Changing the face of HR...

Author: Leean Mendes

When I first heard the word E-HRM, I immediately knew that it meant HR executed over the electronic world... and i was right.... According to Wikipedia, 'E-HRM is the (planning, implementation and) application of information technology for both networking and supporting at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing of HR activities.' So that was obvious.. but then the question came into my mind.... is e-HRM really that useful?? I mean.. Can e-HRM really be as good as a HR executive with the human touch.. Or can it be even better??

In order to answer this, I had to first know in detail what e-HRM really does.. E-HRM performs a multitude of functions right from recruitment to employee evaluation and letting people go. Today there are softwares available which can actually be used to input the performance of employees and calculate their probable output. E-HRM also makes calculations more easy by calculating the payrolls of employees. Today the entire HR department of over a ten men work force can be compressed into a single computer operated by a single individual who may not even be a HR professional... This was quiet an alarming aspect for me...  This is why..

What if a MNC has a network failure or a computer crash?? who will do the job of the HR department?? Does the computer and software such as zapper, second life and the like actually do an efficient job and are they reliable??

In this blog I have chosen the usefulness of two HR functions, namely, the recruitment function and the performance management function,,,

Firstly, the recruitment function... As everyone knows that recruitment is a delicate process.. Not only for the company but also for the individual... Choosing the right person helps the company to grow but choosing an noncompetitive person will result in a waste of the company's resources... on the other hand, from the point of view of the individual it is delicate in the sense that in case the individual is not recruited it should be communicated in a delicate fashion to avoid ill feelings...

We all know the traditional form of recruitment where an interview or series of interviews were held and the results were communicated through e-mail or other forms of communication... This process was not only time consuming but also expensive in the sense of hiring professional recruiters for the various series of recruitment... What e-HRM does is take all these factors in mind and digitizes it into 1s and 0s... It gives questionnaires and even life like examples or videos to candidates to answer and marks them immediately... The only expense in this system is setting up of this system and questionnaires which is fairly expensive but extremely cheap in the long run and only a few changes need to be done in the long run... The real advantage of this system which I felt was that this system did not have to be purely digitized... Softwares like 'second life' and 'onverse' helps candidates and HR executives communicate on a virtual level giving the candidate the privacy and comfort of his/her own environment and also the ease for the HR executive to say freely what has to be said without the barrier of face to face embarrassment. However, this may be helpful for one of the interview rounds but cannot be used as the sole process of recruitment as personal and social relations also play a crucial role and not only expertise in that particular field...

Overall I would say that the function of recruitment of e-HRM is very useful as it not only reduces costs but also encourages a wider range of individuals to apply for a post, irrespective of region, area, sex or any other socio-economic barrier... It also helps the candidates and recruiters to be more free and comfortable while answering and evaluating... It is also highly time efficient and saves a lot of resources other than time and money such as energy, traveling and even the feeling of being away from home can be overcome. 

The second function of e-HRM i.e. Performance management as seen in HR softwares such as 'adrenalin', 'zapper' or 'employwise' help in performance management... But what is performance management?? 'Performance management (PM) includes activities that ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many other areas.'

When i read that e-HRM can be used in performance management I taught it was impossible.. How can a software judge an employee which is subjective?? But surprisingly I was wrong.... E-HRM in fact is a very convenient way of  measuring performance and assisting in performance management... How?? Its quiet simple actually... Special softwares are designed depending on the business... A record of each individual is maintained in which a person, who needs no HR background, just needs to input the data and amount of output along with punctuality and other factors and a report is provided using calculations on how much benefit compared to other employees is that employee in the firm giving... The HR department then just decides on his/her efficiency whether the employee is a liability or an asset.... I was surprised that such efficient systems were available... 

These systems reduce man power and are highly economical in the long run.. In performance management these softwares also provide the areas where the employee can improve and their strong points... 

Overall I feel that e-HRM is a leap for the HR world and can bring about a revolution in HR.. However it may result in a large number of employees loosing their jobs specially in the HR departments but for the company as a whole it helps in saving time, energy and a huge economic benefit... Also the HR department's job has been changed from detailed scrutinizing of candidates and employees to data analyzers of these e-HRM software... :-)

P.S:- The video embedded shows how the HR software 'Avanti" helps the HR department... Just as an example.. ;-)