.  

Problems faced by HR personnel against technology

Evaluating Early Adoption

Truth be told, HR is traditionally not known for early adoption. Case in point: the slow adoption of social media.

Balancing High Tech and High Touch

Being able to recognize the need for a technology solution will be a significant business advantage. HR will have to evaluate what functions can be automated and still provide desired levels of service.

Information Curation

HR is experiencing a flood of information. It will be critical to have an effective means of filtering necessary and relevant information. The new term in the digital space is curation.

Training for Accountability

Many of these challenges come down to being better communicators in order to effectively leverage the digital space. As such, HR needs to place a priority on management and leadership training to ensure line managers are able to effectively convey expectations and outcomes.

Metrics and Measurement

HR needs to create data structures that will deliver information on business goals not only to help the company understand their workforce, but also to optimize their talent-related processes.

Significance of technology

Facilitating New Recruitments

The success of recruiters and employment specialists generally is measured by the number of positions they fill and the time it takes to fill those positions.

Ensuring Job Safety

Workplace safety is a vital factor. one amongst the main functions of HRIT is to support workplace safety training and maintain federally mandated logs for workplace injury and fatality reporting.

Employee Relations

In a unionized work environment, the employee and labor relations functions of HR may be combined and handled by one specialist or be entirely separate functions managed by two HR specialists with specific expertise in each area.

Issuance of Compensation and Benefits

Like employee and labor relations, the compensation and benefits functions of HR often can be handled by one HR specialist with dual expertise. On the compensation side, the HR functions include setting compensation structures and evaluating competitive pay practices.

Facilitating Labor Law Compliance

Compliance with labor and employment laws is a critical HR function. Noncompliance can result in workplace complaints based on unfair employment practices, unsafe working conditions and general dissatisfaction with working conditions that can affect productivity and ultimately, profitability.

Training and Development

Employers must provide employees with the tools necessary for their success which, in many cases, means giving new employees extensive orientation training to help them transition into a new organizational culture.

Conclusion

The human resource is often regarded as one of the most crucial aspects of any organisation. The significance of the HR department arises from the fact that it is often tasked with the responsibility of handling different activities and issues that facilitate the operations of the company. The HR department often bears the responsibility of ensuring effective management of the performance of the different employees which in turn contribute significantly to the success of the organisation. The different services that the HR department often offer include training and development towards the enhancement of the human capabilities and improvement of the overall effectiveness of the organisation. The research on the impact that the technological advancement has on HRM is thus crucial in making the decisions on whether to embrace the technological advancements or not.

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