ISSUES DURING IMPLEMENTATION OF E-HRM

Author - Amit S Jadhav

ELECTRONIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT most famously known as E-HRM way of implementing HR strategies, policies, and practices in organizations through a conscious and directed support of and/or with the full use of web-technology-based channels.

When we say ‘implementing’ in this context it has a broad meaning, such as making something work, putting something into practice, or having something realized. E-HRM, therefore, is a concept; a way of ‘doing’ HRM.

There are five phases in the implementation of the e-HRM business solution.

»  Analysis (Infrastructure) - In the first phase, a company analyses the existing infrastructure with regard to quantity of data and classification of business activities.

»  Business processes in the company - After the existing processes have been analysed, the options for automating these processes in the client's environment are proposed. Finally a project plan is developed based on the model of the processes identified.

»  Implementation - After a fundamental analysis of the processes in the work team, individual modules is deployed in the client's environment. With modular design a gradual implementation is possible, and company specific functionalities are discussed with the client and build upon request.

»  Implementation and training- A complete knowledge of the components of the solution is a key factor for successful implementation. The entire team of project managers, information technology professionals and human resource specialist are involved in user training and implementation.

   »  Maintenance- A maintenance contract typically includes:  

a) Technical support experts available by phone, through e-mail 

     or onsite

b) Adaption of existing modules or development of new ones 

c) Application of software adjustment to changes in the 

     system environment or operating system 

d) Functionality improvement and software upgrades in the 

     form of new versions 

e) Consultation about further development of the system

     ISSUES IN IMPLEMENTING E-HRM-  

    

» Employees related

o   Fear of the new technology developments in organization

o   Acceptance of the new technology

o   Acquired knowledge and skills

o   Training required

»Unions - In PSUs and government organizations, unions play an active role, from taking decisions, forming strategies, and to implementing some technology; union’s decisions are taken into account on behalf of the employees. In case of e-HRM since it’s a new web-based technology, employees may not be comfortable in using this new technology. So the union may oppose in implementing of this new technology

  

» Privacy - It is one of the growing concerns about information privacy in organizations nowadays. Organization may use e-HRM to collect, store, and disseminate data about job applicants and employees. These data are used to enhance HR decisions, maintain employee records, and streamline HR processes, including recruitment, selection, training, performance management, compensation, etc.

One of the major hurdles which the HR departments need to cross is the changing technological environment. It is essential that the employees should be fully aware and comfortable with the fact of introduction of a new technology. The important issue in the new technology development would be the development of a shared culture where the employees learn to embrace the change amicably.
Thus, the HR professionals need to work with the technical staff and help the employees cope up with the change. Another issue is that employees are scared of new developments and they may oppose to the new technology, as they think their performance evaluation and assessment depend on the successful implementation of such technology.
Therefore, the superiors need to groom their subordinates to get comfortable with the imminent technological advances. The managers must take care as to train the employees in the art of conducting business over the net.