Does IT Impact Human Resources?



Does IT Impact Human Resources?

Introduction

Human resource is one of the key functions of any business. It is very important for any company to design the various components of HR system such that they support and align with each other in an effective manner. Organization and alignment of HR systems provides advantages to both the employees as well as the management. Today, it has become essential for the companies to deploy advanced information and communication technology infrastructures, in order to meet the needs of HRM function of the company. This paper briefly describes the use of IT for the HR activities of any company and the impacts it brings.

Importance of Human Resource Systems

In the modern business environment it has become essential for the HR manager to conceptualize their HR approaches as business outcomes of their company, as these managers have to constantly face the HR issues and problems (Ivancebich and Konopaske, 2012). There is an immense need for the HR managers to understand the fact that the HR approaches and systems play a vital part in the company's success, as the HR practices and decisions reflect in the improvement of company's strategies or staff competencies. The human resource systems serve two major functions for the company, they assist the organization towards achieving the objectives in strategic direction and advocate and represent the employees.

Use of Information Technology

In today's age of information, the use of information technology has become a vital ingredient for continuous success of any organization. Research shows that development of advanced information technology infrastructure remarkably helps the business in improving the performance and better management of the resources (Rainer R.K. & Turban E., 2008). The use of information technology in the deployment of HR function of any company helps in aligning and integrating different parts of HR systems efficiently.

IT based HR systems

Modern human resource systems of companies rely heavily on the advanced information and communication technologies. The software technologies such as ERP and the networking technologies such as Intranet, significantly improve the efficiency of HRM function of the company. This is due to the fact that these technologies provide efficient means of connectivity and alignment between various independent HR systems used by the HR department (Applegate, 2009). Some of the major activities for which information technology is made a part of HR systems are discussed below:

Training Activities

The employees would be able to achieve the organizational objectives and strategic goals only if they would be trained efficiently about the company's environment, goals, working methodologies, etc. Training systems are designed and training programs are conducted regularly in the companies in order to leverage the full capabilities of the employees (Calcutta, et.al, 2007). The training programs help the employees to brush up their skills and customize their skills according to the needs and job requirements of the company.

With the advent of information and communication technologies, many organizations have begun to use computer based training methods instead of class room based training (Powell ...